Searching for fun, authentic videos to show your ESL students? #3: Board Games for ESL Students. 3. Notice who gives something to someone else. Listen (and watch) again, with the same instructions as the first time, to make sure that every student enjoys success. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their listening comprehension skills will greatly improve. The ability to notice this can become a valuable skill for students. Sevik, M. Teaching Listening Skills to Young Learners through “Listen and Do” Songs. He stood, seemingly agitated, shifting from foot to foot. So I tried to make sure I was always facing the class when I spoke. Students often enjoy engaging with ESL apps, and there is a wide variety of apps with listening games for students that you can use to enhance the ESL listening comprehension for your students. There are tons of great choices there when you’re looking for songs for in-class activities. Get into your listening mode: Quiet the environment. Even more to the point, what is the difference between “hearing” and “listening”? Do not require perfect sen… They can be given set exercises or questions to help them focus, or they can simply relax and enjoy it, soaking up the language. She was proficient in lip-reading in her first language and she was learning to do the same in English. However, chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Students could be asked to work out the order that things happen. On the board or a worksheet, put the things they are looking for into chronological order as they appear: This could be in the form of English words or pictures. Remember: When you are introducing new words, translate only if absolutely necessary. Children need to be taught that listening involves eyes, ears, and the heart. If you are aiming to develop broader listening skills in learners, playing the recording twice, with one listening for general, gist-level questions, followed by another listening with more detailed questions, is effective. (Later you can add subtitles or a written script as well as literacy-related activities.). FluentU makes it easy to create productive ongoing listening activities by allowing your students to access the same high-quality material at home and in the classroom. We want to prepare our students to take part in conversations. It's frustrating for students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Active listening isn’t just a skill that your ESL students need. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Depending on your class setup, how long your lesson is, how old your students are and how long the video or story is, you could listen again immediately to reinforce all of your recent learning. While listening to people we are familiar with in a particular context, we can easily guess what they will say. Co … Discuss how (and why) they were correct (or not) in their pre-listening predictions and guesses. Field (2008) calls for a diagnostic approach to listen-ing, which allows teachers and students to attend to listening difficul-ties and practice strategies to diminish them. For a simple example: Instead of Goldilocks and the three bears, there could be three frogs, or Goldilocks could be a boy, etc. At this moment, you want to…. Another one of my favourite speaking activities for ESL students are board games. Bring English immersion to your classroom! can take anywhere. Speaking activities that involve students working in pairs or small groups are a good way to practice speaking English. So, most of the time, your students need to practice their “listening” skills by watching videos, or watching you talk or tell stories. For some students, this in itself can be a real confidence booster. Listening #2. 5. I was surprised to find that one of the students in my “Listening” class was deaf. Not to mention, it’s guaranteed to get your students excited about English! "I need a pencil," the slouching boy said quietly, as he looked right past me. 3. Again, you could tell a story and change some parts. They should also have some words they already know to listen for, to help them focus and improve the skill of listening. The best teachers listen carefully to their students and make their … When you don't look at me, I feel like you are mad. But, I want to tell you a better way to get one. Of the 'four skills,' listening is by far the most frequently used. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn't understand what is being said. It also gives your child a reference to develop his or her own listening habits. Teaching Language Skills. Small Groups Three-Step Interview Students interview classmates about their active listening skills and strategies to gain insight into others’ perspectives on listening and to practise active listening strategies. ESL Listening Lesson Plan Template. Students can encounter various difficulties in these different skills. Letter sounds scavenger hunt. Obviously, though, a situation like this raises all kinds of questions for language educators. It is one that you need, too. Now that they have noticed specific words, expression and characters, get them to widen their observation to see what is around. For example, if a student taps on the word “brought,” they’ll see this: Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like “fill in the blank.”. With every repeat, old information will be reinforced and new things will be learnt, too! The teacher is there to correct major errors and to guide students during the activity. Develop Listening Skills as a Part of the Curriculum. Let students listen and notice the differences. This ESL listening activity is a perfect option for younger learners and beginners. In general, there are better ways to handle running into new vocabulary while listening. It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Sometimes having an equivalent from their first language is the only way to move them forward, but quickly move on and don’t allow them to keep returning to it. All of this will help to review known vocabulary, and introduce some new vocabulary. In whole-class discussion, create an Active Listening T-chart. Even if they don't understand anything, five to ten minutes is a minor investment. Here is how you can do it: Step 1: Make Active Listening F.U.N. If students have learnt some verbs, these can be mixed with already familiar verbs in an activity that involves responding to the words with actions. You can also use this teaching strategy to see if students were listening to you as well. Help them to make sense of what they have just seen and heard. Nowadays, it is not difficult to provide them with a video, or story podcast, to listen to again at home. