Since we are studying to become future teachers of English, it is really important to teach the “so-called ´four skills`- listening, speaking, reading and writing” (Brumfit, 1984, p.103). This term paper will only deal with two of the four skills, which are listening and speaking. Both of these skills need to be learned and require active behaviour. This term paper starts off by introducing the reader to the topic of teaching listening, continues by explaining the characteristics of listening situations, learner problems with listening and different listening activities which can be used at school. Furthermore, it gives a definition of speaking, how to teach speaking at school, some important speaking methods and learner problems. The next topic is the oral presentation itself and what we did in class, which tasks we gave to the other students, which aims we wanted to achieve and how everything worked out. In the final conclusion we want to show what we learned while we prepared our presentation and actually presented it in class. Some problems that occurred in class and how we could have improved the organisation of the presentation and the get involved part will be mentioned as well.
We finish our paper with the attachment and the bibliography.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Teaching Listening and Speaking
2.1 Teaching Listening
2.1.1 Characteristics of Listening Situation
2.1.2 Learner Problems with Listening
2.1.3 Listening Activities
2.2 Definition of Speaking
2.2.1 Teaching Speaking
2.2.2 Speaking Methods
2.2.3 Learner Problems with Speaking
2.3 The Oral Presentation
3 Final Conclusion
4 Attachment
5 Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This document explores the fundamental methodologies for teaching listening and speaking in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), aiming to provide prospective teachers with theoretical insights and practical applications for the classroom.
- Theoretical foundations of the listening and speaking skills.
- Identification of common learner challenges in listening and speaking.
- Methodological approaches to teaching oral communication.
- Practical teaching activities, including role-playing and simulations.
- Reflections on the preparation and implementation of interactive classroom presentations.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 Characteristics of Listening Situation
There are five characteristics of listening situations: the informal spoken discourse, listener expectation and purpose, looking as well as listening, ongoing purposeful listener response and speaker attention (Ur, 1996).
The informal spoken discourse means that most of the conversations are spontaneous and therefore informal. There are various features informal speech has. One is called the brevity of “chunks” and denotes that conversations are usually broken into short chunks because people take turns. Pronunciation is another important aspect because it is often different from the phonological representation given in a dictionary (e.g. can’t versus cannot). In addition to that vocabulary is often colloquial (e.g. kid versus child) and informal speech is somehow ungrammatical. Because we usually comprehend less than 100 per cent of what is being said a certain amount of noise is meaningless noise. Redundancy includes repetition, paraphrase or the use of fillers like well, eh. The last feature is non-repetition. The discourse will not be repeated unless you request for repetition.
Listener expectation and purpose denote that the listener knows in advance what is going to be said and expects to hear relevant things in a conversation.
Looking as well as listening indicates that we usually do have something to look at which is linked to the topic and can be the speaker, a map or a picture. Only a small proportion of listening is done without looking (blind) like listening to the radio or talking to someone on the telephone.
Ongoing, purposeful listener response means that we normally respond at intervals to show that we, as a speaker, are still listening and comprehend what is being said.
The speaker attention is the last characteristic of listening situations and says that a speech is usually directed at the listener and the listener’s character and intentions will be taken into account.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter outlines the importance of teaching the four basic language skills and provides an overview of the paper's focus on listening and speaking.
2 Teaching Listening and Speaking: This section provides an in-depth analysis of listening and speaking as active skills, detailing the psychological and linguistic factors involved in both processes.
2.1 Teaching Listening: This chapter covers the stages of teaching listening and the specific situational characteristics of listening tasks.
2.1.1 Characteristics of Listening Situation: This section details the five core elements that define listening situations in natural language use.
2.1.2 Learner Problems with Listening: This chapter discusses typical difficulties students face, such as comprehending rapid speech and the "one-off" nature of listening.
2.1.3 Listening Activities: This section categorizes various activities based on the complexity of the response required from the learner.
2.2 Definition of Speaking: This chapter establishes speaking as a primary communicative skill and identifies its three main conceptual phases.
2.2.1 Teaching Speaking: This section examines major teaching approaches, such as the monitor model and task-based learning.
2.2.2 Speaking Methods: This chapter introduces practical teaching techniques like discussion, interactional talk, role-play, and simulations.
2.2.3 Learner Problems with Speaking: This section addresses common affective hurdles, including inhibition, lack of motivation, and over-reliance on the mother tongue.
2.3 The Oral Presentation: This chapter reports on a practical classroom presentation, detailing the "get involved" exercises used to engage students.
3 Final Conclusion: The authors reflect on the challenges of presenting and teaching, acknowledging both successes and areas for improvement in their presentation methods.
4 Attachment: This section provides the material used for the "Talking Cards" game mentioned in the text.
5 Bibliography: This list contains the academic sources cited throughout the term paper.
Keywords
EFL, Listening, Speaking, Communication, Language Teaching, Oral Presentation, Communicative Methodology, Learner Problems, Classroom Activities, Role Play, Task-based Model, Interactional Talk, Fluency, Teaching Methodology, Pedagogical Reflection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this term paper?
The paper focuses on the didactic approaches to teaching listening and speaking skills within an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context.
What are the primary themes discussed in the text?
The main themes include the psychological components of listening and speaking, learner difficulties, various teaching models, and practical classroom exercises.
What is the ultimate goal of the teaching methodologies described?
The primary goal is to help learners become fluent speakers by balancing communicative activities with expressive abilities.
Which teaching methods for speaking are highlighted?
The text highlights methods such as discussion activities, interactional talk, role-playing, dialogues, simulations, and the use of plays.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body covers the theoretical frameworks for teaching listening and speaking, analyzes common learner problems, and provides a practical reflection on an oral presentation conducted by the authors.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is best characterized by terms like EFL, communicative methodology, listening/speaking skills, and classroom pedagogical strategies.
How do the authors differentiate between interactional and transactional functions in listening?
The text explains that listening is intended to either maintain a social communicational relation (interactional) or to convey specific information (transactional).
What is the pedagogical purpose of the "Talking Cards" game provided in the attachment?
The game is designed to encourage all students to participate actively, practice speaking in a controlled environment, and overcome inhibition when using the target language.
- Quote paper
- Susanne Flohr (Author), Pia Paesler (Author), 2006, Teaching Listening and Speaking, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/142928
