Ober - boyd.ANUPI Paper - Feb2016
Ober - boyd.ANUPI Paper - Feb2016
Brittany Ober
Frances Boyd
Abstract
For many listening is the most challenging skill to teach or practice. Extensive
fosters metacognitive awareness, and allows for relaxed, enjoyable practice that garners
confidence.
The authors define and give a brief background of EL. The possible benefits and
students reflect on their listening abilities and difficulties in stages (planning, monitoring,
solving, and evaluating). Finally, possible sources for EL texts are suggested.
worthwhile practice. When teachers instill the habit of EL in students, it leads to greater
Introduction
Listening was once the Cinderella of skills, the forgotten one in English language teaching.
In the past 15-20 years, this has changed as a flurry of research, textbooks, and online
resources has reshaped the listening landscape for many teachers and students. However,
listening still remains the most elusive of language skills: tricky to teach, hard to measure.
In this paper, we move beyond the perennial pedagogical debate about teaching versus
listening, develops helpful habits, and empowers students to manage their own learning.
Background
In the classroom, English Language teachers who teach listening tend to focus on critical
listening, or how to listen and what to listen for, by providing a variety of genres,
practicing different question types (main ideas, details, inferences, rhetorical structure), and
interpreting cultural meanings (Boyd, 2005, p. 90). However, class time is limited and, even
with effective listening instruction, many students feel that they need additional
problems. Most frequently, teachers hear from students that the rate of speech in listening
texts is too fast and variable (Renandya and Farrell, 2011). Other problems students
struggle with are unfamiliar accents or vocabulary, such as slang or colloquialisms; still
another issue is difficulty comprehending the grammatical simplifications and shortcuts, and
hearing the connected speech uttered by speakers (Chang, 2012, page 26). As these
features of spoken language differ from those of written language, students sense the gap
between their listening skills and level of comprehension. They sense it in both bi-directional
in language lessons or in broadcasts. Clearly, more work can be done to help students
attain the level of listening comprehension they want and need. Sustained exposure to the
listening (Chang, 2012). To ensure such exposure, teachers can consider choosing to
Definition
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 3
Extensive Listening (EL) is a relatively new concept, and many of its foundations come from
Extensive Reading (ER). Renandya and Farrell (2011) explain EL as: all types of listening
activities that allow learners to receive a lot of comprehensible and enjoyable listening
input (p. 56). Chang (2012) notes that, in EL, learners listen to a great deal of
comprehensible material, so that they are able to process the input automatically and take
Similar to ER, we define EL as listening that provides students with a lot of input from self-
selected texts that are enjoyable, at or slightly below the listening level. Generally, It is
useful to define EL as a minimum of 15 minutes of sustained listening. This reflects the need
for ample aural input and gives a sense of immersion in the language. Any listening text (or
series of texts) that fulfills the 15-minute length can be used. In addition to the amount of
approved menu--, as the act of choosing is linked to enjoyment. Finally, the material for
Extensive Listening should not be difficult; rather, it should be on the easy side for students,
as the purpose is consolidation of skills and mastery. The enjoyment and pleasure that
own materials, inherent interest in the material itself, and awareness of their own
developing mastery.
Variety of genre is recommended, though not required, for an effective EL curriculum. Any
practice EL, depending on the needs and aims of the students. When students are
encouraged to explore the variety of listening material now available on the Internet and
Effective in-class Intensive Listening instruction is the starting point for students to become
more fluent listeners. Under the guidance of a teacher and in the company of classmates, it
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 4
listening strategies. A skilled teacher can monitor individual student proficiency and
Moreover, that same teacher can engage classmates in helping each other, through
class, teachers instruct students how to listen for different tasks (including note-taking from
2015). While in-class listening tends to focus on form, EL should focus more on meaning
and cultural implications. While EL should be pleasurable, it generally will play a supportive
students to attain metacognitive understanding, that is, a clearer understanding of how they
listen and how they can solve their own comprehension problems (Vandergrift 2011). Later,
as students feel more comfortable with EL and master comprehension and metacognitive
analysis, they can also begin to use EL to focus on phonological and/or grammatical forms.
EL provides additional exposure to the target language to develop a skill that bedevils many
students. They often report feeling an acute lack of both practice and mastery. Lai attests
that out-of-class learning, which includes EL, allows for confidence and enjoyment in
learners (2015, p. 287). One reason for this is the ability to control the listening track
independently. For many students, comprehension suffers due to the rate of speech in audio
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 5
or video recordings. In class, they may avoid indicating this in order to save face. At home,
students ability to pause and replay at will creates comfort and builds confidence in
listening.
