1.

) Discuss why listening has been called “the neglected skill: of language
teaching.

Listening for of great importance to both learning in general and second language
learning in particular. Listening is important because the ability to understand what
others say is essential to communicative interaction. Listening is the most
frequently used language activity because the average adult spends approximately
three times as much time listening as reading. In spite of the importance of
listening, this skill is considered one of the most neglected skills. Listening has
been often called the "step-child of language learning. Listening is a complex
process in which many things happen simultanously inside the mind. Besides being
complex, listening is far more difficult than many people can imagine.

2.) Discuss the difference between interactional language use and

transactional language use. Give examples from your personal
experience.
Interactional language is the language we use to build and maintain relationships. It
can be compared to transactional language, which normally carries a message and
is the language used to get things done.
Example
Learners in a multi-lingual group chatting together before a class begins are using
interactional language.
Example
Learners in exams are often required to write a transactional letter, which has a
clear objective, e.g. asking for a refund or for information, or making a complaint.

3.) Review the three principles of materials development discussed. Give

examples of ways they can be implemented in listening lessons.
* Prioritise the potential for engagement by, for example, basing a unit on a text or
a task which is likely to achieve affective and cognitive engagement rather than on
a teaching point selected from a syllabus.
*Make use of activities which get the learners to think about what they are reading
or listening to and to respond to it personally.
* Make use of activities which get learners to think and feel before during and after
using the target language for communication.
-I use a text-driven approach in which the starting point for developing each unit is
a potentially engaging spoken or written text. I first of all devise readiness
activities which help the learners to activate their minds prior to experiencing the
text, I give the learners an holistic focus to think about when experiencing the text
and I invite them to articulate their personal responses to the text before going on
to use it to stimulate their own language production