LESSON PLANNING

A LESSON PLAN ON LISTENING SKILLS

Level:

To teach Secondary level students approximately 2 hrs of English per week.

Topic:

Listening skills especially Global Listening.

Aims:

The main objectives of this lesson plan are:

To develop the global listening abilities of the students,

To teach them a few basic listening strategies,
To remove the flaws the students might be facing in global

listening, and
To expose them to a number of different listening situations through
activities.

Time:

40 minutes approximately.

Aids:

Charts, laptop with speakers, audio recordings, handouts, video clips, white board.

Anticipated Problems: students might be confused about how to carry on with global
listening or the listening for gist and how to differentiate it from the other types of listening.
However, the other main types of listening will be the focus of our next lesson, and the students
mistakes related to these topics will not be corrected by us at present.

Procedure:

The overall procedure of the lesson is constituted by four major Ps, each of

which has its own purpose during the lesson. They will be discussed in the following discourse.

Preparation or Warm up:

Paste the charts on the whiteboard and write down the topic of our lesson.
Ask a few questions from the students in order to stir their prior schema related to
listening.
Ask them the difference between listening and hearing.

 Narrate some event or story and check how many students are able to grasp
whatever we are saying, and how many of them can reproduce it.
Check how many students are having difficulty in listening.
At last, see if the students are capable of listening specifically for gist i.e. global
listening.

Presentation:
Listening as a skill may be extremely similar to reading, but the text the listener has to
deal with is considerably different from the written one. Most obviously, the listener
cannot look at what he is trying to hear. Whereas the written word stays on the page and
can be looked at more than once, the spoken word, unless recorded on tape or record
cannot be repeated. Of course in a conversation it is possible to ask someone to say
something again, but the fact remains that while a reader can look back at something as
many times as he wants, the listener cannot.
Lets have a look at the following example to understand the concept:
I wonderI mean I was wonderingif you might possiblyif you would like to come to
dinner.
The message is an invitation to dinner, and much of what was said did not help to
communicate that message (although it communicated nervousness) and was therefore
unnecessary. The listener has to work out what is necessary and what is unnecessary in a
case like this. In other words he has to discard the redundant parts of what is said and
only listen to the main message. This is a particular listening skill.
One of our tasks when teaching listening will be to train students to understand what is
being said in confusing conversations; to get them to discard redundancy, hesitation,
ungrammaticality and speakers changing their minds halfway through the sentence. After
all, they can do it in their own languages, so it seems reasonable to suppose that we can
train them to do it in English although clearly in acceptable stages; we would probably
not give the beginner the sort of conversation we have just looked at on his first day of
class.
The main purpose of teaching listening is to enable the students to understand spoken
English better. The word understand can have several meanings. The different activities
and material that help students with aspects of understanding can be:
Hearing all the words a speaker says.
Understanding the plain sense of the formation a speaker is giving.
Deducing the meaning of unknown words and phrases by using the context.
Understanding what is implied but not stated in so many words.

 Recognizing a speakers mood or attitude.

Recognizing the degree of formality with which the speaker is talking.
Etc.
Global Listening:
When the students listen to something and try to understand it in a more general way, it is
known as Global Listening or the listening for gist.
In our classrooms, this often involves tasks such as identifying the main idea, noting a
sequence of events and the like. It could involve very general questions like Whats the
main topic? or if more task support is needed, giving the learners a few choices (friends,
sports, the weather) and having them choose the main topic.
Global listening occurs when we simply want to get the main point of what we are
listening to. We might only want to know the topic of a conversation, radio or TV
programme, or we might be vaguely following it at the same time as doing other things
like driving or cooking. Native speakers do this type of listening frequently and
automatically because they need pay little attention to get the general idea. Learners of a
language may find it more difficult. They may feel the need to understand every word,
and give up completely if they dont, and they may be disturbed by distractions such as
noise and poor sound quality, which are not generally a problem for native speakers.
In this type of listening, the listener is usually required to have developed the first and
foremost level of listening which includes the following components:
Sound Recognition: Obviously a student will be unable to make any sense at all of
what he hears if he cannot recognize the distinctive sounds.
Recognizing and identifying the different intonation patterns.
Many listening comprehension passages especially the longer ones to be found in
published course material, are suitable for other types of work, too, e.g. structure practice.
In cases like this, many of the techniques for presentation and practice on reading
comprehension can be adopted to listening, so if a text is too long, it can be divided up
and global pre-questions can be set, followed by more specific post-questions.
Suggestions to improve listening input:
Global listening should be short (one to three minutes of duration).
*Teachers monologues are most effective at this level if they are delivered in a

simplified code.
Try to add new material gradually.

