View Content #28797

By Aissa Canteras, CASLS Graduate Intern

This activity was designed for learners of all proficiency levels, but is particularly beneficial for Novice to Intermediate learners. In this activity, learners will practice the strategy of documenting everything they understand while listening, and will use the information they document to draw conclusions about what they hear.

Learning outcomes:
Learners will be able to:

• Identify two ways to document an audio text in the target language
• Identify two strategies to use while documenting audio texts in the target language
• Document an audio text in the target language by writing notes and drawing images
• Analyze notes from an audio text, infer missing details, and draw conclusions about what they hear
• Evaluate the utility of documentation when listening to the target language

Mode(s): Interpretive

Materials: During Listening: Document Everything You Understand Video, 30 to 60-second audio text in target language, listening device for the audio text, pen and paper

Sample audio text in English:
Me or We? Cultural Difference Between East and West (0:00-1:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78haKZhEqcg

Procedure:

1. Show learners the During Listening: Document Everything You Understand Video.
2. As a group, have learners identify two ways to document an audio text (eg. writing notes and drawing images) and two strategies to use while documenting audio texts (eg. pausing the text and listening to the text a few times). Write it on the board or a shared digital document, so all can see.
3. Provide learners with a 30 to 60-second audio text that aligns with curricular goals. For example, if delivering a unit on target language culture, educators might select an audio text of a lecture or talk related to gender roles, body language, politeness norms, etc.
4. Before listening, give the title of the audio text or a brief description of what the text is all about. Then, using the Fist to Five scale, with zero being not confident at all and five being extremely confident, ask learners how confident they are whether they are going to understand the audio text or not.
5. While listening, have learners document the words they understand by writing down notes or drawing images. While documenting, have them leave blanks for parts they do not understand. Play the audio more than once, as needed.
6. In pairs or small groups, have learners share what they have written. Then, have them rewrite the text and brainstorm possible words to complete the text. Encourage learners to focus on understanding the meaning of the audio rather than producing a word for word transcript.
7. Have one representative from each group share their completed text.
8. Have learners listen to the audio text and compare their written version to the original. They can write notes about the differences between the two, and add any additional information they now understand.
9. Have learners rate their comprehension of the text again using the Fist to Five scale. First, ask them to rate how close the meaning of their written version, after the group revision process, is to the original. Note: they should make this rating based on the accuracy of the overall meaning of what they have written, not on whether their version is accurate word for word.
10. Then, ask them to rate whether the documenting process helped them understand more about the audio text using the Fist to Five scale, with zero being not helpful at all and five being very helpful.
11. As a group, have learners reflect on the documentations strategies they used while listening to the text. Which strategies did they use? What was helpful about using these strategies and why?

Notes:

• Choose the length of the audio text based on learner proficiency level. Lower level learners may be able to pay attention for 30 to 60 seconds, while higher level learners may be able to listen to longer texts.