KLV - Listening & Watching Strategies & Practice

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

This week:

Theory + reflection (today) 

Practise test (thurs)

Exambundle +  installing schoolyear (friday)

What makes listening difficult in any language?

Communication / Fluency

The 5 Listening Strategies

1. Predicting content

2. Listening for gist

3. Detecting signposts

4. Listening for details

5. Inferring meaning

1.

Practise predicting content:

Watch or listen to a recorded TV programme or clip from YouTube. Pause after every few sentences. Try to predict what is going to happen or what the speaker might say next.

Tip:

If you are taking a listening test, skim through the questions first and try to predict what kind of information you need to listen out for. A question beginning 'How many..?', for example, will probably require you to listen for a specific number or quantity of something.

Predicting content

2. 

Practise listening for gist:

Find a short video with subtitles on a topic that interests you. Use the title to help you predict the content and then listen out for the content words. Go back, and listen again with the subtitles. How much did you understand the first time? Return to the video a week later and try again.

If you are taking a listening test, skim through the questions first and try to predict what kind of information you need to listen out for. A question beginning 'How many..?', for example, will probably require you to listen for a specific number or quantity of something.

listening for the gist

3. 

Practise detecting signpost language:

Most course books for learners of English come with a CD and audio script. Find an example of a business presentation or lecture and see how many signpost phrases you can identify (listen more than once, if necessary). Then check your notes with the audio script.

Tip:

In your notebook, group signpost phrases according to their functions, and continue to add new expressions as you come across them

signpost

4.

Practise listening for details:

Decide on a type of detailed information you want to practise listening for and watch programmes where you would expect to get that information. For example, you could listen to a weather report to get details about the weather, or you could follow the sports news to find out the latest results.

Tip:

If you are taking a test, as soon as you get the question , , write the important words and decide what kind of detail you need to identify in the listening text.

Details

5. 

Practise inferring meaning:

Find a YouTube clip from a popular television show, for example Friends. Now, rather than watch it, just listen to the dialogue. How much can you infer about what is taking place, who is talking and what their relationship is? Now listen to the clip a second time but watch it too. Were your conclusions correct?

Tip:

The next time you hear a word you don't understand, try to guess its meaning using the context or situation to help you. But don't worry if you don't get it the first time. As with everything in life, the more you practise, the better you will get.

Meaning

Wat maak je op  uit de context (serienaam, titel)?

Freak Eaters

Wat maak je op uit de context (serienaam, titel)?

1. What does Helen eat mostly?
2. What are her alternative foods?
3. Has she ever eaten anything else?
4. What happens if she's offered other food?
5. What especially makes her emotional about other foods?
6. Why doesn't she try other food?
7. Is it a problem for her now?

7. Is it a problem for her now?
8. Why is it important to her to change her diet?
9. Does she believe she can change her habits?
10. How do other people react to her odd eating habits?
11. Do you think she has succeeded to change her diet?

Let's reflect