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The purpose of this activity is to revise the vocabulary, by giving students a key word to listen out for. Each time they hear 'their' word, students must perform a certain action which helps to demonstrate the meaning of the word. Divide the students into groups of two to three students. Demonstrate the actions to do every time they hear their key word(s). Give students the time to practise their words – one word per two to three students (depending on class size.) See the Text Action (Word 41KB).
As you read the text, students must react instantly to their keywords by doing the actions. The last student to respond is 'out'. Note: an extension of this activity is to give the students a sentence to say as they do their actions. For example: Convection currents could say: "We make the magma move around." The dramatised listening activity can be repeated several times, and students can be given different keywords, so that the vocabulary and the process are well rehearsed.
Students are given the text to read. They highlight the words from the listening, and tick them if they know what they mean or put a cross above them if they do not know the meaning. Students must learn the words for homework.
In listening dictation, students are given a partially completed graph or other visual. Teachers read out the missing statements in short sentence-length chunks and repeat each sentence twice. Speak at a normal pace, but pause after each sentence to give students time to process the sentence meaning and add to the graph.
Some other forms of dictation include:
Watch this video to see listening dictation being used in a year 13 economics class
Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:
Primary level:
Secondary level:
The teacher describes a picture, or sequence of pictures, to students who draw what they hear. The aim is for close listening, the drawing should be quick and simple.
Normally the exercise takes about 20–30 minutes, depending on the length of the dictation.
Prepare a text that is appropriate to the level of the learners, is written in simple visual terms and has a series of steps.
1. Tell the students the number of visuals they will be drawing, or the shape of the picture if there is only one.
2. Read each step aloud to the class twice, allowing time for the drawing.
3. Where there is a series of visuals, the students work in pairs to retell the sequence.
4. The students check their visual against the original.
1. Have one or two confident students drawing their pictures on the board so that the other students can copy when they are unsure (if they judge they are correct).
2. Picture dictations can be done in pairs, one students reading and one drawing.
Picture Matching (Word 19KB) develops students’ listening skills and builds their understanding of key concepts and vocabulary.
The teacher creates a series of clear diagrams or pictures that illustrate the central concepts of the unit of work or the main events in a text. The teacher also writes one sentence that describes each diagram simply, mixes them up and numbers each sentence. Provide a copy of the diagrams/pictures to each student. The teacher reads each sentence out aloud twice. On the first reading the students just listen. On the second reading they listen and write the number of the sentence next to the diagram it describes.
The students can then check their work with a partner.
Picture matching can be extended into a skills flow activity (RTF 47KB) . The students retell the story orally, using the pictures as prompts. They can then write the story and compare their version with the original. (For younger students the diagrams can be cut up and glued into their workbook in the correct sequence and they write alongside.) In this way a skills flow is used. The students listen, speak, then write and lastly they compare and notice the language differences.
Listening to Pictures – A similar activity where students each have a copy of the same picture. The teacher reads statements about the picture written to include the target language/vocabulary. The students listen and do the action required of them - eg. writing the correct answer, choosing whether the statement is true or false, write a number next to the item described, draw the route taken, etc.
Benefits of Picture Matching
The students develop their listening skills. The students build on their understanding of mathematical concepts and mathematical language.
1. Corresponding angles are equal.
2. Vertically opposite angles are equal.
3. The base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal.
4. Each angle in an equilateral triangle is equal.
5. Alternate angles on parallel lines are equal.
6. Co-interior angles on parallel lines are supplementary.
Watch this video to see Picture Matching being used in a year 10 maths class
Viewing guides are usually a worksheet which students complete while watching a DVD, computer clip, video, film, or television programme. The tasks usually involve answering questions, finding missing information, facts or ideas, or completing a diagram, graph, or visual. It may also be an information transfer activity. Some key ideas or academic vocabulary may be pre-taught. The guides may also be differentiated for students working at different levels or for those who are new learners of English. Listening to films, TV and videos is often very difficult for second language speakers as the topic is often unfamiliar and involves a one way conversation. The learners are in a position of not being able to ask for clarification or to slow down the speed of the text.
Watch this video to see viewing guides being used in a year 7–8 science class
Ask and answer is a pair or group activity. One student is the "expert" – either because she/he has prior knowledge/experience of the topic, or because background information has been accessed before the task. A list of statements is given to the other student(s). These statements need to be formed into questions to ask the expert. Answers are written down on the sheet. Ask and answer enables teachers to capitalise on students' own funds of knowledge when introducing a new topic. It also gives valuable practice in forming good questions. After the task, students can use the information in a follow-up writing activity.
The benefits of ask and answer:
The Te Reo Maori website on TKI provides a variation on this task to use while reading a text.
Watch this video to see a teacher using ask and answer in a year 11 geography class
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