GIA LAI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
LÊ HỒNG PHONG HIGH SCHOOL
LITERATURE- ENGLISH GROUP

TOPIC

SOME METHODS USED TO PRACTICE LISTENING SKILLS
IN ENGLISH 11 FOR THE LOW LEVEL STUDENTS

AUTHOR: TRẦN THỊ HỒNG THẮM
POSITION: TEACHER OF ENGLISH

1


A.

INTRODUCTION

I. Background to the study and statement of the problem
Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the
communication process. It is key to all effective communication, without the
ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood. The teaching of
listening in Vietnam is experiencing a change from simply providing practice
opportunities to how to teach skills. Yet in most listening classes, the traditional
pattern of listening to the text, doing the exercises, and checking the answers are
still quite common. Taking this kind of lesson is like taking a test that focuses on
the learners’ memory rather than on the process of listening. In such a test-like
situation, not only the students’ level of anxiety is high but also the input is limited.
Instead of being motivated, most of the time the learners suffer frustration. How to
help students overcome the above problems has been a major concern and a

teachers only base on the results of doing textbook exercises. Therefore, besides
listening exercises in textbook, teachers have to design additional listening tasks to
evaluate the students’ listening levels.
1.2. Integrating Metacognitive Strategies
Before listening: Plan for the listening task


Set a purpose or decide in advance what to listen for



Decide if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed



Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall

meaning) or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)
During and after listening: Monitor comprehension


Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses



Decide what is and is not important to understand



Listen/view again to check comprehension


assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the

text


provide students with the background knowledge necessary for their

comprehension of the listening passage or activate the existing knowledge that the
students possess


clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the

passage


make students aware of the type of text they will be listening to, the role they

will play, and the purpose(s) for which they will be listening


provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for background

reading or class discussion activities
1. 4. Match while-listening activities to the instructional goal, the listening
purpose, and students' proficiency level.
While-listening activities relate directly to the text, and students do them during or
immediately after the time they are listening. Keep these points in mind when
planning while-listening activities:

are

trying

to

understand

every

word

b. They get left behind trying to work out what a previous word meant
c.

They

just

don't

know

the

most

important

words

3.1.4. Listening for main idea


predicting the content of the listening text
5


3.2. While- listening activities


checking prediction



filling in graphs and charts



checking off items in a list



listening for the gist



searching for specific clues to meaning




3. quick-witted

c. hiếu khách

4. hospitable

d. hay giúp đỡ

6


5. patient

e. khiêm tốn

6. honest

f. ham học

7. generous

g. kiên nhẫn

8. helpful

h. thật thà

9. modest

i. thân thiện

Task 1. Listen and decide whether statements are true (T) or False (F)
1. Lan’s family moved to Haiphong in 1985.
2. It took Ha twenty minutes to ride on her motorbike to Do Son.
3. Minh and Long have a lot of things in common.
4. Minh and Long have been friends since college.
Task 2: Listen and answer the following questions:
1. How long have they been friends?
2. When was she going on a two-day trip to Do Son?
3. How was Ha?
4. Where did she use to live?
5. Where did they meet?
6. Why did they work together a lot?
7. What did Long like about Minh best?
8. What do they like to do together?
Answer: Task 1: 1F, 2T, 3T, 4T
Task 2: 1, for a long time; 2, last year,; 3, friendly, 4, in Nguyen Cong Tru
Residential in Hanoi, 5. in college; 6 because Long was there singing and Minh
7


was a guitarist; 7. his great sense of humour, 8 They like to go to plays and movies
together
4.2. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 2: Personal Experiences
For Pre- Listening, to exploit the pictures page 27 Tieng Anh11, I used the
following questions:
1. How many people can you see in the picture?(3 people)
2. Who are they? ( some firemen, a woman(a mother) and her daughter)
3. What is happening to their house? ( A fire)
4. What are the firemen doing? ( They are trying to put out the fire.)
5. What causes the fire? (The gas stove, electricity )

Christina The fire started in the kitchen where I forgot to turn off
(3)_____________
Interviewer: What were you doing at that time?
Christina: I was sleeping when I was suddenly(4)___________ by terrible heat. I
opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by walls of fire.
Answers: 1. Unforgettable , 2 experience, 3 the gas stove, 4 woken up
For Post- Listening activity, this task is very useful
T gives some suggestions by asking some questions:
+ Why does Christina think family is more important than things?
+ Where do you get love/care from, your family or things?
+ Can we buy new clothes?
+ Can you get new parents or brothers or sisters?
Suggested answers:
+ Because she has realized that she needs her family. Things can be replaced, but
family can’t.
+ From family.
+ Yes, we can.
+ No, we can’t.
4.3. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 3: A party in While- listening
Task : Listen and choose the best answer( This task is used to replace task 2, page
37)
1. How old was Mai?
A.6

