The
Challenge of Teaching Listening Skills
Teaching listening skills is one of the most
difficult tasks for any ESL teacher. This is because successful listening
skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. It's frustrating for
students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Speaking and
writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills.
This is not to say that there are not ways of improving listening skills,
however they are difficult to quantify.
One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental
block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn't
understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or
get caught up in an internal dialogue trying translate a specific word. Some
students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken
English well and create problems for themselves.
They key to helping students improve their listening skills is
to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude
adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept
than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with
differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often
as possible, but for short periods of time.
I like to use this analogy: Imagine you want to get in shape.
You decide to begin jogging. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles.
If you are lucky, you might even be able to jog the seven miles. However,
chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Fitness trainers
have taught us that we must begin with little steps. Begin jogging short
distances and walk some as well, over time you can build up the distance. Using
this approach, you'll be much more likely to continue jogging and get fit.
Students need to apply the same approach to listening skills.
Encourage them to get a film, or listen to an English radio station, but not to
watch an entire film or listen for two hours. Students should often listen, but
they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. This should happen
four or five times a week. Even if they don't understand anything, five to ten
minutes is a minor investement. However, for this strategy to work, students
must not expect improved understanding too quickly. The brain is capable of
amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for
results. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their
listening comprehension skills will greatly improve.
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