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0DEVELOPING SPEECH COMPETENCE THROUGH LISTENING TO YOUNG LEARNERS
Sulaymanova B.R.
The PhD student of Tashkent State Pedagogical university named after Nizami https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13625068
Abstract. English is taught as an international language beginning in primary school. Furthermore, many people see the value of studying English as an international language. Parents often join their children in schools or courses that include English language instruction. Young learners refer to children who learn English at an early age. Young students will gain at least four language skills while learning English. They are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This article discusses recommended methods for teaching listening as the first skill for young learners in learning language.
Keywords: young learners, listening, productive skills, receptive skills.
Introduction
In teaching English there are four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Children acquire or receive knowledge by listening first, and then speaking, reading, or writing. Listening is an active process since the main actor actively participates in creating meaning. As Field mentioned "Taking any four skills integrated textbook and you will find that listening activities are simply opportunities for students to practice listening to English" [2;-45]. If children are constantly exposed to English words, they can memorize them. It can help them expand their vocabulary in English. Listening allows children to emulate the sounds they make when speaking, which can help them build reading comprehension skills. Heidegger, considered one of the 20th century's greatest philosophers, recognized the primacy of listening in creating meaning and in developing our relationships with one another [3; 204p]. Listening establishes us in our life situation and enables us to maintain meaningful relations with family, friends, and professional associates.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines listening as "to pay attention to sound, to hear something with thoughtful attention, to be alert to catch an expected sound" ("Listen", 2020, n.p.). While some may find this description acceptable, others argue that it is incomplete because it does not account for both verbal and nonverbal components of listening. In other words, the definition simplifies a highly complicated interpersonal communication skill. The International Listening Association (ILA) defines listening as "the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages". In 1998, the National Communication Association (NCA) came up with its own definition in a document summarizing two sets of competencies (speaking and listening) for youngsters. NCA states that "Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and nonverbal messages. People listen in order to comprehend information, critique and evaluate a message, show empathy for the feelings expressed by others, or appreciate a performance. Effective listening includes both literal and critical comprehension of ideas and information transmitted in oral language." [2; p125]. As you just read, the different definitions of listening as a concept are extremely broad. However, listening is defined as an active, conscious communication act. The
definition of listening has been defined by the members that promote the study, development, and teaching of listening.
Methods
Listening is important because we spend most of our lives listening. In his landmark research, Paul Rankin discovered that children listen 72% and say 28% of their daily conversation time. Other listening scientists have determined that in specific situations such as at school and in family/friendship relations, they spend at least half of their day listening to another person or media [3; p109]. These two studies suggest that you spend roughly half of your time speaking with people. However, the most obvious reason for listening, particularly in interpersonal communication, is that you may misinterpret important data. When this occurs, you will not reply appropriately or effectively.
Formally, elementary school students range in age from 7 to 12 years. According to Scott and Yetenberg, young learners' range in age is from 5 to 7 years old and 8 to 10 years old [5; p 3]. Teaching young learners is very different from teaching adults or adolescents. These differences are owing to their distinct traits. According to Scott and Yetenberg, young learners tend to absorb events more quickly than words [5; p 4]. When teaching children, it's important to incorporate body motions and expressions as their knowledge is primarily based on their senses. The physical world dominates at all times. They follow a logical order, with what you say coming first. The phrase "before you eat fruit, wash your hand" can be interpreted in two ways: first, wash your hand, and then eat fruit. This is especially relevant for those with short attention periods.
Young learners learn by doing. They learn through using their senses more than adults do. They will enjoy role play more if they can dress up for it and use real things. They learn language by using it - listening to it, speaking it, reading it, writing it. They also learn best when they are
- Motivated and enthusiastic in the activity
- Seeking a sense of accomplishment (show work)
- Participating in activities relevant to their interests, experiences, background, and environment.
As teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure that the materials we employ are understandable to young learners and fall within the developmental range of what they are capable of. In teaching listening skills, we can distinguish between listening and hearing. Listening involves focusing on one sound among many others, whereas hearing does not. Lundsteen considered that hearing is a physical act and listening is a mental act. Hearing, she said, had to do with our physiological capacity to receive and process sounds [4; 107p]. By using games and other activities in your classroom, you'll be able to create a class period that explores various intelligences and reaches a variety of young learners instead of just the linguistic learners. Young learners may quickly learn language through exposure, such as looking and listening. As well as through formal teaching. Your role is to provide chances for both. You may utilize a limited amount of vocabulary that you have not carefully taught. Young learners receive the meaning through repetition and context.
