LISTENING

KEY TERMS:
 Schemata = data structures, representing stereotypical patterns, which we retrieve from
memory and employ in our understanding of discourse
 Schematic knowledge = our knowledge of the world and how circumstances and situations
tend to develop, which allows us to build a mental representation of a given context; vital for
top-down processing
 Contextual knowledge = knowledge of the information from the context in which the
listening takes place
 Systematic knowledge = knowledge of the language systems (grammar, lexis, phonology,
and discourse) which we employ when de-coding a text; vital for bottom-up processing
 Bottom-up processing = decoding a text by focussing on sounds, building sounds into
words, then phrases, then clauses and so on, until the meaning of the whole text is
understood (e.g., raise your hand when you hear words with the sound /əʊ/)
 Top-down processing = using background knowledge, previous experiences and contextual
clues to understand the meaning of a listening text (e.g., predict which of these topics will
be covered in this TV documentary)
 Holistic approach = an approach to listening which advocates providing learners with lots of
opportunities for listening, and lots of practice in the skill, in the belief that practice makes
perfect; no development of sub-skills is encouraged
 Comprehension approach = a typical procedure for listening texts which follows this pattern:
generate interest -> pre-teach key vocabulary -> listen for gist -> listen for detail -> listen
again if needed -> move on to language focus, or another skills activity
 Systematic approach = a skills-based approach to listening, consisting of either teaching
the subskills of listening as part of a structured programme of micro-listening exercises or
determining how and why understanding breaks down, then providing remedial practice in
the processes involved; learners should recognise that much second-language listening is
dependent upon their ability to compensate for gaps in understanding
 Word boundaries; lexical items; lexical/syntactic clues

TYPES OF LISTENING:
- By genre (e.g., lecture, news, interview, etc.)
- By purpose
 Interactional (listening whose primary aim is to establish, maintain or build social
relationships; there is little real exchange of facts or information)
 Transactional (listening in which there is an overt exchange of facts or information, or
a clear goal or objective to the interaction)
 Instrumental (listening to a text with a clear aim, e.g., listening to an announcement
on the train to check what next stop is)
 Pleasurable (listening done purely for enjoyment)
 Extensive (listening to extended pieces of texts in order to practice listening skills in
general, or to acquire vocabulary, with no overt study or language aims)
 Intensive (listening to a text very attentively, usually to focus on language use in the
text)
- By style
 Interactive (listening in which the listener also speaks, such as two-way
conversation)
  Non-interactive (listening situations in which the listener has no opportunity to speak)

LEARNERS’ DIFFICULTIES:
- Lack of knowledge of the topic -> inability to summon the appropriate schemata
- Failure to exploit visual or environmental clues (face-to-face listening)
- Unrealistic expectations such as 100% comprehension
- Lack of concentration
- Unfamiliar language
- Lack of familiarity with phonological features
- Noise, volume, voice quality, speed or delivery

SKILLS VS STRATEGIES:
 Skills relate to the text itself and what you do in order to understand it
 Strategies relate to the listener and are efforts to compensate for uncertainties in
understanding, e.g., making inferences, realising where misunderstandings have occurred,
asking for clarification, etc.

READING

KEY TERMS:
 Texts = have a clear communicative purpose, are of recognisable types, are coherent and
appropriate to their context of use
 Skimming (aka reading for gist) = involves reading a complete text quickly in order to gain
an overview of the meaning of the whole piece (e.g., reading the back cover of a book to
see whether it appeals to us)
 Scanning (aka reading for detail) = requires reading a text in order to extract salient details
but not necessarily an overview of the whole text (e.g., looking for an item on a list)
 Intensive reading = focussing on shorter texts in a variety of ways (e.g., skimming,
scanning) for a variety of reasons (e.g., specific information, gist) in the classroom
 Extensive reading = reading longer texts outside of the classroom; SS can do it for a variety
of reasons (e.g., pleasure, relaxation, specific information), and they are encouraged to
make their own decisions about what they want to get out of the text
 Interactive reading = type of reading, where both top-down and bottom-up processing
occurs simultaneously
 Schematic knowledge = is a reader’s knowledge of the wider world and of different
situations, contexts and genres, and how these are likely to influence the development (and
language employed) in a text; vital for top-down processing
 Systematic knowledge = a learner’s knowledge of lexis and grammar which helps them
interpret a text; vital for bottom-up processing
 Bottom-up processing = approaching a text by focussing on words, building words into
phrases, then clauses and so on, until the meaning of the whole text is understood
  Top-down processing = using background knowledge, previous experiences and contextual
clues to understand the meaning of a written text (e.g., predict what you are going to read
about from looking at the title)
 Atomistic approach = views that reading can be broken down into discrete sub-skills which
can, and should, be developed separately
 Holistic approach = says that the skill cannot be fragmented; posited by Catherine Wallace
 Developing skills = requires the teacher to show the SS how to read better; it may involve
asking them to process a text in a particular way and then reflect on what they did and how
effective it was
 Testing skills = involves getting the SS to provide answers based on (say) comprehension
questions from the text in order to assess their proficiency in reading
 Skills = text-oriented; unconscious ways of dealing with text; abilities which operate without
the readers consciously thinking about them
 Strategies = reader-oriented; conscious ways that readers problem-solve when they read;
they also define the decisions SS make about what to take from the text

