Following are a number of listening skills, most of which not only benefit the ESL student but also the native speaker

1. Basics: Pay Attention

Even native speakers need help with this. Focus on the speaker. Look at him or her because facial expressions and body language can communicate as much as language. For instance, there will usually be more engagement with the listener in making eye contact and use of hand gestures if what the speaker is saying is of importance to him or her. In addition, it's easy to mistake what someone actually said if you are not focusing on him or her and are engaged in some other task, such as reading or texting.

2. Practice Active Listening

Ask the speaker to slow down or repeat when you don't understand or just want to be certain about what you heard. Repeat back what you think you heard him or her say, as there can often be a gap between what we thought we heard and what the speaker intended. This gap can be addressed by letting the speaker know what you heard: for example, “So what I'm hearing from you is that you would like quieter and fewer distractions after 9 p. m. so that you can study." This is called “active listening,” in which the listening portion of a conversation becomes as active as the speaking part in communicating a message, and not only helps the listener in understanding what the speaker is saying, but also can help the speaker in organizing his thoughts and clarify what he wants to communicate: e. g., the speaker may be spluttering something about the late hour and her test tomorrow, and may not consciously know what she is trying to ask for-or is too reticent - until the listener clarifies.

3. Pay Attention to Structure

In a formal lecture or speech, the speaker will usually let you know ahead of time the organization of the discourse: “Today we will discuss the two types of diabetes, Type One and Type Two, although as we will see, there is some overlap-” and then what will follow is a description of Types One and Two, with the overlap probably addressed at the end. These devices, called “discourse markers,” actually help the listener in organizing and understanding the lecture. Even in less formal conversation, speakers will often structure their discourse, especially if they want to make certain they are understood: “Okay, there are a few issues I need to raise with you…." With this informal marker of “there are a few-” and the use of the word “issues,” the speaker signals the importance of what follows. “A few,” it may be noted, is a vague expression, and what follows may be anywhere from two to five or six issues. The listener may clarify when the “issues" are covered by asking “Is there anything else? ” when the speaker pauses.

4. Listen for Key Words

What words does the speaker emphasize? Usually the speaker will let you know by stressing the main point: “Let's talk about the TIME we will meet tomorrow…." The stressed word “time" signals that the time of tomorrow's appointment is the main point, as does the marker “Let's talk about-”

In addition, certain words signal importance by themselves, such as “issues,” as seen above:

whatever follows “issues" is of importance. Other key words signaling importance are “concerns" and “points. ”

5. Key Phrases or Markers

In formal lectures the speaker usually also “marks” main points with key phrases: “The main point is…" or “On the other hand, some people take an opposing viewpoint…." But even in everyday conversation the speaker often uses less formal markers: for example, “I guess what I'm trying to say is-" is often used before a main point.

Teaching Principles of Listening

ь Make the learners listen to many sources of spoken language: the teacher, other learners, visitors, CDs and DVDs. It exposes learners to a range of accents, speeds of delivery and text types.

ь Help students listen to recordings by pre-teaching key words, setting pre-listening tasks, focusing on gist listening in order to establish context, playing a recording the second or even third time.

ь Listening texts in course book are authentic material, which allow learners to develop the strategies for dealing with the challenge of real language, while simplified texts allow them to build up their confidence.

ь Giving them tasks such as completing tables, true/false, ticking correct answers in a list, putting in a correct order, etc. develops skills of attention.

teach listening good

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