Listening and reading is receptive; speaking and writing is productive. So, before youngsters can generate useful skills, they must first learn to listen. Young learners learn listening through three way of learning which Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic (or Tactile).
Auditory: Children learn trough hearing or listening. They learn instructions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.
Example: song, chants, poems, stories read aloud, environmental sounds such as rain, cars, trucks, animal, etc.
Visual: Children learn trough what they look at. These learners need to see the physical surrounding. They will think from pictures, and learn from visual display.
Example: Pictures such as drawing, sketches, photographs, paintings, etc.
Kinesthetic: Children learn through real objects. They learn from moving, doing, and touching something. They learn best though a hands-on approach, exploring the physical world around them.
Example: Toys and puppets (real objects, it is important to make sure that the child can actually touch the objects and not merely look at them). Listening is the foundation for the other skills. Children should listen before reading, speaking, or writing. So, as teachers of second and foreign language learners, it is useful to consider the listening skills taught to children ing learning English as a first language. The example is to listen to and follow simple directions. Being able to do it can serve as a basis for developing listening skills.
Modeling is one of the most effective techniques to teach children listening skills. Students learn several foundational skills by observing others. Teachers can demonstrate active listening skills to their students by maintaining eye contact, engaging in meaningful conversations, and asking follow-up questions. On the other hand, a fun classroom project could be showing what active listening is not. Teachers could demonstrate poor listening skills by looking about the room, checking their phones, or simply leaving the classroom. The idea to this task is to emphasize everything so that it is clear that the teacher has terrible listening skills. Teachers ought to use positive reinforcement to recognize when young learners demonstrate active listening skills. If learners see that others are being recognized for their excellent active listening abilities, they are more likely to utilize them themselves!
While teaching active listening skills may be effective in isolated situations, kids will gain more from courses spread across the curriculum. To maximize achievement, teachers should incorporate active listening activities into a variety of situations. This allows pupils to apply the expertise across different subjects.
The Principles for Teaching Listening to Young Learners.
1.Multimedia resources are essential for improving young students' verbal ability.
2.Preparation is essential. The teacher must determine whether the audio is appropriate and whether or not the students are prepared. It must be prepared by the teacher.
3.Once will not suffice. When a teacher has repeated anything more than once, it helps improve children's listening comprehension.
4.Students should be encouraged to respond to the content of the hearing, rather than merely the words.
5.Various listening stages necessitate distinct listening tasks. Differentiate between listening instruction and listening task.
6.A good teacher uses listening texts to their maximum potential. The teacher can employ variation in listening to keep youngsters interested in the listening practice.
Technique and Activities for Teaching Listening Skills to Young Learners. A variety of techniques, including TPR (Total Physical Response) and dictation, are used to teach young learners to listen. It is critical to provide specialized activities that give youngsters listening practice. TPR (Total Physical Response) is a technique commonly used to teach listening to young learners. The teacher gives instructions while also performing actions. The children listen intently and physically respond to teacher's orders. TPR is used to teach listening because it incorporates specific features from three main learning channels: auditory, visual, and tactile. For example, when the youngsters hear the word "jump," they leap in response to teacher's command.
Another activity is dictation. It is essential to change your listening style. The teacher said the word repeatedly. And the pupils simply listen to the teacher. The teacher then instructed the kids to do what she suggested. It might be a lot of fun.
There are numerous methods to complete the activities:
1. Song and finger play. Hand activity or movement paired with singing piques children's interest.
2. Storytelling. The teacher tells them a beloved narrative, complete with puppets that depict the characters in the story.
3. Yes or no cards. This card can quickly determine listening capacity. The teacher shows visuals with the words yes or no. Give it to young students to answer whether they comprehend the questions or not.
4. Drawing Give the students instructions. And they will follow the instructions given by the teacher.
5.Syllable clapping. It learns by separating words into syllables and chanting them while clapping them.
Results and Discussions
In the early days of English language teaching, listening was primarily used to introduce new grammar through model dialogues. This approach has since changed. Many early teachers utilized a somewhat rigorous lesson format (see Table 1). This early lesson format includes the following features:
Table 1
Early lesson format of listening lesson
These three features have stood the test of time and remain relevant in modern practice. The 'pre-listening -listening -post listening' pattern is commonly used in listening methodology,
but there are concerns regarding the 'narrowing in' process. The lessons begin with general concepts and progress to more detail as the learner becomes more familiar with the book.
