WAJ3103 English Language Proficiency 11

TOPIC 2
2.1 Synopsis

Listening and Speaking

This topic is an extension of the Listening and Speaking module in WAJ3102. This unit enables you to acquire the skills in listening and speaking. Listening is a skill, which can be developed by knowing what it is and acquiring some effective strategies and techniques of successful listening. Speaking involves a number of routines conducted simultaneously by the speaker and the listener.

2.2 Learning Outcomes

2.2.1 Listen critically and respond appropriately to various stimuli. 2.2.2 Listen for meaning and understanding of a variety of texts and give personal response. 2.2.3. Communicate fluently, correctly and confidently in a variety of situations. 2.2.4 Assess own language progress through reflections/journals.

2.3 Topic Framework

Listening Skills

What makes a good listening text? LISTENING Effective Content and Delivery for Listening Listening Practice to a Variety of texts

Oral Response to Speeches and Lectures

Effective Communication Group Presentations Linking words and Connectors

SPEAKING

2.4

Listening Skills
everyone should master because we spend nearly a variety of things being said to us and around us. understand what others are saying. This involves his grammar and vocabulary, and grasping his

Listening is a very important skill that 60% of our working hours listening to Listening is the ability to identify and understanding a speakers accent,

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meaning. An able listener is capable of doing these four things simultaneously. A series of micro-skills are involved while one is listening. They include the following: 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4 2.4.5 2.4.6 2.4.7 Predicting what people are going to talk about Guessing unknown words or phrase Using ones background knowledge of the subject Identifying relevant points Retaining relevant points (note-making, summarizing Rejecting irrelevant point Recognising discourse markers (e.g. well, oh, besides, another thing, Recognising cohesive devices (e.g. such as, which, however, etc) Understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress Understanding inferred information

2.4.8 2.4.9

2.5 What Makes a Good Listening Text ?

To answer this question we will have to look at two aspects ,Content and Delivery Delivery 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 Delivery must be convincing It must be gripping Presents new information Delivery is clear and unambiguous in terms of accent Quality of recording .Is the recording clear? Will background noise affect comprehension

Content
What is effective content for Listening ? Look at the features given in the following table.

Features
Interest factor Genre Cultural accessibility

Questions to ask Will this be interesting for my students? Is it in a genre easily recognised by my students?
Will my students understand the context and ideas?

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Speech acts/ Discourse structure Information Language level Does it discuss abstract concepts or is it based on everyday transactions? Too much information given at one time? Or too little ? Is the majority of the vocabulary and grammar appropriate for my students? Will I need to cut part of the recording because it is too long? Or is it too short?

Lenght

2.6

Listening is an active process

Listening is an active process and has three basic steps. They are hearing, understanding and judging 2.6.1 Hearing Hearing means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For instance, if you were listening to a verbal documentary on cats and the speaker mentioned that many animals belong to the cat family. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said. 2.6.2 Understanding Understanding happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way. Lets go back to the documentary on cats. When you hear that many animals belong to the cat family, think about what that might mean. You may think, Maybe this means that animals having certain features an 2.6.3 Judging Judging occurs when you understand what the speaker has said and think about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might think. How could animals which we call by different names be all in the cat family? But, then again, when we bring in our knowledge of the world about human beings for example, we fall under one category called human beings and yet categorise ourselves as being Malay, Chinese, Indian, and others, according to our race. Thus, the information in the documentary we have just listened to seems believable.

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2.7 LISTENING STRATEGIES

Listening is a demanding process. In order to function efficiently in the English language, you must develop good listening strategies which will help you to listen, process and respond to information in both academic and social contexts. Some good listening strategies that can help you to listen better include the following: 2.7.1 2.7.2 2.7.3 Concentrate and focus on the listening text/speech. Listen with a purpose. Decide what information you should listen for and what you can ignore. If you are going to hear it only once, try to grasp the gist of the text/speech. Do not worry about understanding all the words you hear or even trying to memorise every detail. If you are going to hear it more than once, try to grasp the general meaning of the text/speech the first time you listen to it. When you listen to the text the second time, concentrate on identifying specific details or key words. Guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by paying attention to the context in which they occur. Learn to process information quickly or in real time because in real life situation, you often hear something said only once.

