Recording talk to support learners’ listening

1. Recording talk to support learners’ listening ELP Conference, May 2014 Gillian Skyrme

2. Why is listening hard? • Talk to your partner about something that you had difficulty listening to recently (interpret that as widely as you like) • Why is listening so difficult? • Fleeting • Vocabulary limitations • Lack of prior shared knowledge • Topic challenging • Elision and merging of sounds • Lack of ‘fit’ with visual form of English There are many people in this room There aren’t many people in this room

3. What can learners listen to? • Many things ... But today I hope to address: • The value of making your own simple recordings • Considering how to do so • Considering how you can use them in a learning session to support success at listening

4. Making your own recordings: what works? • Short and sweet • Connected to your current work with the learner • Connected to current issues in the community • Co-‘performer’ who understands the kaupapa (family, ELP volunteer, neighbour ...) • Unscripted but ‘adjusted’ everyday language • Planning how to use the recording in the session

5. An example: let’s plan Preparation? Accessible What can my learner easily understand? Authentic What would a competent English speaker take from this? While-listening? To support listening? To support knowledge of how English works? To support speaking? To connect with my learner’s life? After listening?

6. While listening Match up Health professional Time Doctor Next week Dental nurse Not mentioned Dentist Six months ago Which pictures are good for this conversation? Which do you hear? What does she say about it? sore sensitive bleeding red tooth swollen cheek tongue cavity root gum inflamed

7. An example: let’s plan Preparation? Accessible What can my learner easily understand? Authentic What would a competent English speaker take from this? While-listening? To support listening? To support knowledge of how English works? To support speaking? To connect with my learner’s life? After listening?

8. Exploiting the listening further: supporting listening, learning language • Listen and find two other ways to describe a child’s first teeth • What happened to the dental nurse’s fillings?  one held, one crumbled away • Useful phrases to notice? • There’s one that’s really giving her trouble • I kept an eye on it • It’s only going to get worse • We’re going to make an appointment to see the dentist next week • I hope it all goes well

9. Finding the answers • Co-constructed “dictation” transcriptions • ___ can see ___ ___ _ really trying __ __ delicate _______ ___ spot I can see that she is trying to be very delicate around that spot

10. Other follow-up activities? To support listening? To support knowledge of how English works? To support speaking? To connect with my learner’s life?

11. Try your own • In small groups or pairs, decide on a learner or learners that one of you is working with • Identify a topic that you would like to work on in the near future • Think of a short conversation that would work within that framework • Don’t script it – record it! Or role play and an observer make a note of how it goes. Keep it short! • Plan how to use it in a session Someone doesn’t know the name for some tools: Have you got one of those things for ... Talking about things when you don’t know the word for them Weekend activities What did you do in the week end