Does the approach to teaching reading and listening currently used in the majority of textbooks really help our learners? This article includes materials from our Delta Module Two course which first address this question and then go on to look in more detail at an alternative - using a subskills approach. And as many of the subskills involved in the two receptive skills are relevant to both, why not teach them together?
A big thank you to Diana, Oana and Erica - the participants in the seminar - for giving me permission to use the filmclips.
Part One - The Standard Approach
The film for Part One is split into two clips, which together last about an hour. You can't see the slides very well on the clips, so you can look at them here while you watch. See here: Slides
Part Two - A Reading Lesson
If you've watched the first part of the Delta Module Two seminar above, you'll have seen that I argued that the common pre-, while and post- approach to listening and reading was a useful, but not sufficient, strategy for teaching these skills. The seminar then argued that approaching the skills through focusing on the development of subskills is not only a necessary addition but, when the subskills overlap, also often allows us to integrate the teaching of the two skills.
In the second part of this seminar, after summarising the previous part, we look at a lesson that takes this approach, teaching the subskills of
a) inferring non-explicitly stated meaning, and...
b) inferring the meaning of unknown words.
It is based around some lesson materials which you can find here: Lesson materials. You are welcome to use these in the classroom.
Click on the link (not the photo) to listen to the recorded presentation from the seminar the seminar, which lasts about 32 minutes in total.
Click on the link (not the photo) to listen to the recorded presentation from the seminar the seminar, which lasts about 32 minutes in total.
Part Three - A Listening Lesson
These two subskills are equally relevant to listening, but listening has to be done in real-time and is therefore more difficult. The speaker says something and then immediately moves on or expects an answer or other contribution from the listener. Where subskills overlap, initial presentation and practice through reading is therefore easier for the learners, who have the chance to look at the text several times to identify the "clues". However, once this has been done and the subskill acquired, the same approach can be taken in a listening lesson.
The lesson in the following lesson plan does this. It presumes the subskill of inferring non-explicitly stated meaning has already been taught through reading - as in the materials above - and asks the learners to transfer it to listening. Of course, not all subskills are transversal in this way, so the lesson also introduces another which is not relevant to reading and therefore can only be taught through listening - the use of fillers and hesitation devices in spoken discourse. But again, the idea of transversal application is present: the learners need to understand these items when listening, but also use them when speaking.
The story in the listening is based on an idea from Colin Mortimer (1980), Dramatic Monologues for Listening Comprehension, CUP. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the book so can't use the original text, but the idea for the story was his (if after 40 years I've remembered it correctly!) while this version and the way it is used is mine. Again, you are welcome to use it in the classroom.
Highly Recommended Reading
Richards, J. Listening Comprehension: Approach, Design and Procedure, from The Context of Language Teaching CUP. This was a very early article on the topic and uses the term micro-skills. But this was later dropped in favour of subskills, which is now the standard term.
The plan and film of another listening lesson taking a subskills approach is included in our Delta Module Two Preparatory Programme. It focuses on phonological subskills which can block understanding if not taught explicitly on the course. Click on the link for details of how you can access the programme and watch the lesson.
