Task 1:

The following is a transcript of a short telephone conversation

from the recording accompanying a contemporary coursebook.
Although it has been specially recorded for students of English,
it sounds reasonably authentic, i.e. it sounds spontaneous
rather than scripted: the people are speaking at normal speed
and are not making unnatural efforts to enunciate or
exaggerate stress and intonation.

Receptionist: Sayers Recruitment and Training. Can I help

you?
RuBY: Hello, yes. erm, I m, er, I saw your advert and I’m looking
for a job, I mean, I’m interested in a new job, and ...
Receptionist: Ah, yes, you need to speak to Mrs Sayers,
but I’m afraid she’s not in the office right now. Could I take
your name and number, and I’ll ask her to call you back?
RuBY: Er, yes, yes. The name’s Ruby, Ruby Tuesday and my
number is 0308 557 1919.
Receptionist: Thank you, Miss Tuesday. I’II pass on your
message.
RuBY: Thanks. Bye.
Receptionist: Goodbye.

from Straightforward Pre-Intermediate

Here is the opening of a lesson procedure using this material
intended to help improve students’ listening skills:
- Say to students: 'Listen to this.'
- Play recording once.
- When finished, quickly ask individual students the
following questions:

1. Who does Ruby want to speak to?

2. What had Ruby seen?
3. What’s the full name of the company?
4. What words did the receptionist use to explain that
she/he would tell the other person?

 How do you feel about this listening task?

 How would you feel if you were the students? (Remember
it’s designed for pre-intermediate)
 Do you think it is satisfactory listening task?
Commentary■

While I was listening, I knew that some comprehension questions

were going to come at the end, but I never knew what the
questions might be or who would be asked to answer them. The
questions, anyway, seemed pointless; they were not necessarily
what I would listen for if I heard the conversation in real life; it
was as if the teacher was focusing me on the difficulties rather
than showing me that it was possible to achieve a lot despite the
difficulties. The questions seemed more of a memory test than
anything else. When the recording was played, I struggled to
listen to everything, and to remember all I heard, and in
consequence actually remembered very little.
Task 2: Using a printed text with listening tasks
Here is a second version of the same lesson plan:
- Hand out a copy of the text of the conversation to all
students.
- Play recording.
- When finished, ask individual students the following
questions:

What does Ruby want to do?

How does the receptionist help her?’

There still seems to be another problem with this. What is it?

Commentary■

But the problem now is that the students don’t actually need to
listen at all. Giving out the text turns it into a reading exercise.
Reading is usually easier for most students than deciphering the
stream of speech, and most students will probably work out the
answers from the printed page rather than by listening.

If I sum up my feelings about Tasks 1 and 2, I get a checklist like

this:
- The activity must really demand listening.
- It mustn’t be simply a memory test.
- Tasks should be realistic or useful in some way.
 - The activity must actively help them to improve their
listening.
- It shouldn’t be threatening.
- Help students work around difficulties to achieve specific
results.

One way to achieve these goals is simple enough. By giving

students the questions before the recording is played (rather
than after), you will give them the opportunity to listen with a
clear aim in mind. By doing so, you turn the exercise from a
memory test into a listening task.
Task 3: Redesigning the listening procedure
Look again at the lesson procedures and the comments in
the previous tasks. Redesign it to make listening more
effectively.
Task 10s: 0rdering stages in a listening lesson
The recording is a conversation between two people in a bus
station. At one point, we hear the announcer list the buses
about to depart. The lesson plan is out of order; put the
items back into their original order: (a, b and i are
interchangeable)

a. Play recording; students then compare answers in pairs;

tell me their answer. If correct, continue; if not, play
recording again, etc.
b. Play recording; students then compare answers in pairs;
tell me their answer. If correct, continue; if not, play
recording again, etc.
c. Show picture of bus station. ‘Where do you think this is?’
‘What’s happening?’etc.
d. Lead into a communicative activity based around the topic
of travel problems.
e. Set task: ’How many people are speaking?’ ‘Where are
they?’
f. Introduce topic: long-distance buses; discuss a little:
’Anyone been on one in England or the United States, or
your hometown?’
g. Set task: Here is your bus ticket’ (different destinations for
different students). ’Which bus number must you catch?’
h. Set task: ‘Why is the old lady worried?’ ’What suggestion
would you make?’ (The task requires listening to and
interpreting a longish section of the recording.)
i. Play recording; students then compare answers in pairs
and give their answer. If correct, continue; if not, play
recording again, etc.