Abstract
AbstractThis paper reviews and discusses research on notetaking during academic listening conducted in both first (L1) and second language (L2) contexts and is organized into two main categories: research that is beginning to impact English for academic purposes (EAP) classrooms and that which has yet to make an impact on EAP, but should. Overall, I assert that, while some relevant research on notetaking is reaching EAP classrooms, there is an abundance of knowledge from L1 contexts as well as a number of unexplored areas that have potential to improve instruction and student ability. Throughout the paper, I hypothesize why certain research findings are not being applied in classrooms. In concluding, I provide suggestions for how researchers and teachers might further support colleagues in applying research findings.
Highlights
The ability to take effective and efficient notes while listening to information is undoubtedly a crucial skill for students, whether they are learning in classrooms where their L1 or their L2 is being used as the medium of instruction
Song (2012) demonstrated how certain formats lead to the capture of hierarchical relationships of information in lectures more than a blank or uninstructed format and that note format can lead to differences in test performance among English as a second language (ESL) undergraduates
While various formats are evident in English for academic purposes (EAP) classrooms and notetaking materials to some extent, a challenge remains related to teachers compelling students to use a specific format regardless of the student’s own individual preferences
Summary
The ability to take effective and efficient notes while listening to information is undoubtedly a crucial skill for students, whether they are learning in classrooms where their L1 or their L2 is being used as the medium of instruction. Many students on such surveys express a desire for more, and more explicit, attention to notetaking in their L2 English courses (e.g., Teng, 2011; Crawford et al, 2016; İpek, 2018; Kusumoto, 2019; Siegel, forthcoming) Based on these findings, as well as personal insights, the need for attention to student notetaking abilities in L2 contexts is justified, for individual student development and for EAP teacher education. On these generative aspects of notetaking are valuable, I feel that EAP teachers often overlook opportunities to (a) compare different ways in which a single piece of information can be recorded, (b) make students explicitly aware of the options, and (c) stimulate meta-discussion about the various options and why one might choose a particular method over another, depending on the piece of information and/or the purpose for taking notes. Teachers may encourage students to ‘study notes’ after class, but systematic guidance in how to use those notes is an area for future development
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