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying to translate a specific word. Expanded Concepts. What words does the speaker emphasize? AddThis Utility Frame. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles. At its most basic, the IELTS listening exam is a test of a student’s listening skills, and so you can theoretically use almost any native English audio resources as a form of practice. Give students objects such as small stones or sunflower seeds to use as markers. Speaking and writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills. This introduces the theme of your listening topic. Words and expressions to be focused on can be written on flashcards and used for many different games. Providing them with activities that exercise the strategies we have taught. You seem like you want to run away because you keep moving around. Usually the speaker will let you know by stressing the main point: “ Let’s talk about the TIME we will meet tomorrow…. You can even give them a small “Bingo!” card with the target words for them to mark off as they hear them. Be open and available to what is being sought by the other person through your listening. Listening is a critically important skill to improve. Go to a website such as ESLactivities.com to create enough cards for the whole class, each containing the same words but in random order. FluentU brings language learning to life with real-world videos. Of course, it is a bit more complex than that. Listening skills are vital for your learners. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves. … Teachers can use practice free listening exercises in English with their students in class or school. This is because successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. The brain is capable of amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for results. This is also a preparation for the second time they listen or watch. So do you just play the video, and see what the students make of it? Help students to relax, and not to panic, as they listen to material (especially the first time) and to find out how much they can understand. Enrich your ESL students’ listening skills with these fun games and watch them play and grow simultaneously. If students only think about English during class time, then it will take them a very long time to learn it well because they need to learn to think in English. Thanks for subscribing! For instance, tell them a story (made up, if you like) that uses some of the new vocabulary. (Download). Light the Fireworks: 15 Ways to Create ESL Video Lessons That’ll Make Your Class Burst with English, 7 Awesome ESL Resources for Finding and Teaching with Videos Like a Rockstar, 10 Best, Shockingly Good Apps for ESL Teachers, How to Teach English Through Short Films and Documentaries, ESL Listening Jackpot: 7 Audio File Resources You’ll Thank Your Lucky Stars For. Maybe you could use a different medium. Just as you would for a reading text, you need to prepare your students to deal with something new to concentrate on and listen to, whether they are watching a video, listening to someone read or tell a story, listening to a song or just listening to a live talk. So before playing the “text,” prepare your students for the experience, and get them thinking about the topic: Hopefully, they might even remember relevant English words they have previously learnt. Please check your email for further instructions. Students tend to start to panic when they find they don’t know every word. It’s a break for the teacher too! And to improve it, you must be able to practice, assess and track progress. Excellent pronunciation and listening videos for EFL students provided by Stacy Hagen can be found HERE at YouTube. Just choose a few that are essential and teach them before playing the “text.” Of course, including one or two that they already know will probably boost their confidence, too. This should happen four or five times a week. 3. Download: In real life, there are no subtitles, so let your students have a go just listening. Avoid overcorrecting students. Help them to hang on to learning they have just acquired. Using games and media in your ESL listening lessons will enable your students to experience “language in real action” firsthand. Reassure students if they are feeling lost or overwhelmed. ESL/EFL teaching. Go … Talk about the characters, e.g., who they like and why. A great source for visual material is FluentU, an immersion platform with real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—that are ready-made for focused listening. Students should often listen, but they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. Ask if they noticed the things they were asked to watch for. Your students need to be able to understand and respond without having to translate in their heads all the time, ... 2. The Common Core has elevated Speaking and Listening to an anchor standard. Using ESL listening apps. But it’s also important to keep doing this later at greater intervals. Give them specific questions to focus on, such as…. Listen and Restore. Make sure you have watched or listened right through (never use something you haven’t thoroughly examined!) FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, cartoons, documentaries and more—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for you and your students. Teaching English listening skills successfully requires using a combination of different resources to expose your students to spoken English. What is the word that comes after the target word? These videos are primarily for EFL students, not so much for teachers, but they can give you an excellent idea of how to teach … (At least if it’s a video, they are more likely to stay focused.) This helps to tie in their literacy skills with their listening, as well as reinforcing what they have learned through watching. Listening is one of the most difficult language skills to practice in the classroom, and it can be difficult to find out how to support your students who are struggling. This could take the form of a class discussion, a prepared worksheet, discussion in pairs or even a quiz-type game. Avoid confusing listening skills with literacy skills. Add some other new during-listening activities this time. There could be other changes in the language, such as gender of pronouns, or tense. FluentU is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Right after watching the video or listening to the story for the very first time is a very important moment. 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