Testing listening skills
Can you lend me your ear? Most people believe they are good listeners without considering the important differences between hearing and listening. The ability to hear is typically innate, but the ability to listen well is a skill that must be developed and practiced. Listening means paying attention and making a conscious effort to process what you hear. It is one of our most important skills and it is also one of the most overlooked. We often take our ability to listen for granted, even though it plays a major role in good communication. So are you the type of person who lets information in one ear and out the other, or are you a thoughtful, actively-engaged listener? Assess your listening skills with this test. Examine the following statements and situations, and choose the option that best applies to you. In order to receive the most accurate results, please answer as truthfully as possible. After finishing this test you will receive a FREE snapshot report with a summary evaluation and graph. You will then have the option to purchase the full results for $6.95 This test is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or for the treatment of any health condition. If you would like to seek the advice of a licensed mental health professional you can search Psychology Today's directory here.
Bhupal Sin Bista This article discusses the techniques and activities used by the secondary level English teachers while teaching listening. It also sheds lights on the gap between the teachers’ theoretical knowledge and its use in classroom teaching, including situation of testing listening in Nepalese schools. For this, data were collected from different secondary level English teachers teaching in Kathmandu district, which helped explore the techniques and activities employed by the teachers in classrooms. Background In the context of our country, teaching listening has been highly focused in the present English curriculum of secondary level. As the curriculum is based on the communicative approach, teaching listening is a must for the development of communicative competence in students. Taking into account the worth of listening skill, it is taught in the secondary schools of both the community and institutional (private) schools. However, only teaching is not enough. There should the use of right appropriate methodology. In this context, it is imperative to explore whether listening skill is taught as it should have been or not. Furthermore, it is equally important to find out the gap between the teachers’ theoretical knowledge of teaching listening and its application in the classroom. Thus, the research was carried out in order to find out the reality. Teaching Listening Listening skill should be taught properly to the students at school. Instead of leaving it to be developed as part of a pupil’s general education training, it is to be taught explicitly to them. Students spend half of the classroom time in listening, so it should be developed properly. In this context, Hron (1985, as cited in Rost, 1994, p. 118) suggests that listening should be developed in all school children since it is a vital means of learning that may be as important as reading. In order to teach listening properly and effectively, appropriate approaches should be used. Without employing the appropriate approaches, listening skills cannot be taught well. For the development of appropriate approaches to teaching listening skills, it is essential to understand the nature of listening. In this regard, Nunan in Richards and Renandya (2010) mentions two types of models: the bottom-up and the top-down processing model. The bottom-up processing model asserts that listening is a process of understanding meaning from phonemes to complete texts. The top down processing model, on the other hand, views that listening is a process of understanding meaning on the basis of the listener’s shared or prior knowledge. In this way, these models are to be taken into account while teaching listening. Stages of Teaching Listening 1. The Pre-listening Stage This is the first stage of teaching listening. At this stage, students are given some background information about the audio. Indeed, this is the preparatory phase of teaching listening in which students are prepared and motivated for listening and performing the tasks. Following Underwood (1989, p. 3), it consists of several activities like giving background information, looking picture, topic discussion, question answer, etc. 2. The While-listening Stage In this stage, the students listen to audio, perform the activities and do the tasks based on the listening comprehension. This is the actual listening stage whereby students are asked to do exercises based on the audio. The main purpose of this stage is to help the students develop the skill of eliciting messages from spoken language. 3. The Post-listening Stage Testing Listening
Listening Skill in English Curriculum of Secondary Level
Teaching and Testing Listening at Secondary Level Teaching and testing should go simultaneously. Teaching listening should be fostered by testing as testing is an integral part of teaching. Whatever is taught in the classroom should be tested, for the items neglected in the testing are generally neglected in the teaching as well. Therefore, for the effective teaching of listening, it should be tested seriously in examination. However, in the secondary schools of Nepal, listening skill is not tested properly. There is the provision of testing in the curriculum. However, its implementation is very poor. Testing listening has merely become a matter of formality. It is not tested properly even in School Leaving Certificate (SLC) board examination. Listening is also one of the crucial components of language learning. Without having detailed knowledge of listening, the learners cannot achieve sound communicative competence. Findings
Recommendations The following recommendations are made on the basis of the findings of the research: • All the teachers who are teaching listening at secondary schools should use at least the following listening techniques and activities. a. Pre-listening stage – Giving background information of the listening text – Picture discussion – Discussion on the topic and/or situation – Reviewing the areas of grammar – Simplifying the meaning of difficult words given in the text. b. While-listening stage – Short answer questions – True/false items – Fill in the blank items – Multiple choice items c. Post-listening stage – Writing or presenting the summary – Parallel writing – Dictation • Most of the teachers were found having sound theoretical knowledge of teaching listening. However, they did not apply the knowledge in the classroom, Therefore, seminars and workshops should be organized to refresh and enhance the skills of the teachers, especially, NCED should develop special training package for teaching listening. • Most of the teachers were found neglecting and not giving priority to listening in their teaching. Therefore, it should be made an important part of examination and tested properly. As a whole, teachers and other stakeholders should be made aware of the importance of listening via conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. • Secondary level English course prescribes listening lesson in each unit. However, teachers were found not teaching listening according to the course. Thus, teachers should be encouraged to use enough listening materials in order to give sufficient exposure to students. • Some schools were found not having appropriate listening materials. Thus, the concerned authority should make the mandatory provision of managing required materials in every school. References Buck, G. (2010). Assessing listening. Cambridge: CUP. Cross, D. (1992). A practical handbook of language teaching. London: Prentice Hall International Limited. Crystal, D. (1994). An encyclopedic dictionary of language and languages. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited. Harmer, J. (2008). How to teach English. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited. Lynch, T. (2007). Study listening. London: CUP. Richards, J.C. and Renandya, W.A. (Eds.). (2010). Methodology in language teaching Cambridge: CUP. Rivers, W. M. (1978). Teaching foreign language skills. London: University of Chicago Press. Rost, M. C. (1994). Introducing listening. Harmondsworth : Penguin English. Underwood, M. (1989). Teaching listening. London : Longman. Ur, P. (2010). Teaching listening comprehension. Cambridge : CUP. — Bhupal Sin Bista Tahachal, Kathmandu |