2.7.4

2.7.5 2.7.6

2.8 HOW TO BE A GOOD LISTENER

2.8.1 2.8.2 2.8.3 2.8.4 Give your full attention to the person who is speaking or to the text or speech you are listening to. Make sure your mind is focused. Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Listen for main ideas. They are the most important points the speaker wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or at the end of the talk, and repeated a number of times. Jot down some important points given by the speaker. (If you are listening to identify important points or to summarise the speech later) Pay particular attention on the use of discourse markers and cohesive devices by the speaker

2.8.5 2.8.6

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WAJ3103 English Language Proficiency 11 2.9 LISTENING FOR MEANING

In order to make sense of what is being communicated listening involves hearing, understanding and judging. This follows a sequence; listening to a speaker will trigger meaning which in turn signals to the listener to give an appropriate response.The response can be in any form as long as it follows up to show that the listener understands. If meaning is unclear, follow-up can be in the form of asking for clarification to ascertain a fact. This can be seen in the following sequence. 2.9.1 Listening for meaning sequence Listening effectively for meaning in a dialogue involves the following sequence: Trigger meaning Signal meaning Response to signal

Follow-up shows understanding

Task 1: Group work Get into groups of 4. Get 2 group members to carry out the conversation. The other two will listen to the following conversation and indicate the language function and the sequence as: T for Trigger; S for signal; R for response; F for follow-up Sequence Function F2 Mahmud: Ah, Mahmud loves to play, to play competitive games, gets upset 0. T 0. to inform when he loses. F1 Mmm, pardon? F2 Huh? F1 Pardon? F2 Gets upset when he loses. F1 Huh? 1 ____ 3. _____ 5. _____ 7._____ 9._____ 2. __________ 4. __________ 6. __________ 8. __________ 10. _________

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F2 Loses. F1 Mmm. Mmm. He likes to ball, play ball games you mean? F2 Thats right. Thats what I mean. 11._____ 13._____ 15. ____ 12._________ 14._________ 16._________

(Pica, Holliday, Lewis, Berducci & Newman, 1991,)

3.0 CRITICAL LISTENING

Critical listening is a form of listening that involves analysis, critical thinking and judgment. Making judgments during listening is often considered as a barrier to understand a person, and there's a lot of truth in that. However, critical listening occurs when you still want to understand what the other person is saying, but also have some reasons or responsibility to evaluate what is being said to you and how it is being said. For example, if there's an upcoming election and you need to decide who to vote for, you probably use some form of critical listening when you watch a televised debate. You listen, AND you evaluate. While experts on learning and communication almost universally demean the importance and value of critical listening, when it comes to real life, listening critically is used every day. The key though, is to try to understand the other person FIRST, before one evaluates

3.1 Listening Text Types Below are some of the listening texts that we often need to listen to critically: 3.1.1 Forum
A forum can be defined as a public meeting or a programme (as on radio or television) involving discussion of a problem usually by several authorities and usually among experts. It is an open discussion involving audience participation. Example: Money Matters

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3.1.2 Speech A speech is a talk or public address. The best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance. Giving a speech is also an act of expressing or describing thoughts, feelings or perceptions by the articulation of words. Example: Formal speeches given by ministers, corporate leaders, educationists 3.1.4 Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction. This includes documentary film, television, radio documentary and documentary photography. Example: Animal Planet, National Geographic

3.1.5 News News is any information or information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience. News is also the reporting of current information on television and radio, and in the newspapers and magazines. Examples: Business News, BBC News, CNN, Channel News Asia 3.1.6 Multimedia Resources Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation and video delivered to you by computer to other electronic means. Multimedia is not new. It has been used in the classroom for the last decade in the form of overhead projectors, slide shows, filmstrips and coloured chalk.

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WAJ3103 English Language Proficiency 11 Exercise 1 1. TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY Watch and listen to a television documentary. Identify the issue/s being discussed and give your personal response. 2. NEWS REPORT Listen to the English news either on television or radio. List three issues that made the headlines today. News 1: __________________________________________________

News 2: __________________________________________________

News 3: ___________________________________________________

Provide reasons why they made the headlines. News 1: ____________________________________________________

News 2 _____________________________________________________

News 3 _____________________________________________________

3. MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES Listen to an English song. Identify and analyse an issue reflected in the song that you have chosen. ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

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WAJ3103 English Language Proficiency 11 4.0 SPEAKING

What is spoken language? ...the ability to speak a language is synonymous with knowing that language since speech is the most basic means of human communication. Nevertheless, speaking in a second or foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills (Bailey and Savage, 1994) 4.1 ORACY Oral Communication Oral communication is a vital component of the English language arts curriculumn and provides base for growth in reading, writing and listening abilities. Oracy consists of both verbal and non-verbal communication is culture specific and be aware of the differences that may exist across cultures when students express themselves non-verbally. Oral comunication is a two way process between speaker and listener and involves productive skill of speaking and receptive skill of understanding (or listening with understanding) Receptive does not imply passive both in listening and reading, language users are actively involved in the process of interpreting and negotiating meanings. 4.1.1Verbal Communication: This involves articulatory organs that produce sounds which compose of words and sentence structure. By incorporating grammatical forms and vocabulary, speakers are able to express the desired meaning. 4.1.2 Non-Verbal Communication Non-Verbal Communication includes a variety of gestures, expressions anmd signalling devices (stress and intonation). Through face to face interaction, a speaker can use a whole range of facial expressions and general body language to help convey the message.