READING: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

1. Grammar Translation: SS’ language learning is based on texts which they read aloud or
silently; the work is first and foremost language-focussed, but also with a focus on meaning
2. Audio-lingual: reading is discouraged as SS are expected to learn by hearing and repeating
TL
3. CLT: first, SS are encouraged to silently and selectively read texts to get information; later,
reading is used both to raise language awareness and reinforce language passively and
actively
4. Today: reading is a skill with which SS are encouraged to be autonomous so the focus of
the classroom is on enabling SS to be more effective readers

IN ORDER TO DEVELOP YOUR SS AS EFFECTIVE READERS:

- Help them identify the characteristics of a good range of genres
- Activate their schemata when approaching a text
- Teach them to predict content (reduces the reader’s processing load)
- Help them form an idea of what they want from a text
- Teach them to move simultaneously between top-down processing of the content to
bottom-up processing of the language in the text as is necessary
- Help them decide what is important to focus on (usually unfamiliar information) and what is
not important (usually familiar information)
- Equip them with various reading strategies to be used autonomously
- Make sure they are proficient with a process (of silently reading real and meaningful text with
purpose, without teacher assistance but interacting with the text by using textual and non-textual clues to
understand it) in real life

WHAT AFFECTS SS’ READING ABILITY:

 Topic
(having even a limited knowledge of a topic gives readers expectations and allows them to
make predictions)
  Background
(another factor in the expecting, predicting, recognising and inferring chain of skills; we use
it to help us comprehend)
 Schemata
(we organise the experiences we have had into these mental structures; when we read,
they get activated and we use our experiences to enable us to interpret the text correctly)
 Language level
 Discourse
(understanding of connections between parts of the text above/beyond individual sentence
level; discourse features include:
o cohesive devices/discourse markers (the words that show relationships
between sentences
Ex: them, the, meanwhile
o sequences of sentences and paragraphs (indicate relationships between
information and ideas)
Ex: A storm blew up and the tanker sank vs The tanker sank and a storm blew
up – different sequence of events
o grammar)
 Being in class
(mostly has a negative effect: normal strategies and expectations get suspended, there are
distractions and tensions, etc.)
 Different writing conventions
(script and writing conventions including layout, paragraphing and punctuation can increase
student difficulty in understanding a text)

GOOD READING LESSON AIMS:

 To develop SS’ awareness of the importance of having a reason to read and developing
strategies for this
 To develop SS’ awareness of how to use peripheral information, e.g., layout, visuals, title,
typeface, text type / genre, location, etc. to get information about a text
 To enable SS to decide which new vocabulary they need to understand, and which they
can skip over, in order to better understand the text they are reading, with an eye to being
able to read similar texts more effectively in future
 To enable SS to read more quickly
 To enable SS to infer meaning of the text
 To develop SS’ awareness of pronoun reference and how it affects meaning; this then
enables SS to read similar texts more effectively in future
 To develop SS’ awareness of cohesive devices of contrast including [examples]; -||-
 To develop SS’ awareness of lexical cohesion and the role it plays in organising texts and
managing arguments; -||-
 To develop SS’ awareness of chunks of collocations in text; -||-
 To develop S recognition of fore-grounded information by looking at clause order in
sentences; -||-

TYPES OF READING TASKS:

- True/false
- Matching
 - Comprehension questions
- Sentence completion
- Ordering events
- Filling a graph
- Relating parts of text to pictures
- Linking a reading to a discussion or listening

EXTESIVE READING
The broader aim of the reading we do with SS in class is to enable them to function independently
and effectively outside of class, i.e., do extensive reading, reading longer texts without the
guidance of a teacher.
It’s important to provide SS with an opportunity to do extensive reading because it:
 encourages SS to read in a ‘non-school’ context
 gives SS exposure to lexis, structure, discourse, etc. in different and meaningful contexts
 is important that SS read longer texts, not only short ones
 provides an opportunity for more of a top-down focus, perhaps to balance the more typical
in-class bottom-up focus
 offers SS meaningful choices: reading what they are genuinely interested in, getting out of
the text what they want, etc.
 can help encourage learner independence
 increases the amount of time SS are exposed to English
 can be motivating for SS to complete a reading outside of class and provide a sense of
progress and achievement
 can be integrated into class work
Extensive reading materials could include novels, plays, poetry and subject texts that SS might be
interested in.
Extensive reading can be incorporated into class time in different ways: through doing a report
back task (presentation, poster, designing a cover, review, etc.) or writing on what SS have read.
The results of these activities can be shared on a school website or with other SS in the class. The
main aim here is that a follow-up task should not be perceived by SS as hard work or ‘testing’.
Alternatively, you can simply keep track of the number and/or titles of books SS read over a
semester/year or something like that.
Useful points about using a set book:
 stress is on ensuring reading remains enjoyable even though there is overt classroom focus
on the book
 choice of books is essential to ensure student interest
 choose a book at a level slightly lower, rather than higher, as student will not have the same
teacher support reading it and the experience should not be discouraging
 ensure the class finishes reading in good time; if it takes too long to get through the book,
SS will lose interest
 reading should be done out of class and reading aloud in class should be avoided
 exploit the book in class in interesting ways; try not to ask simply comprehension questions,
but get SS thinking about characters, relationships, giving their opinions and activities which
help SS see the book as a whole reading experience