Levels 3 and 4

Achievement Objectives

Oral language: Listening

	Students should:
LEVEL 3	listen to and interact with others to clarify understanding in a group or class discussion	Interpersonal Listening
LEVEL 4	listen to and interact with others to clarify understanding of narrative, information, ideas, and opinions, and to contribute to discussion, in one-to-one, small group, and class discussion
LEVEL 3	listen to texts and recall and respond to the main ideas in an organised way, relating them to personal and wider experience	Listening to Texts
LEVEL 4	listen to texts, identify the purposes, and recall and respond to the main ideas in a well structured, imaginative way
	In achieving the objectives of understanding and using oral language, students should:
LEVELS 3 AND 4	identify and discuss language features and their effects in a range of texts, and use these features in speaking and recording, adapting them to the topic, purpose, and audience	Exploring Language
LEVELS 3 AND 4	discuss and interpret spoken texts, considering relevant personal experiences and other points of view	Thinking Critically
LEVELS 3 AND 4	select, assemble, and interpret information, using appropriate technology	Processing Information

Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Examples

Example 1

Achievement Objectives
Listening to texts: processing information; thinking critically

Teaching and Learning
Context: studying a topical issue

Teacher and students locate and select information relating to the topic, including oral material from, for instance, radio.
Two teams develop a series of views on the topic, and record them on video or audio tape.
Students listen to the recordings and write down the main ideas from each team.
Students listen again to a replay of the recording and check their recall of the ideas and sequence.
The teams report back on the main ideas which they presented.
In small groups, students talk about and compare their personal responses to the ideas.

Assessment

Students assess the effectiveness of their own recall on first hearing, compared with the second.
Individual students assess their own accuracy of recall against the team's reporting back.
The teacher observes students' listening ability as they work in groups, and assesses their ability to compare their personal experiences with other points of view.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Writing, Viewing
Related examples in other strands at the same level: Reading, Example 1; Presenting, Example 2.

Example 2

Achievement Objectives
Interpersonal listening; listening to texts: thinking critically

Teaching and Learning
Context: a study of an event in New Zealand history

The class listens to or views a story or account of an event related to New Zealand history.
The teacher pauses at a significant point in the story.
The teacher and students map the story of events to date, including characters, sequence of events, and setting.
In small groups, students devise possible endings for the story which are consistent with the story so far.
Groups present their findings to the class.
The class decides on the most likely story-line, with reference to the story maps to judge consistency and validity.
The class listens to or views the author's original version.
Groups discuss the author's ending and their alternative endings and come to some conclusions about the differences between their own lives and the story's social and historical context.

Assessment

The teacher observes the discussion and notes the students' responses and critical thinking.

Links With Other Strands
Writing, Speaking, Viewing

Example 3

Achievement Objectives
Interpersonal listening; listening to texts: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: studying traditional stories

Students listen to and discuss stories from a particular genre, for example, fable, fairy-tale, or myth.
Students discuss the structure and features of the selected genre, and the teacher summarises the main features on a wall chart.
Students construct a group story to tell, in which each student contributes to the story-line in keeping with the selected structure and features.

Assessment

The teacher and students assess each student's ability to adhere to the story-line within the selected genre, to further develop the story by listening to others, and to explain their awareness of the language features of the genre.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Writing, Reading
Related examples in other strands at the same level: Reading, Example 1; Writing, Example 4.

Example 4

Achievement Objectives
Listening to texts: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: comparing different kinds of language in use

Students and teachers work together to collect spoken language samples linked to a chosen sport. Examples could include a taped talk by a coach, a radio commentary, an instructional video, or an advertisement.
Students listen to and discuss ways in which oral language varies in different contexts, identifying words and phrases which are formal or informal, and ways in which tone of voice and pace vary according to topic, purpose, and audience.
Students work in small groups to prepare a presentation, simulating one of the text types discussed.

Assessment

Students evaluate their group's simulation for credibility and understanding of the language features.
The teacher observes and records the students' accuracy in recognising and comparing language uses.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Viewing, Presenting