Supplementing Materials for Listening Activity

 Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Listen to the audio. Think about how you could use it as a listening activity in your class. Then read the text. 

Realia and Authentic Materials in the Classroom

In addition to the textbook, you can bring in realia and authentic materials to practice listening. The weather report you just listened to is a good example of a kind of authentic material for listening. You can find recordings of weather reports easily on the Internet. You can also record one from the radio or TV. Provide students with a weather map from a newspaper or a map without symbols. Then you can have them listen and draw the correct symbols in the correct locations as they listen. 

Some realia and authentic materials may have important but unfamiliar vocabulary. You can put these words on the board with definitions or drawings to help students understand the material. If there are too many new words in an authentic listening, it is probably best not to use it.

[17/05, 00:39] Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Read the text. Refer to screens 4-9as you read.

Expanding Textbook Activities

It is easy to supplement the textbook with activities that give your students added practice. The following are a few ideas. Refer to screens 4-9 (from Topic 1) as you read.

Dialogs For listen-and-repeat conversations, as in Activity 1 on  screen 4, lead students in choral repetition. Divide the class in half. One side repeats Speaker A’s lines. The other half repeats Speaker B’s lines. Then they can practice in pairs.

Retelling/rewriting Have students retell or rewrite a story from their textbook. They can do it from memory, or use a graphic organizer such as the one in Activity 8 on screen 8.

Manipulatives In Activity 5 on screen 6, students put details in order. One way to supplement this kind of activity is to use manipulatives, such as sentence strips. You can photocopy the audioscript, or type out sentences. Then cut the script into strips with one line of dialogue per strip. Mix up the strips. Students can work in pairs or groups to reorder the strips.

Critical thinking Add challenge by asking students to make inferences or think critically. For example, in Activity 6 on screen 6, ask: What is an advantage of the winter “sleep”? What is a disadvantage? Thinking critically about the ideas can help students understand and remember more. In the weather report example, you could provide students with a list of words to help them develop an emergency plan for bad weather.

[17/05, 00:40] Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Read the text. When you are finished, click Submit.

More Techniques and Activities to Improve Listening Skills

There are a variety of techniques to practice listening skills in and outside of the classroom.

Listen and draw Students can work in pairs to listen to one another and complete a task. For example, have students draw people that their partner describes (including details about clothing, hair length, glasses, height, and more). Or one partner can describe the location of furniture in a room or buildings on a street as the other listens and draws on picture or map.

Songs Bring in age-appropriate recordings of songs. Provide students with cloze worksheets so they can listen and fill in the blanks. Then have students sing along. Also, there are many music videos with lyrics (in karaoke format) on the Internet. Students can listen and read once and then listen again and sing along. 

Games Divide students into two groups and have them listen to different parts of a story. Then put them together in pairs to tell each other the parts of the story, to answer comprehension questions, or to solve a riddle.

Go online There are many sites online with listening activities for EFL students. In a search engine, type something like EFL listening activities plus a topic. You can find videos that tell viewers how to do things such as tie a tie, bake a cake, or write a poem. Have students watch and write the down the steps. 

Extensive listening Remember that students often enjoy doing extensive listening outside the classroom. Suggest they keep a listening log about their listening. They can include one or two things that they liked (or did not like) about the songs, podcasts, audio books, movies, or television shows they listened to. They can recommend extensive listening texts or activities to their classmates.

[17/05, 00:40] Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Listen to the audio. Think about how you could use it as a listening activity in your class. Then read the text. 

00:00

00:37

Realia and Authentic Materials in the Classroom

In addition to the textbook, you can bring in realia and authentic materials to practice listening. The weather report you just listened to is a good example of a kind of authentic material for listening. You can find recordings of weather reports easily on the Internet. You can also record one from the radio or TV. Provide students with a weather map from a newspaper or a map without symbols. Then you can have them listen and draw the correct symbols in the correct locations as they listen. 

Some realia and authentic materials may have important but unfamiliar vocabulary. You can put these words on the board with definitions or drawings to help students understand the material. If there are too many new words in an authentic listening, it is probably best not to use it.

[17/05, 00:41] Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Read the text. Refer to screens 4-9as you read.

Expanding Textbook Activities

It is easy to supplement the textbook with activities that give your students added practice. The following are a few ideas. Refer to screens 4-9 (from Topic 1) as you read.

Dialogs For listen-and-repeat conversations, as in Activity 1 on  screen 4, lead students in choral repetition. Divide the class in half. One side repeats Speaker A’s lines. The other half repeats Speaker B’s lines. Then they can practice in pairs.

Retelling/rewriting Have students retell or rewrite a story from their textbook. They can do it from memory, or use a graphic organizer such as the one in Activity 8 on screen 8.

Manipulatives In Activity 5 on screen 6, students put details in order. One way to supplement this kind of activity is to use manipulatives, such as sentence strips. You can photocopy the audioscript, or type out sentences. Then cut the script into strips with one line of dialogue per strip. Mix up the strips. Students can work in pairs or groups to reorder the strips.

Critical thinking Add challenge by asking students to make inferences or think critically. For example, in Activity 6 on screen 6, ask: What is an advantage of the winter “sleep”? What is a disadvantage? Thinking critically about the ideas can help students understand and remember more. In the weather report example, you could provide students with a list of words to help them develop an emergency plan for bad weather.

[17/05, 00:41] Ms. Ema: Topic 2: Supplementing Materials

Read the text. When you are finished, click Submit.

More Techniques and Activities to Improve Listening Skills

There are a variety of techniques to practice listening skills in and outside of the classroom.

Listen and draw Students can work in pairs to listen to one another and complete a task. For example, have students draw people that their partner describes (including details about clothing, hair length, glasses, height, and more). Or one partner can describe the location of furniture in a room or buildings on a street as the other listens and draws on picture or map.

Songs Bring in age-appropriate recordings of songs. Provide students with cloze worksheets so they can listen and fill in the blanks. Then have students sing along. Also, there are many music videos with lyrics (in karaoke format) on the Internet. Students can listen and read once and then listen again and sing along. 

Games Divide students into two groups and have them listen to different parts of a story. Then put them together in pairs to tell each other the parts of the story, to answer comprehension questions, or to solve a riddle.

Go online There are many sites online with listening activities for EFL students. In a search engine, type something like EFL listening activities plus a topic. You can find videos that tell viewers how to do things such as tie a tie, bake a cake, or write a poem. Have students watch and write the down the steps. 

Extensive listening Remember that students often enjoy doing extensive listening outside the classroom. Suggest they keep a listening log about their listening. They can include one or two things that they liked (or did not like) about the songs, podcasts, audio books, movies, or television shows they listened to. They can recommend extensive listening texts or activities to their classmates.