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Nguyen Thi Thao
Hanoi University of Mining and Geology
TECHNIQUES IN MOTIVATING STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT IN LISTENING ACTIVITIES
Abstract
Listening skill has always been regarded as the most challenging skill to non-English major students due to two primary causes, namely limited time allocation in the curriculum for foreign language learning and lack of appreciation for listening. As a result, students generally achieve low competence in this language skill. With all the diverse learners in the classroom and several obstacles facing the process of acquiring listening comprehension, there is a strong need for the teacher's awareness and experiment of techniques to enhance students' motivation and engagement in listening activities. The research is intended to propose six techniques for motivating students' engagement, including providing adequate pre-listening activities, identifying key information in the task, tapping into students' prior knowledge, simplifying the task to make it more manageable, diversifying listening activities and providing self-study resources. Designing an appropriate activity for students always means the teacher's greater energy and devotion in preparation and higher time consumption in class; however, the expected outcomes will be absolutely rewarding for both the teacher and students.
Key words:
motivate, engagement, participation, pre-listening, activity, tasks, self-study resources.
1. Introduction
Despite being a receptive skill, listening skill has always been regarded as the most challenging skill of all the four language skills to students of our institution. A quick survey of the author's two intensive English classes has shown that the average score for listening skill always remains the lowest of the four skills, whereas Nunan (1998) claimed that over fifty percent of the time that students spend functioning in a foreign language will be devoted to listening. The difficulty in listening comprehension is likely to result in students' demotivation and prevent them from acquiring the skill up to expectations. As a result, the teacher's support is extremely important in stimulating students' interest and participation in the learning process, which can help them to achieve the desired outcomes of the lessons. The research is intended to analyze the primary reasons for the students' poor command of this language skill and present feasible techniques aiming at motivating non-English major students' participation in listening activities.
2. Content
2.1. Why is it significant to devise techniques to motivate students' engagement in listening activities?
The most significant reason for adopting various techniques has been proved to be students' poor background knowledge and low competency of English. This is due to the fact that the majority of the students of our institution come from rural area, where foreign language learning is not highly appreciated. Results of the 2020 English Placement Test for first-year students of our university show that 95% of the students are not qualified for Level 2 of the CEFR Levels (KET 70), whereas they are supposed to achieve Level 3 after leaving high school. In addition, as students of a technical university, they generally lack motivation in learning English, assuming that it is not particularly necessary for their future careers. What is more, listening comprehension skill is barely taken notice of at high school, students hardly ever have access to the practice of this skill, thus their linguistic competency definitely remains limited.
The second crucial motive is supposed to be attributed to the curriculum itself. Compulsory 90 class-
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ISSN (p) 2411-7161 / ISSN (e) 2712-9500
№5 / 2024
based credit hours is definitely insufficient for teachers to deal with the whole material in full details. As a result, teachers have to make a hard choice as to which parts/ skills are prioritized and which ones must be skipped. For those that teachers are unwilling to skip, they have no other choice but to cover the tasks superficially, thus the effectiveness is undoubtedly limited. Although the listening skill is one that is to be evaluated for the overall score of the end-of-course test, and the teachers do realize its significance in developing full communicative competence, it is apparently not adequately emphasized, not to mention neglected sometimes. Consequently, these factors result in students' inability to successfully fulfill listening comprehension tasks.
2.2. Recommended techniques in motivating students' engagement in listening
2.2.1. Providing adequate pre-listening activities
Obviously, non-English major students are uninterested in listening due to the above -mentioned factors. With such an inhibition in mind, it might be difficult for the teacher to conduct the activities to achieve the targeted outcomes if they just deliver the task without detailed instructions. As the results, it is advisable that the teacher utilizes various techniques for the purpose of preparing the students for the listening tasks.
Asking students to predict the content
Listening tasks are often accompanied with illustrations, photos or diagrams, which should be employed to arouse the students' interest. Students should be encouraged to predict general content they are about to listen to and brainstorm relevant vocabulary. The students' knowledge of the world helps them anticipate the kind of information they are likely to hear. In addition, when students brainstorm the topic of a talk or a conversation, all the related vocabulary stored in their brains is 'activated' to give them a better vision of what they are listening to. On the basis of the teacher's questions regarding who, what, where or how, students are better motivated and become more willing to complete the task on their own.