Global listening exercises delivered to large classes, offers an option to use the

class time wisely.

Selective listening exercises focused on structures or sounds are easy to prepare.
Listening discrimination tasks can focus on tenses, word order, or new

vocabulary.
Techniques for Global Listening:
Presentation of new material. Since global listening is the presentation of new
material. Until students are skilled readers, it is the best to present new material

orally.
Texts should be short, and preceded by a pre-listening activity.
New vocabulary can be used in short, illustrative sentences before learners hear it

as part of the lesson.

The new text should be modeled at normal speed, but with pauses between natural

phrase groups.
Comprehension at the beginning stage is not depend on understanding every
word.

How to improve your global listening:

Remember, it isnt necessary to understand everything! Many words are not essential - you can
get the message without getting all the words. Often what is important is emphasized or
stressed, so try concentrating on that. You could try to predict or guess what the words you are
unsure of mean.

Prepare yourself before you start listening for something. Think about what you expect to
hear. Use the context or the situation, the intonation of the speaker and, if youre
watching a video, the expressions and body language of the people involved.

There are also clues in the language which help you predict whats coming:signals such as Theres one point Id like to make..........., Im afraid that............
(signals

something

negative

will

follow)

connectors

such

as

Although...........,

On

the

one

hand............,

sequencers such as Firstly.............., Next...............

Check the level of difficulty of the listening text.
The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a listening text for a
particular purpose and a particular group of students.
How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform to
familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order,
which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious
organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow.
How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background
knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties.
Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may find short,
simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency benefit from the natural
redundancy of the language.
Does the text involve multiple individuals and objects? Are they clearly differentiated? It is easier
to understand a text with a doctor and a patient than one with two doctors, and it is even easier if
they are of the opposite sex. In other words, the more marked the differences, the easier the
comprehension.
Does the text offer visual support to aid in the interpretation of what the listeners hear? Visual
aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images in a video help contextualize the listening
input and provide clues to meaning.
Use pre-listening activities to prepare students for what they are going to hear or view.
The activities chosen during pre-listening may serve as preparation for listening in several ways.
During pre-listening the teacher may

assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the text

provide students with the background knowledge necessary for their comprehension of
the listening passage or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess

clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage

make students aware of the type of text they will be listening to, the role they will play,
and the purpose(s) for which they will be listening

provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for background reading or
class discussion activities

Sample pre-listening activities:

looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs

reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures

reading something relevant

constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concepts or words showing how

they are related)

predicting the content of the listening text

going over the directions or instructions for the activity

doing guided practice

Match while-listening activities to the instructional goal, the listening purpose, and
students' proficiency level.
While-listening activities relate directly to the text, and students do them do during or
immediately after the time they are listening. Keep these points in mind when planning whilelistening activities:
If students are to complete a written task during or immediately after listening, allow them to
read through it before listening. Students need to devote all their attention to the listening task.

Be sure they understand the instructions for the written task before listening begins so that they
are not distracted by the need to figure out what to do.
Keep writing to a minimum during listening. Remember that the primary goal is comprehension,
not production. Having to write while listening may distract students from this primary goal. If a
written response is to be given after listening, the task can be more demanding.
Organize activities so that they guide listeners through the text. Combine global activities such as
getting the main idea, topic, and setting with selective listening activities that focus on details of
content and form.
Use questions to focus students' attention on the elements of the text crucial to comprehension of
the whole. Before the listening activity begins, have students review questions they will answer
orally or in writing after listening. Listening for the answers will help students recognize the
crucial parts of the message.
Use predicting to encourage students to monitor their comprehension as they listen. Do a
predicting activity before listening, and remind students to review what they are hearing to see if
it makes sense in the context of their prior knowledge and what they already know of the topic or
events of the passage.
Give immediate feedback whenever possible. Encourage students to examine how or why their
responses were incorrect.

Sample while-listening activities:

listening with visuals

filling in graphs and charts

following a route on a map

checking off items in a list

listening for the gist

searching for specific clues to meaning

completing cloze (fill-in) exercises

distinguishing between formal and informal registers

Practice:
We need to give the students a lot of practice in order to help them develop their listening
abilities. For this purpose, there are usually three different types of activities used by the
teachers. They can be controlled, guided or free. All the three types of activities along with their
examples are given below. These activities are used in the classroom to give ample practice to
our students.

