Listening and Reading Activities

[Niko]

Prepare students before undertaking the activity

Listening and reading activities allow students to experience real life scenarios. Grammar and vocabulary learnt in prior lessons can be put to practical use in these activities.

The whole idea of learning English is to communicate in English. Students can feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that they are able to understand the listening or reading activity.

Do not be tempted to dive into an activity without first giving some clear instruction to the student.

• Announce to students the topic of the listening and reading activity.
• Provide a task objective beforehand. What information does the student need to abstract from the activity?
• Orient students with keywords and strategies beforehand. Students will try to understand every single word, however this should be avoided. General comprehension should be the goal.
• Check for understanding upon task completion.
• Break down functions into smaller components where necessary.
• Proceed inductively or deductively.

Keypoint Listening Activity

=> Replaying the CD or tape is a must at the very end of a listening activity.

Keypoint Reading Activity

=> With books closed and only the students listening, the teacher re-reads the text at the very end of the reading activity.

Conclusion

Remember, the teacher needs to prepare the student prior to undertaking any activity. Only then, can listening and reading activities be a successful tool for improving English ability.