Pre-teaching vocabulary
Sometimes referred to as front-loading vocabulary, this strategy should be employed regularly to motivate students. What will happen if the teacher just assign the task: 'Listen to the recording and answer the question' and let the students tackle the task completely on their own? The answer is obviously negative in the majority of cases with low-levelled students. Due to time limitation, teachers sometimes incidentally make a mistake of leaving students all alone down the bumpy path known as challenging listening text overloaded with new vocabulary. With teachers' assistance in providing key words or phrases, students will become less hesitated and more motivated to participate in the activity.
Pre-teaching vocabulary, however, doesn't mean taking a dozen words from the text and ask students to look up definitions and write them out. Teachers are supposed to find creative ways to introduce new words to students for better effectiveness. Pictures, drawings, symbols, simple charts, discussions, exemplifications and the like represent possible examples, which might encourage students' active participation in completing the task right from the beginning. Not until they have done all these options should the dictionary be utilized or the teacher's explanations of the meaning of the word in the native language be given.
2.2.2. Identifying key information in the task
Obviously, students will not be able to perform the task well if they are not fully aware of what they are supposed to do for a specific task. Hence the key information in the task should always be emphasized so that students are completely clear about what they are required to perform. Secondly, for most of the tasks taking the form of True-False question type, the statements are generally quite long, making it difficult for students to follow if they are not well-prepared. Consequently, certain amount of time should be allocated in making a careful analysis of the statements with the aim of identifying the key pieces of
information and underlining them. For example:
Petrol is more expensive in Britain than in France.
There are two ways to cross the English Channel by car.
Drivers must sit in their car when they go through the tunnel.
It's 970 kilometers from Calais to Avignon.
This will help to minimize the chance of students getting confused right at the beginning of the task and giving up the rest of the task.
2.2.3. Tapping into students' prior knowledge
This technique implies the necessity to ask students to share their own experiences and ideas about the content and concept of study and encourage them to discover the relation and connection to their own lives. Sometimes teachers may also offer hints and suggestions which can lead students closer to the connection, but once they get there, they will grasp the content on their own.
Take a listening task in the students' textbook for example. This is a conversation with an old man via the telephone about his last holiday, which was a disaster. In reality, the old man's muffled voice makes it quite difficult for students to understand, not to mention it is transmitted though the telephone. In this case, it is a good idea that teachers introduce the context to the students and ask them to brainstorm two lists of words/ phrases related to good holidays and bad holidays, with the aim of making it easier for the students to complete the task. Facilitating the learning process in the classroom by means of stimulating students' prior knowledge as a framework for future lesson is definitely regarded as a good teaching method.
2.2.4. Simplifying the tasks and making them more manageable
There remain several cases when the above-mentioned techniques do not work simply because the task itself is too demanding. It can be seen that several listening tasks take the form of answering the questions, most of which need multiple-word answers. It is no doubt that this type of task is regarded as the toughest of all since students, while having to struggle to catch the information they need, are asked to write down the lengthy answers. This definitely takes them plenty of time and causes them to miss the following information important for the next questions. As a result, students easily get demotivated and refuse to make an effort to complete the tasks. It is, therefore, highly recommended that teachers invest some time (and energy) in modifying the question type to make the tasks more workable. Matching, sentence completing, True/ False, multiple choice are feasible options to be selected since these types of tasks are easier for students to deal with. Although it definitely takes the teacher certain amount of time and energy to make practical modifications, this kind of assistance is definitely likely to generate students' inspiration and willingness to complete the task.
2.2.5. Diversifying listening activities
Repetitive activities certainly result in boredom and inevitably discouragement, which may minimize the students' engagement. With the assistance of modern technology, it has become much easier for teachers to diversify listening tasks with the aim of generating students' active interests. Recommended options for practising listening skills may include songs, movies and TV shows in English.
Songs: Compared to songs in other languages, English songs are much more immensely popular and widely available. Listening to songs is always fun, relaxing and effective in improving listening skills. Apparently, students are always more willing and excited about wonderful music than talks or conversations. Teachers are advised to design certain tasks for the students to accomplish while listening. Students should also be encouraged to turn on English songs as they do other things such as exercising or taking a break. By listening regularly, students can gradually improve their skills.