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5. 0 Speaking Activities
Listen to and make short notes based on the following lecture of how to conduct a Speaking lesson. Class, we are going to look at the General outline of a speaking lesson. Speaking lessons can follow the usual pattern of preparation, presentation, practice, evaluation, and extension. The teacher can use the preparation step to establish a context for the speaking task (where, when, why, and with whom it will occur) and to initiate awareness of the speaking skill to be targeted (asking for clarification, stressing key words, using reduced forms of words). In presentation, the teacher can provide learners with a preproduction model that furthers learner comprehension and helps them become more attentive observers of language use. Practice involves learners in reproducing the targeted structure, usually in a controlled or highly supported manner. Evaluation involves directing attention to the skill being practised and asking learners to monitor and assess their own progress.

Finally, Production consists of activities that ask learners to use the strategy or skill in a different context or authentic communicative situation, or to integrate use of the new skill or strategy with previously acquired ones. I hope you were able to take note of the various stages in a Speaking lesson. (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997; Carter & McCarthy, 1995).

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Task 1- Pair-work Get a partner and compare the short notes that you have taken. Then form groups of four and discuss the stages in a Speaking lesson.

Task 2 With the help of a mind-map, present your notes to the class in the form of mini-lectures.

Exercise 1
Your class is organizing a project for the following semester holidays. The following are some of the suggestions made by the members of the class for the project:

1. Organise an educational trip to an Orang Asli settlement in Cameron Highlands. 2. Participate in a foster family programme with a group of FELDA settlers in Jengka. 3. Go on a study trip to Borobudur in Indonesia 4. Conduct free tuition classes for the underprivileged school children near your campus. Think of various ways of agreeing and disagreeing with each of the suggestions above. List them. Support your opinion appropriately.

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

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6.0 Oral Presentations For a successful presentation remember the following mnemonic P A P E R S Projection Articulation Pronunciation Enunciation Repetition Speed

Attributes of Good Communicators

Take turns to talk Speak quietly Choose your words carefully, use appropriate language Think before you speak Show respect for each other Negotiate try to reach an agreement Use Standard English Say what you think Vary your expression to interest your audience Support and include everyone in the group Explain your ideas and opinions clearly and fully

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Task 3 Read the information on Successful Presentation above and on Attributes of Good Communicators. Get the course participants to respond to the topics by giving their opinions in one-minute speech.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

7.0 Connecting Ideas Very often connectors are used to link ideas in a conversation or description of a process or procedure. Connectors are words or phrases that we use to connect more than one ideas. There are two types of connectors:
7.1

Logical connectors

are used to combine words and sentences in logical manners Examples:

7.2 Sequence connectors

are used to connect words and sentences which follow sequence of events and actions. Examples:
Sequence connectors Firstly, secondly.. next, then, after, later Uses To show events happen orderly Examples When I reach my office, first, I have my coffee. Then, I enter my class to teach. Finally, I go home at 1pm.

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Exercise 1 Put each group of sentences in order. Use the expression first, next, then and finally, one for each sentence. a. He recovered. b. John got a cold and flu. c. He called the doctor. d. John played football in the rain e. It was a wet and cold evening. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Exercise 2

a. The tea is now ready to be served b. Boil water. c. Pour hot water into the teapot. d. Prepare tea sachets and a teapot. e. You may add sugar and milk

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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WAJ3103 English Language Proficiency 11 Exercise 3 Fill in the dialogue with appropriate phrases. Then you may role play the dialogue to practise speaking. Situation 1 : The waiter doesnt have what the customer wants. You : Could I have fried noodles, please?

Waiter : _________________________________________ You : Well, could I have a mushroom omelette?

Waiter : ____________________________________________ You : Oh, it doesnt matter then. Ill just have a cup of coffee, please.

Situation 2 : Rahim arrives home. Hasnah : Did you remember to buy me some _________________? Rahim : Oh ________________ I completely forgot.

Hasnah : Well, I hope you remembered to post my letters. Rahim : Hasnah : Rahim : What letters? The ones I gave you this morning. Oh ______________They are still at the office.

Situation 3 : Kikin has just won an essay competition. Kikin : Papa, Ive won the essay competition! Papa : ____________________ You made it! Kikin : ____________ Papa, for your support and guidance. Papa : Oh well, I know you are good like your papa. Kikin : Oh yes, like they say, like father like daughter. DON T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK. SPEAK UP AND BE HEARD!!! 37