View Content #28791

by Aissa Canteras, CASLS Graduate Intern

This activity was designed for learners of all levels. It was created to help learners explore different types of sources to use for building contextual awareness before listening in the target language.

Learning outcomes:
Learners will be able to:

• Identify two situations where listening in the target language can take place
• Find three types of sources to build contextual awareness before listening
• Describe the strengths of one type of source, and explain why it is useful for building context for the listening task
• Compare any difference in listening comprehension for a non-researched listening text versus a researched one

Mode(s): Interpretive

Materials: Research a Topic Before Listening video, 2 podcasts in the target language, speaker, white board and marker, laptop/tablet/phone with internet connection

Example podcasts in English:
KidNuz https://www.kidnuz.org/podcast/episode/1cd0a15a/02162022
0:00-1:08 Rams Parade, 1:09-2:10 Rogue Wave, 2:11-2:59 No Podium

Procedure:

1. Show learners the Research a Topic Before Listening video.
2. As a group, have learners identify two situations where listening to the target language can take place, as shown in the video (eg. listening to a news report, watching a sitcom). Then, have them name three types of sources named in the video which can be used for building contextual awareness before listening (eg. news articles, television show summary, Google Image Search).
3. Have learners think of other situations where listening to the target language can take place and identify different types of sources that can be used for building contextual awareness given the situation.
4. Select a podcast that aligns with your curricular goals. For example, if you are teaching Intensive English, you may select a podcast about current events. Select a podcast that is a little above the learners’ proficiency level. Ideally, the topic should not be familiar to the learners.
5. Have learners listen to a short clip from your selected podcast.
6. After listening to the podcast, have learners rate how well they think they understood the podcast by using the Fist to Five scale - hold up a closed fist for no understanding, one finger for very little understanding, and a range up to five fingers for complete understanding.
7. Inform learners that they will now listen to a clip from another podcast. This time, they will gather information about the topic before listening.
8. Provide the title of the podcast or a one sentence summary of what the podcast is about.
9. Have learners share possible types of sources they can use to learn about the topic that will be discussed in the second podcast. List down all the types of sources on the board or a shared digital document, so all can see.
10. Pick three types of sources from the list which are currently accessible to the learners.
11. In groups of two to three, have learners gather information using the three types of sources. Have them write a list of what they noticed in those sources.
12. Have the learners listen to the second podcast.
13. After listening to the podcast, have learners rate how well they understood the podcast by using the Fist to Five scale.
14. As a group, have learners compare their experiences while listening to the two podcasts. Which podcast was easier for them to understand? Why? Were they able to understand more after researching the topic of the second podcast?
15. Finally, have the learners choose one of the sources they used and describe why it was useful for building contextual awareness for the second podcast.

Notes:

• Modifications (proficiency level) - Choose the length of the clip based on learner proficiency level. Lower level learners may be able to pay attention for 1-2 minutes, while higher level learners can challenge themselves with 5-6 minutes.