Listening teaching practices have evolved over time, as illustrated in Table 2. During the pre-listening activities we only teach vital terms. These words are necessary for understanding the listening material. In a listening material, only four or five critical items should be included. Context should be established to prepare students for the material, but too much context can reduce their need to listen for the answer. To motivate pupils, explain the aim of listening activities and write the titles on the whiteboard.
During the listening activities, to help kids understand what they're listening for, we can ask pre-set questions during the second performance. The teacher gives students time to write their answers before reviewing them with the class. To boost confidence, have students compare their answers in pairs before submitting them. During post-listening activities, we can halt the subject and briefly practice functional language. Students can estimate the meaning of inferring vocabulary by writing essential words on the whiteboard and using context. Before giving the final play, stop the listening material while students have the transcript to ensure proper comprehension.
Table 2
Current format for a listening lesson.
Establishing context, Creating motivation for listening, Pre teaching only
critical vocabulary
General questions on context and attitude of speakers
Preseting questions; Intensive listening; Checking answer to questions
Pre-listening
Extensive listening
Intensive listening
Post Functional language in listening passage; Learners infer the meaning of
listening unknown words from the sentences in which they appear; Final play; Learner (optional) looks at transcript.
J v-
Listening exercises, both old and new, are challenging to execute for young learners with limited English proficiency. When we employ these formats, it appears that they will become confused and bored. This listening style is suitable for advanced English learners. When teaching listening to young learners, we should teach them differently based on their characteristics and language aptitude.
Listening Learners Activities for the Young
Teaching language skills to young learners requires a comprehensive approach that encompasses all four skills. We should teach them in an integrative way. This article focuses on the fundamental language skill of listening, which is acquired by young learners before learning to speak, read, and write. However, pupils believe it is difficult to listen well. Improving students' listening comprehension skills and preparing them to be active listeners in language learning is a
significant issue. When listening, it's impossible to re-read what you didn't comprehend because it's already been said.
Schmidt indicates that children develop listening skills first. Some listening exercises require young learners to walk around, perform tasks, or sit quietly. To effectively teach listening skills to young learners, various activities should be tailored to their unique qualities. According to Scott and Yetenberg, there are some activities that can get young learners up, moving around, and making noise. In addition, it will help people relax, focus on what is in front of them, and create a serene environment. These activities are (refer to Table 3 on the last page)
In 'listen and do' exercises, students can engage in two-way communication by receiving instruction in English that encourages physical activity. Young learners enjoy moving around a lot. You can invite them to sit down, come here to erase the whiteboard, and provide standard classroom instruction. Ask students to perform unusual tasks, such as hopping on their left foot five times, counting up to ten, and walking to and from the chalkboard. Determine whether or not the young learner understands the instruction by having them follow it. These activities also provide opportunities for young learners to learn from others.
You can also ask children to raise their hand when they hear certain phrases or noises. Mime stories can aid young learners' comprehension while listening to stories. Mimicking and acting out stories with the teacher makes learning more engaging for young learners. Drawing/coloring is another option for listening and doing activities. Young learners enjoy sketching, so you can utilize it for listening activities. Tell your kids a basic description or tale, or describe an image on the whiteboard. Here's another example of these activities:
Use "Exit Tickets"
During a lesson, have students write down any questions or remarks that arise while listening to the teacher speak. Alternatively, a teacher could use an age- and level-appropriate news broadcast or podcast to prompt pupils to ask questions or construct study questions. Students can volunteer to share their questions with the group, drop them in a box at the conclusion of class, or be assigned to a small-group discussion with other students. This activity is likely to change based on student's age.