Controlled Activities:
Controlled activities are those where clear and complete directions are given to the students
according to which they give their answers or do the activity. This helps to develop specific

abilities in them. The controlled activities are usually given to the beginner level students as they
are less experienced and need full instructions. Some controlled listening activities are given
below which will help students to develop their global listening skills.
1. Describing the appearance and recognizing the person in the picture: a recorded tape is
listened by the students which tells the overall appearance of the two people in the
pictures given to them, and after that they are required to recognize the respected person.
The first person is wearing a coat, spectacles, and has an umbrella in one hand while a
suitcase in the other. There can be seen a white overall slung over one arm. The person is also
clean-shaven with a moustache. Is the person:
A) A doctor B) A driver C) A Pilot
The second person is sitting on a chair and table, and is writing some stuff. The person is quite
serious looking with big spectacles. Is the person:
A) A Nurse B) A housewife C) A school principal

2. A picture diagram is given to the students and at the same time they are made to listen to
a tape recording about the different parts of the human mouth and esophagus.

The humans eat food through their mouths. The food enters the mouth where it is chewed by
the teeth and broken down into small pieces with the help of the tongue as well. Then it is
sent down to the esophagus by passing through the pharynx, the glottis closes down so as to
close the opening into the trachea and stop the food from entering into the wind pipe.
Label the different parts of the diagram given to you after listening to the recorded material.

3. The third activity is about a story told to the students through a recorded tape. It is about
a certain group of people living in a certain area of the United States. After listening to

that story, the students are asked to answer a few questions regarding the recorded
material they listened to.
A) What country do these people belong to?
B) What is the man sitting by the pond doing?
C) What type of life is shown in the story, Rural or Urban?
D) What time of the day is reflected through the activities of the people in the story?

Guided Activities:
The next category is that of the guided activities. They are used for a little higher level of
students as in these activities the students are given partial outlines or incomplete frameworks
which they are required to complete. In some cases, they might be asked to develop similar
stories or events in their writing or speech as they are made to hear. Lets see a few examples of
the guided activities that can be used in the classroom for listening:
1. The first activity concerns the tale of a family tree. The students listen to a story told by
the teacher about a family. A related picture is also given to them. After that they are
required to follow some instructions.
Mr. and Mrs. Ahmed are an old couple with quite a big family. They have three children of
their own among whom only two are married. However, the extension that is given to their
family population is due to the fact that one daughter among the second generation gave birth
to a lot of children.
Recognize and name the different people given in the family tree and add to it the next
generation of their family by listening twice to the recording.

2. The students listen to another recording. It is about two cars moving in the opposite
directions. From one car a person is coming out while a person is going in to the other
car.
Tell which car is likely to be started soon. Also create a story regarding both of the cars.
Where do you imagine the first car came from, and where is the second car going to?

3. The third activity concerns a narration listened by the students about a certain community
of people living in a very peaceful environment. But there is one thing that is about to
spoil their lives and it is air pollution spread by the smoke coming out of cars etc.
Create another story about what is likely to happen to these peoples lives after this.

Free Activities:
The free Activities are usually given to the high and advanced level students because of their
high level of experience. They can easily do these activities as it requires experience and
creativity. Some examples of free activities are given below that are given to students in the class
for practice of global listening.
1. The first activity concerns playing an audio clip for the students of Atif Aslams song
sung at the coke studio. It evokes different feelings and memories among th students
while they listen to it.
Now the students are asked to write something after listening to that song. They might be
asked to narrate any experience of theirs regarding the song that they have heard, or they
might be asked to write about their feelings.

2. The second activity is given to the students in the form of a story that is narrated to them
by the teacher. It can be related to any topic. The story may have a number of characters
involved in a number of activities.
In the end they are asked to create another story from the events that they have listened to in
the story narrated to them. they can pick any event of their own choice. They would also have
to give a title to their story of their own choice.

3. The third and last activity is that of a telephonic conversation listened to by the students.
The conversation between the two people on the phone can be about weather conditions
of their respected areas.
In the end, the students are asked to narrate or give an overall gist of whatever they Have
listened to in the recording. They might listen to it again if required.

Production and Evaluation:

Towards the end of the whole lesson, the teacher needs to evaluate the students about whatever
he/she has taught to the students. For example, we might ask them what we have taught during
the lecture. This can be done by asking them a few questions and listening to the answers that
they give attentively.
The teacher might encounter a few problems that are still faced by the students while listening to
their feedback. These problems can be corrected by the teacher at that time, or they might be left
for the next lectures if they are not relevant to the topic of that day.
Some activities at this stage are also advisable. For example, in order to evaluate our students for
global listening, we will ask them a few general questions regarding our topic.

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