Listening Course Research Articles

On the Application of PAD Class in College English Listening and Speaking Course

PAD Class (Presentation-Assimilation-Discussion) is a teaching mode that has been rising in China in recent years. Compared with traditional classrooms, PAD Class puts more emphasis on students’ assimilation of knowledge, and its next-class discussion helps enhance the effectiveness and quality of students’ interaction and communication as well. The paper holds that PAD Class exerts positive effects on College English Speaking and Listening Course, including improving students’ self-efficacy and metacognition, reducing students’ learned helplessness, and having an all-around evaluation on students’ learning performance. In the end, the paper illustrates the approaches of carrying out a PAD class in College English Speaking and Listening Course and the matters that need attention.

Using Audio-Visual Aids and Computer-Assisted Language Instruction (CALI) to Overcome Learning Difficulties of Listening in Students of Special Needs

Background & aims: Audio-visual aids and computer-aided language instruction (CALI) have been documented to improve receptive skills, namely listening skill in normal students. The increased listening has been attributed to the understanding of other interlocutors' speech, but recent experiments have suggested that audio-visual aids and CALI should be tested against the listening of students of special needs to see the effects of the former in the latter. This investigation described the effect of audio-visual aids and CALI in the performance of these students. Methods: Pre-and-posttests were administered to 40 students of special needs of both sexes at al-Malādh school for students of special needs aged between 8 and 18 years old. A comparison was held between this group of students and another similar group (control group). Whereas the former group underwent a listening course using audio-visual aids and CALI, the latter studied the same course with the same speech language therapist (SLT) with the classical method. Outcomes of the two tests for the two groups were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Results: Significant improvement in the performance was found in the first group (treatment group) (posttest= 72.45% vs. pre-test= 25.55%) in comparison to the second (control) (posttest= 25.55% vs. pre-test= 23.72%). In comparison to the males’ scores, the scores of females are higher (1487 scores vs. 1411 scores). Suggested results support the necessity of the use of audio-visual aids and CALI in teaching listening at the schools of students of special needs.

Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives on a Blended Listening Course Using TED Talks

This study explores Korean pre-service EFL teachers` perspectives on the use of TED website (http://www.ted.com) to practice designing listening tasks and test items. Thirty-five university students majoring in English education participated in this project as a part of their regular course for a semester. The course consisted of two main parts: 1) classroom activities for learning theories in the field of teaching second language listening (i.e., lectures, chapter presentations, and discussions) and for practicing actual teaching skills in listening classrooms (i.e., microteaching); and 2) an individual online project for applying their knowledge and ideas to design creative listening tasks and test items using TED Talks. In other words, the course was intended to run as a form of blended learning which integrates a combination of offline and online activities. This offered opportunities for the students to develop their own advanced English listening skills, allowing for autonomous and level-based learning while preserving the face-to-face contact features of the traditional listening classroom. At the end of the course, students` assignments were analyzed and a survey questionnaire was conducted to examine their perspectives of using TED website as a source of authentic listening materials not only for them but also for their future students.

Listening: Can Ability Be Improved?

Listening is one of the most important communication skills that an organizational member can possess, but it is repeatedly identified as a weakness in employees. The authors determined that the listening abilities of 598 students who took a listening course in a nontraditional college improved significantly with no significant difference between the abilities of males and females. Therefore, students who complete a listening course could become more efficient and effective employees.

Promoting Learner Autonomy through Developing Process Syllabus—Syllabus Negotiation: the Basis of Learner Autonomy*

In the 21st century, the importance of helping students become more autonomous in their learning has become one of its most prominent themes. Autonomy is usually defined as the capability to take charge of, or responsible for, one’s own learning. Nowadays, autonomy is widely accepted as a desirable goal in education. With promoting learner autonomy as the ultimate goal of education comes the question of how to foster learner autonomy. In this essay, we are arguing for the provision of circumstances and contexts for language learners through developing process syllabuses in the language classroom to help them make decisions for their own learning through negotiations. This practice of negotiated syllabus emphasizes the value of collaborative learning, learner-centredness, learner autonomy and shared decision making. We practiced producing process syllabus in the Advanced Speaking and Listening Course between 2006 and 2008 and we found out that through negotiations of purposes, contents, ways of working and evaluation, students are going through the various stages of producing languages and by shifting the power into students’ hands, they become highly motivated and whole-heartedly involved and take on greater responsibility for their own learning.

The Russian Desk: A Listening and Conversation Course

The Russian Desk: A Listening and Conversation Course

Listening Instruction in Selected Colleges and Universities

Abstract Research on the significance of listening in higher education consistently points to the critical role that listening plays in the lives of college students. College students have been found to spend as much as 52% of their time listening (Barker, et al., 1980; Perras & Weitzel, 1981), and proficiency in listening is a stronger factor than reading skills or academic aptitude in the achievement and retention of college students (Conaway, 1982; Brown, 1987). Likewise, Newton (1985) has provided evidence that first-year college students who completed a listening skills course earned significantly higher grade point averages than did first-year students who did not take the course. In light of such evidence of the importance of listening, are colleges and universities, like business and industry, addressing these skills in the curriculum?

The Russian Desk: A Listening and Conversation Course

The Russian Desk: A Listening and Conversation Course

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian

Viewpoints: A Listening and Conversation Course in Russian