Listening sub-skills and listening tasks

While teaching English, I've noticed that learners often excel in the receptive skills, listening and reading, compared to the productive skills, speaking and writing, with occasional exceptions. 

Despite listening being relatively easier for many learners, the process still can be enhanced when students recognise different types of tasks. 

This awareness allows them to become more conscious listeners, able to shift focus and activate the necessary learning strategies depending on the specific listening task. 

Practicing the listening skill in a lesson typically involves the following steps:

Pre-listening stage is fast paced. Its aim is to get students interested in the listening itself. It may involve:

• activating students' existing knowledge, aka schemata, which will help them acquire new information

For example, if the listening is about travelling, students could brainstorm items they typically pack or types of holidays.

• predicting 

Learners look at a visual and predict what the listening may be about.

• giving learners the purpose for listening

Students may be asked to answer a question which encapsulates the listening passage, e.g. What do you know about the history of space observation?

• pre-teaching vocabulary

If certain words in the audio may hinder completing the task, their meanings should be clarified beforehand.

While-listening stage focuses attention on developing sub-skills such as listening for gist (the main idea), listening for specific information, inferring, listening for detail, participating actively, note-taking, dictation, listen and do.

Performing a task while listening enhances comprehension and the results serve as evidence of understanding.

Post-listening stage is the time when students compare and justify their answers while a teacher provides correct ones. 

This is also the time to identify which parts of the audio script need additional clarification. 

Additionally, the listening task can serve as a springboard for focusing on specific grammar constructions, vocabulary, or extending the topic through further speaking or writing practice.

Listening for gist (the main idea)

Students are usually asked to listen for gist when listening to an audio for the first time. Thanks to this task, they grasp the speaker’s overall message.

When students listen for the second time, they may be asked to listen for specific information.

Listening for specific information 

The sub-skill involves focusing on a particular detail rather than understanding everything. 

For example, in real life, when listening to train announcements, we concentrate on the details about the train we need to catch and ignore the rest.

Inferring 

This sub-skill refers to the type of listening that we do when we wish to go beyond what is actually stated, for instance, we want to know how the speaker feels.

The sub-skill can be helpful in CAE test listening part 4.

In the task you need to infer how the person feels about the new job. 

The wording doesn’t give you the direct answer. 

You must infer that the speaker is ‘happy to feel in control.’

Listening for detail

Listening for detail refers to the type of listening we do when we need to find errors or determine differences between one passage and another. 

We can’t afford to ignore anything because we don’t know exactly what information will help us to achieve our task.

Task 1

A teacher tells the story twice. 

The second time a number of details are changed. Students must spot the differences.

Participating actively

Active participation might include transferring what is heard from one medium to another, such as onto paper.

Task 1 

The activity enables students to practice names of rooms and objects in them.

Teacher: Prepare the description of your favourite room in the place where you live. You have 3 minutes for preparation.

After 3 minutes: Now listen to your partner’s description and draw the objects in the room. Then swap roles.

Feedback: Does your partner’s drawing look like your favourite room?

Task 2 

This exercise allows students to practice phrases for giving directions.

Student A is given a map with certain places in town, while Student B has the same map but with different places. 

Both start at the railway station. 

Student A explains where, let’s say, the supermarket is located and how to get there. 

Student B traces the route on the map and marks the supermarket's location. Then they swap roles.

Finally, students check each other’s maps to see if the places were marked correctly.

Task 3 “Information transfer”

Students complete a pie chart based on what they hear. 

A pie chart is a circle divided into slices, like a pie. 

They have to interview each other on their daily activities and how much time is spent on them. 

The ‘slices’ may include eating, sleeping, travelling, etc. 

This activity helps practice listening skills, gerunds and phrases for daily activities.

Adapted from J.J. Wilson. How to Teach Listening, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p. 87.

Task 4 “Interrupted storytelling”

Teacher: ‘I'm going to tell you a story about a day in the life of a boy named Timmy. As I tell the story, I want you to interrupt me with questions in the past simple tense. Ready?’

Teacher: ‘It was a sunny morning, and Timmy had a big smile on his face.’

Student: ‘Why did he smile?’

Teacher: ‘It was the first day of his summer holiday, and he was excited to have a lot of fun. He took the lunch that his mum made for him and went…’

Student: ‘Where did he go?’

Teacher: ‘He went to the playground. He met his friends there. After playing, they had a picnic. Timmy ate a sandwich and some fruit. Then…’

Student: ‘What did they do after the picnic?’

Teacher: ‘After the picnic, Timmy and his friends played football. Timmy scored a goal. Later, Timmy and his friends saw an ice cream truck. They bought some ice cream. Timmy chose chocolate flavor. Then…’

Student: ‘What did Timmy do after eating ice cream?’

Teacher: ‘After eating the ice cream, Timmy and his friends decided to go to a nearby park. They saw some interesting plants and birds there. Timmy found a colorful butterfly and took a picture. It was getting late. Timmy said goodbye to his friends and walked home. When he got home…’

Student: ‘What did Timmy do when he got home?’

Teacher: ‘When Timmy got home, he told his mum all about his wonderful day.’

Based on content generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI), with modifications. 

Idea adapted from J.J. Wilson. How to Teach Listening, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p. 87.

Note-taking

It’s a valuable sub-skill in both everyday situations and academic settings. 

Whether during phone calls, meetings, or lectures, the goal is to create a written record of information that can be used for future reference, study, or review.

To enhance their note-taking skills, students can use various techniques, such as:

• Use symbols instead of words

• Use abbreviations

For example:

Omit vowels and keep key consonants. 

Consonants are more effective for recognizing words.

• Use spaces

Spaces can denote changes in topic or mark new sections. 

They offer us ‘breathing space’ from the density of the page, making it easier to review our notes later.

Dictation

The following activities are suited for offline classes with young learners who yearn to move around. 

Task 1 “Running dictation”

A text is stuck on a wall out of the view of students. 

In pairs, students choose a runner and a scribe. 

After a minute or two, roles switch. 

The activity is lively, with students running back and forth.

Adapted from J.J. Wilson. How to Teach Listening, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p. 93.

Task 2 “Running-translation dictation”

For Ukrainian speakers, frequently confused words may include a shop and a magazine, fabric and a factory, white bread and a baton. 

The procedure is the same as ‘Running dictation,’ but the text is in the students' language. 

The runner translates phrases into English for the scribe. 

In the end, students compare translations and discuss nuances.

Adapted from J.J. Wilson. How to Teach Listening, Pearson Education Limited, 2008, p. 93.

Task 3 

To prepare for the speaking part of the test, students can use the following activity. 

Record an answer to a sample question on your phone, transcribe it, improve it, and give an enhanced answer.

Listen and do

These activities are also more suited for young learners.

Task 1 

Open the book.

Jump up.

Take a pencil.

Point at the photo.

Don’t be serious. Smile.

Don’t sit. Stand up.

Task 2 

To practice a certain grammatical tense, for example, the present perfect.