B.16

C.60

D.26



4C

4.4. Adapted listening task for Test yourself A
Task 1. Listen and decide whether statements are true (T) or False (F)
1. They’re known each other for 25 years old.
2. They became friends because they lived in the same country.
3. They lost contact with each other when one of them moved to Scotland.
4. They’ve been living in Brighton since 1995.
Task 2. Listen and fill in the missing words to complete the passage
Well, I’ve been living here in Brighton since 99 and these days I see James about
…………. (1), usually in the park where I walk my dog, or in the pub …………..
(2) with another friends that we’ve known for ………. (3) the same length of time.
We haven’t been doing that for very long but it’s ………. (4) to get all of us
together.
Answers: Task I. 1F, 2F, 3T, 4F; task II. 1 once a week, 2 for lunch, 3 about, 4
good
4.5. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 4: Volunteer work, whilelistening activities
Task 1: Listen and complete the passage with the given words:
volunteers, , June, largest, activities, found, informal, 30 street children, 250
children, 1998, Arts
Sping School is an ....1........school. It provides classes to disadvantaged children in
HCM City. Around ........2...........live and study at the school and about
.........3............. with special difficulties from District 1 regularly attend classes
The Organisation for Education Development co-operated with Sping School to set
up English classes in .....4........ Dance, theatre, singing and folk music classes were
10


set up a year later. Children from these classes participate in fundraising

B. they need money to continue their classes.
C. they have nothing to do.
4: They dance, sing and play music ………………….
A. at one of the largest hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.
B. in the theater in Ho Chi Minh City.
C. at their school.
Answer: 1C, 2A, 3B, 4A
Task 3: Listen and answer the following questions.
1. What kind of Spring School is it?……………………………

11


2. How many children with special difficulties from District 1 regularly attend
classes?……
3. When did English classes set up?………………………….
4. When did dance, theatre, singing and folk music classes set up?………….
Answer:
1. It is an informal school.
2. 250
3. in 1998
4. in 1999
4.6. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 6: Competitions, while- listening
activities
Task 1. Listen and choose the best option A, B, C or D for the following
statements or questions
1. What is Paul reading?
A. The history of Boston Marathon

B. The history of Boston

finished. The race isn’t held for only American people. Every year more runners
12


from every part of the world join it. In 1984, (2) _________ from 34 countries ran
in the marathon. The Boston race is (3) _________ Runners have to go through 13
towns (4) _________. It ends in the centre of Boston.
Answer:
I/ 1A, 2A, 3D, 4B
II/ 1. 1972

2. 6164 runners

3. 42km

4. during the race

4.7. Some activities can be used to teach Test yourself B
Task: Listen and fill in the gaps with the given words
Physical

cities

Boxing

friendship
place

importance


5. Brazil 6. Pakistan 7. Bangladesh 8. Russia 9. Nigeria 10. Japan
Task used in Post-listening : Listen and fill in the gaps with the given words
Honoured conditions
population Africa

billion
hospitals

solutions
strictly

punishment
explosion
13


Interviewer: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. In our program tonight, we are
………1……….to have Dr. Brown, a world famous population expert. Dr. Brown,
could tell us something about the world population?
Dr. Brown: Well, there are over 6,700 million people in the world today, and the
total is increasing at the rate of about 76 million a year. Experts say that the
……2………of the world could be over 7 ………3……….by the year 2015.
Interviewer: Do all parts of the world have the same rate of population growth?
Dr. Brown: No, they don’t. the population is growing more quickly in some parts
of the world than others. Latin America ranks first, ……4……….second, and
Asia third.
Interviewer: What is the main reason for the population explosion?
Dr. Brown: Well, I think the main reason is a fall in death rates. This is due to the
improvement of the living …………5…………and medical care.
Interviewer: I believe the …………6………..of population has caused many

blossom
apricot blossom, …
4.10. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 9: The Post office in whilelistening
Task 1: Listen and fill in the blank with the missing words.
Over the past few years, Viet Nam has quickly (1)……………..….. its telephone
system.Viet Nam ranks second only to China for growth in (2)……………….……
of telephone subscribers. It is among the (3)……………….. countries in the world
that has more than two million telephone subscribers. In the early 1990s, there
were only (4)…………..……. telephones across Viet Nam. At present, we have
more than six million subscribers.
Task 2: Listen and decide whether the following statements are T/F
1. In 1996, Vietnam began upgrading its subscriber networks.
2. There is no change in the digits in other provinces.
3. In 2001, the mobile phone system was upgraded to meet the growth in customer
demand.
4. The price of several services, especially in the monthly fees for fixed and mobile
telephones has been reduced since 2000.
Answer: Task 1: 1 developed, 2 number, 3 30/ thirty, 4 140.000
Task 2: 1F, 2 F, 3T, 4 T
4.11. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 10: Nature in danger
Before you listen:
15


- Ask Ss to name some national parks Viet Nam by seeing the pictures. Where are
they?
a.

b.