Movies and TV shows: English-language movies and TV shows prevail in the global entertainment industry and are abundantly available on TV. Watching movies and TV shows in English is enjoyable and
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efficient in improving skills since it provides entertainment and language skill practice simultaneously. Students receive exposure to authentic dialogues, diverse accents and colloquial expressions. Students of lower levels of proficiency can start with movies and TV shows provided with subtitles so that they can understand the content of the movies/ TV shows. Step by step, they will be able to watch movies or TV shows without subtitles when they attain a certain level of language acquisition. Our Planet, Friends, The Simpsons or The Big Bang Theory - to name but a few, represent practical alternatives to seek thanks to their widespread availability and appropriateness.
2.2.6. Providing self-study resources
In the era of technology, the Internet provides enormous resources for students to practise language skills in general and listening skills in particular. Below are four viable alternatives that teachers of English can employ for the purpose of improving students' listening competency.
The British Council
The British Council supplies substantial resources for practising listening skills at different levels of proficiency. The listening tasks provided cover a wide range of subjects, and the level of each lesson is always specified, so that the students can choose a suitable one for them. In addition, each lesson provides all the support that a teacher needs to assign the task to the students, including lesson plans, students' worksheet, students' worksheet answers, audio and audio scripts. This invaluable resource helps to save a lot of teachers' time and energy in teaching. TedTalks
TedTalks, including audio and video series, is a useful resource for authentic listening practice in a wide range of subjects delivered by speakers from all walks of life such as politicians, celebrities, businesspeople, scientists and other professions. Thanks to availability of subtitles in 105 languages and downloadable transcripts, students of lower levels are capable of exploiting this resource for listening practice.
Breaking News English
With more than 3,000 lessons, this resource offers free, printable and interactive lessons at all levels of proficiency. The news covers a wide range of current events and the levels of proficiency are clearly indicated in each news lessons so that students can easily choose subjects of their own interests and competence. Follow-up tasks in various forms, such as true/false questions, multiple-choice questions, word filling or vocabulary matching, are provided for students to complete and consolidate their listening skills.
FluentU
The program provides authentic videos covering a variety of genres from movie trailers, advertisements, TV shows, news report, music videos and the like. Based on their own needs and competency, students are able to select their favourite videos. Subtitles are also provided to make it easier for lower-levelled students to follow the content. The words are also defined contextually so that students can expand their English vocabulary and develop their listening skills.
3. CONCLUSION
Helping students to deal with listening comprehension skill and improve their competency remains an obligatory mission for teachers of English. With all the diverse learners in the classroom and several obstacles facing the process of acquiring listening comprehension, there is a strong need for teachers' awareness and experiment of techniques to enhance students' motivation and engagement in listening activities. Apparently, designing an appropriate activity for students always means the teacher's greater energy and devotion in preparation and higher time consumption in class; however, the end-product is absolutely of greater quality and the experience much more rewarding for all the teachers and students involved. References
1. Harmer, J. (2008). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Cambridge UK: Longman
2. Nation, P. & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/ EFL Listening and Speaking. New York: UK Routledge.
3. Nunan, D. (1998). Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Ur, P. (1984). Teaching Listening Comprehension - Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Wilson, J.J. (2008). How to Teach Listening. Pearson Longman.
©Nguyen Thi Thao, 2024
УДК 81,811
Abdykadyrova Suita Rysbaevna
Osh State University Kamytova Ulaarkan Nuralievna
Osh State University, master's student Osh city Kyrgyzstan
CONCEPTOSPHERE OF TERRORIST DISCOURSE IN ENGLISH
Abstract
Discourse theory is one of the most actively developing areas of communicative linguistics. In this regard, it seems relevant to consider the pragmalinguistic characteristics of English-language terrorist discourse.
Key words
discourse, concept sphere, terrorism, linguistics, language
Абдыкадырова Сюита Рысбаевна
Ошский государственный университет Камытова Улааркан Нуралиевна
Ошский государственный университет, магистрант
г. Ош Кыргызстан
КОНЦЕПТОСФЕРА ТЕРРОРИСТИЧЕСКОГО ДИСКУРСА В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
Аннотация
Теория дискурса является одним из наиболее активно развивающихся направлений коммуникативной лингвистики. В этой связи представляется актуальным рассмотреть прагмалингвистические характеристики англоязычного террористического дискурса.
Ключевые слова дискурс, концептосфера, терроризм, лингвистика, язык.
Discourse theory is one of the most actively developing areas of communicative linguistics. In this regard, it seems relevant to consider the pragmalinguistic characteristics, specifically the conceptual sphere of English-language terrorist discourse.
The aim of our work is to study the conceptual sphere and its pragmalinguistic features in terrorist discourse.
