Levels 5 and 6

Achievement Objectives

Oral language: Listening

Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Examples

Example 1

Achievement Objectives
Interpersonal listening; listening to texts: processing information

Teaching and Learning
Context: a study of a topical issue, such as health

• The teacher and students devise and discuss strategies for note making which they could use while listening to an oral text.
  
• Students practise note making from a recorded radio or television speech related to a health issue or topic.
  
• In pairs, students compare note-making techniques and then draft instructions for note making.
  
• Students listen to an invited guest with expertise on the subject and make notes on the key points and supporting ideas, and the speaker's purpose, attitude, and ways of sequencing ideas for effect.
  
• Students work in groups to develop an oral report which outlines the speech and provides an assessment of the speaker's intentions.

Assessment

• Students discuss which strategies for making notes while listening were successful or unsuccessful.
  
• The teacher assesses students' contributions to their group's oral reports for their ability to identify key points, supporting ideas, and the speaker's viewpoint, and for their selection of material and interpretation of the speech.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Writing

Example 2

Achievement Objectives
Interpersonal listening: exploring language; processing information

Teaching and Learning
Context: learning about community meetings

• Students brainstorm a number of contexts in which they might find knowledge of meeting procedures useful. They check the list with other family members or friends and add to it if necessary.
  
• Students attend part of a formal meeting in the school or community and note aspects of formal procedure.
  
• In groups, students compare notes and prepare a brief report on:
  
  • the procedures they have observed and what their purpose might be;
  • participation strategies and how they affect the meeting, such as referring to parts of a previous speaker's argument in order to agree or disagree with it, thus adding constructively to the discussion;
    
  • the role of the chairperson.
    
• Groups share their reports, with input from the teacher.
  
• A class meeting is planned, on a real topic of concern, with the aim of reaching a consensus about the action that might be taken.
• Students prepare for the meeting by gathering information from local news sources, including radio, television, or newspapers, and having small-group discussions on the topic to clarify their points of view.
  
• Roles are assigned, and the meeting is held.

Assessment

• The teacher observes and notes individual contributions in terms of listening skills which are appropriate to the context.
  
• Students assess their own contribution to the meeting, and the kinds of listening which they found appropriate and useful.
  
• In groups, students assess what they have learned about effective questioning and ways of sustaining productive discussion.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Writing

Example 3

Achievement Objectives
Listening to texts: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: a study of the differences between spoken and written language

• Students listen to a recorded speech. They note the language features which helped them to identify major ideas, and compare notes in pairs.
  
• In groups, students make a list of the verbal and non-verbal features which contributed to their understanding, such as emphasis, intonation, pace, and pitch.
  
• Students read a selection of written texts which present a point of view, and choose one. They identify main and supporting ideas and consider how best these could be conveyed in speech.
  
• Individually, in pairs, or in small groups, students record their selected text, adapting it as required.

Assessment

• In larger groups, students listen to and discuss each other's recordings, and assess them for effective use of language features to clarify the meaning.
  
• The teacher records significant points in student profiles.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Reading

Example 4

Achievement Objectives
Listening to texts: thinking critically; exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: exploring a topic or theme often treated in literature, for example, emigration

• Students listen to readings of two contrasting texts on the topic and make notes on the main ideas and implications.
  
• In groups, students discuss their responses to the texts, discussing the relevance of the views expressed and evaluating the ways in which the views are conveyed.
  
• The whole class listens to a documentary or current affairs programme about the same or a similar issue. In groups, students compare the programme with the previous texts in terms of attitudes and beliefs, justifying their points by identifying verbal and non-verbal features which carry explicit and implied messages.
  
• Students role-play an interview on the topic, modelling their ideas on any of the texts used, and discuss with the class how the views were conveyed.
  
• Other students form a studio audience for the interview, adopting appropriate roles.

Assessment

• Students and the teacher assess the clarity and effectiveness of the views expressed in the role play.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Writing