life the air, the oceans, the sun, and the land.
2. We must protect and conserve these resources from pollution.
3. If the resources can be replaced quickly, it is called non-renewable.
4. Solar energy, air and water are renewable resources because there is a limited
supply.
Task 2: Listen and answer the following questions
1. What are two groups of resources?
2. How long does it take to make coal?
3. What are nonrenewable resources?
4. What will happen if humans continue to pollute the air?
Answer:
Task 1: 1F( unnecessary), 2 T, 3 F( non- renewable), 4 F( limited)
Task 2: 1 renewable and non renewable, 2 millions of years, 3 All fossil fuels, 4, it
will not contain the correct amounts of these gases.
4.13. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 12: The Asian Games in whilelistening
Task 1: Listen and fill in the gaps with the words you hear.
Good evening. It’s (1) _____________and it’s time for “The Asian Games
Report”. It’s the 3rd day of the games. Well, today’s most important event was the
women’s 200 metre (2)______________. The Japanese, Yuko was first and got the
gold medal. She made a new world record time of 1 minute 58 seconds. The
Japanese (3)___________ won two gold medals yesterday, and three the day
before, so in the first (4)___________ they’ve won 6 gold medals.
Task 2: Listen again and decide whether these statements are True or False
1. The Japanese, Yuko made a new world record time of 1 minute 38 seconds
2. Lily, the Chinese gymnast has won the silver medal.
3. This is the third time Lee Bong-Ju competed in the long jump at the Asian
Games.
4. After Vichai had finished his performance, he was unhappy.
Task 3: Listen and complete the summary table(Post-listening activity)
17

Nationality

Sports

Records

Yuko

Japan

Freestyle

1m58s

Lily

China

Gymnastics

9.5 points

Lee Bong-ju

Korea

Long jump

8.9m


Task 1: Listen and fill in the blank with the missing words.
Television is one of man’s most important means of (1) _________. It brings
pictures and sounds from around the world into (2) _________ of homes. A person
with a television set can sit in his (3) _________, and he can watch the present
make a speech or visit a foreign (4) _________. He can see a war happening and
watch statesmen try to bring about peace.
Task 2: Listen and decide whether statements are true (T) or False (F)(1m)
1. Through television, home viewers can see and learn about people, places. …..
2. Television provides less entertainment programmes than any other kind.…….
3. Television now plays an important role in many people’s lives.……..
4. It is not convenient as well as cheap for people to sit comfortably at home and to
watch television. ……..
Answer:
I/ 1. means
II/ 1 T

2: F

2. millions
3: T

3. house

4. Country

4: F

4.16. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 15: Space conquest in whilelistening
Task 1: Listen and choose the best answer
1. When did the US President Kennedy ask the nation to put a man on the moon

In a speech to the Congress in 1961, the US President Kennedy (1) ………………
the nation to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. After the
president’s speech, NASA’s Apollo programme was developed to meet the
challenge.
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 was (2) …………….. . The astronauts on board
of the spacecraft were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. He was
followed by Aldrin 40 minutes later. To walk on the moon’s surface, the (3)
……………….. needed to wear a spacesuit with a portable life support system.
This controlled the oxygen, temperature and pressure inside the spacesuit.
Armstrong and Aldrin spend a total of two and a half hours on the moon’s surface.
They performed a variety of experiments and (4) ………………….. and rock
samples to return to Earth. An American flag was left on the moon’s surface as a
reminder of the achievement.The crew of Apollo 11 returned to Earth on July 24,
1969. They successfully completed their historic mission. It is regarded as one of
the greatest human (5) ………………. in the history of mankind.
Answer:
Task 1: 1A, 2D, 3C, 4B
Task 2: 1. challenged, 2 launched, 3 astronauts, 4 collected, 5 efforts
4.17. Some activities can be used to teach Unit 16: THE WONDERS OF THE
WORLD in while- listening
Task: Listen and answer the following questions:
1. Where can the Great Wall be seen from?
2. How many provinces does it cover?
3. When was it listed as the World Heritage?
4. How many years did it take to complete?
5. How high and long was it?
6. Which parts of the wall is the best choice for visit?
Answer:
20

listening period, the teacher always remembers to carry out pre- listening activities
with some suitable games, brainstorming, teaching vocabulary and ordering the
word to make sure the students familiar with the pronunciation of words, some
guessing about the contents of the listening text. Before the students listen to the
text and do the tasks given, they must understand what is asked to do by guessing
T/F statements, choosing the best answers without being corrected at this time.
This activity may give students more motivation to focus on listening activities.
They listen with certain purposes while they are doing the listening tasks. After
students complete listening tasks, some follow-up activities must be done, such as
speaking activities, they must present what they have listened.

21


- Some suggestions: Students must have additional workbooks with suggested
listening tasks to practice listening outside classroom. To save time, teachers
should prepare some more handouts to provide additional tasks for teaching
activities.
This topic only focuses on some additional listening tasks used during pre, while
and post listening activities so that students can understand more information about
the listening text. As an author of this topic, I am really looking forward to the
contribution of the devoted colleagues.

22


REFERENCES
- Hoàng Văn Vân, Tieng Anh 11, NXB Giáo dục, 2007
- Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, Cẩm nang dạy và học tiếng Anh, Tr 113-131, NXB Giáo
Dục, 2007