Many elementary school teachers use the Simon Says game in their classrooms, but fewer know the real benefit of this game. When playing Simon Says, students must listen carefully to follow the given directions, but they also have to listen for the name "Simon." To add some challenge to this game, try using other names that start with "s," or make rules that students must follow, such as: "Simon says, everyone who is wearing red, jump three times." Memory circles
Simon Says
SIT DOWN
TURN AROUND IN A CIRCLE JUMP UP AND DOWN HOP ON YOUR RIGHT FOOT HOP ON YOUR LEFT FOOT CLAP YOUR HANDS TOUCH YOUR KNEES WIGGLE YOUR FINGERS PUT ONE ARM IN THE AIR FLAP YOUR ARMS LIKE A BIRD SLITHER ON THE GROUND LIKE A
PRETEND LIKE YOU ARE SLEEPING
ROLL ON THE FLOOR
DO A SOMERSAULT
SKIP AROUND THE ROOM
GALLOP LIKE A HORSE
MEOW LIKE A CAT
HOP TO THE RIGHT
HOP TO THE LEFT
MAKE CIRCLES WITH YOUR ARMS TOUCH YOUR EARS STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE
Having students repeat what was said before is a clever way to reinforce active listening. Have students sit in a circle, either as a whole class or split into two circles, depending on the class size. The traditional way to play the game is something along the lines of "We're going on a picnic, and so we brought...." The first student would say a food that begins with the letter "A" (apple, for instance). The following student would repeat and add a food that starts with the letter "B" (e.g., bread), and so on. The third child would say, "We're going on a picnic, and we brought an apple, bread, and a car full of ants." The game can be modified to be items they saw in a picture book the class read, or the alphabet requirement could be removed to support fewer items or a more restricted topic.
Follow the Leader
Follow the leader is an interactive game that challenges children to listen closely and follow a series of instructions. This introduces a playful twist to ensure that children listen attentively to each direction.
How to do it:
Designate a leader who will give out commands.
The leader performs actions with an accompanying command starting with "Leader says."
Participants must follow the command only if it starts with "Leader says."
Introduce commands that require listening and quick response.
Make the game more challenging by increasing the speed or complexity of commands.
The listening activities mentioned above are only a few of the excellent methods for teaching listening to young learners. There are numerous other examples of intriguing listening activities developed by instructors around the world. Or perhaps the one you created? Who knows? But one thing is certain: may these activities encourage all of us to provide better instruction for
our young students. In reality, it is our responsibility to incorporate as many various voices and noises as possible into the classrooms of young learners. Keep in mind that young learners require exposure to a wide range of languages.
Based on the above example of games, it can be concluded that the aforementioned tables indicate that young learners need to be changed and improved. Based on this, it can be concluded that we can show the following table Table 3: Listening activities for young learners
Table 3
Listen & Do Activities
Listening For Information
Instruction Moving about Put up your hand Mime stories Drawing
Identifying exercises listening for mistake putting things in order questionnaire
listening and color filling in missing information
Listen & Repeat Activities
rhymes
song exercise
Listening Stories
Telling stories Creating stories Reading stories
Conclusion
Listening is one of the most important language skills for young learners. The Young Learners listening classroom should relate listening exercises and resources to Young Learners real-life experiences and assist them in developing effective message decoding methods. To effectively teach listening (not testing or practicing), teachers should rethink what they do in the classroom and make choices: use authentic materials as input, design motivating tasks rather than comprehension questions, use textual and contextual resources, and make listening purposeful and fun. It's important to note that all young learners will progress through the listening stages. However, at different ages, some may be able to do more than others. These discrepancies are caused by a differing rate of development rather than a lack of aptitude. As a result, it is much more important to threaten young learners individually. You must make your own decisions about whether an activity is appropriate for your young learners.
REFERENCES
1. International Listening Association. (1995, April). An ILA definition of listening, Listening Post, 53, 4.
2. Alan Pritchard, Ways of Learning (New York: Routldge, 2009).
3. Janusik, L. A., & Wolvin, A. D. (2009). 24 hours in a day: A listening update to the time studies. International Journal of Listening, 23(2), 104-120.
4. John Field, Listening in the Language Classroom (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
5. Lundsteen, S. (2003). "Listening: Its Impact on Reading and the Other Language Arts." Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearing House on Reading and Communication Skills.
6. Millington, N. T. (2011). Using songs effectively to teach English to young learners. Language Education in Asia, 2(1), 134-14 5.
7. Rokhayani, A. (2010). Motivating Students of Young Learners through Story Telling in English Class. TEYLIN 2: from Policy to Classroom, 36-44.;
8. Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg, Teaching English to Young Learners ( Longman: New York, 2003. p. 1-2.
9. Yuliana, Y. (2003). Teaching English to young learners through songs. K@ ta, 5(1), 84-90.;