This freedom and agency can also help students to begin noticing the supra-segmental and
segmental features of speech, such as connected speech, discourse markers, and rhythm
and intonation, especially if teachers make these pronunciation features part of their EL
target questions (Stephens, 2011, p. 313). The same concept holds true for grammatical
reviewed grammatical structures in authentic speech, especially if the teacher makes this
By having students practice EL, the teacher helps to instill the habit of listening in learners.
Field (2010) states that teachers need to get away from the item influence of teaching
and, in particular, the tendency to test rather than teach listening. In fact, some students
have the ability to answer multiple choice or true/false questions accurately and still have a
limited understanding of the meaning or purpose of the text as a whole. While item-
answering and testing do have their purposes, EL allows students to enjoy the process of
listening for its own sake and to begin to find meaning that moves above and beyond
pedagogical tools.
Like Extensive Reading (ER), habitual engagement in EL can help listeners improve
automaticity of recognition and the chunking of text, in turn fostering listening fluency and
autonomy (Chang, 2012, page 28). This is essential for learners who will, inevitably, one
Some possible drawbacks of EL include the teachers ability to hold students accountable
and track progress: do they really complete EL assignments? Tracking work in out-of-class
follow-up tasks (brief oral reports or retellings, journal reflections, role plays, and so on) a
teacher can make students accountable for each other, relieving teacher burden.
Another possible drawback is teacher workload. In EL, the biggest burden occurs in the
preparation stages. Teachers need to spend time designing assignments and providing
adequate coaching and modeling for EL. For most students, this will be a new type of
assignment. As a result, it might be difficult for them to incorporate it into their own study
habits, especially if they are used to more traditional homework assignments, such as
grammar exercises and take-home essays. Practicing EL may also be new for the teacher,
which makes coaching itself a challenge. In a relatively short time, though, both students
and teachers can adjust to EL and begin to experience its benefits. As the activity becomes
At the institutional level, teachers will want to consider how EL --a practice that encourages
long-term skill and habit building-- fits in with short-term student learning objectives. As
the majority of EL work is done out of class, the teacher can implement EL assignments
that are completed in steps or in a series of weeks over the course of the semester. This
approach will not detract from institutional listening goals (which usually focus on critical
listening); instead, it will further develop students progress and listening fluency. Another
assignments that correspond to the themes of the course and the particular needs of the
students. Over time, if other instructors and administrators perceive the benefits, EL might
Finally, the issue of access to listening resources may be a drawback in some environments.
Though a wealth of Internet resources exists, some students may not have computers or
other electronic devices at home nor access to public computers with reliable Internet
connectivity. In some universities, certain sites may be blocked. In China, for example,
some resources that are common elsewhere, such as YouTube, are not available. However,
if EL is tailored to the specific needs and realities of the learners, such limitations can be
overcome.
Procedure
Combining IL + EL from the start As mentioned, when a teacher incorporates EL into the
The length of in-class listening texts available in many textbooks does not exceed 5 minutes
so as not to take away from valuable instruction time; in contrast, when students complete
EL at home, they have the luxury of taking their time to work through a text at their own
Preparing students before EL Before students begin EL, it is useful to discuss the
research, goals, student learning objectives, the teachers experience, and the students
attitudes toward listening. They should also receive training or experience teacher modeling
used for top-down, rather than bottom-up, comprehension. Siegel (2014) found that
modeling listening is rare but suggests that teachers model the types of listening strategies
practice. Similarly, Vandergrift (2011) urges teachers to model the mental processes that
bolster comprehension and analysis of a listening text (p. 11). The use of teacher modeling
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 8
will help students move beyond comprehension in the classroom to the use of strategies for
assigned in isolated instances as the teacher sees fit or as part of an ongoing project.
problems, and evaluating approach and outcomes (Vandergrift 2011, p. 106). Though
usually completed in steps, these metacognitive stages constantly interact during the
listening process and transform EL from merely aural input into a motivational experience
that helps learners gain greater control over their listening processes and become more
During the planning stage, students can make predictions about the text based on its theme
and genre, or they can consider any difficulties they anticipate. For example, if a listening is
about the medical field, it will probably contain specialized vocabulary. Acknowledging that
they will encounter unfamiliar lexical items helps to prepare students for the initial listening.
Its also helpful to anticipate discourse: how many speakers will you hear? Will the text be
The monitoring stage should first involve checking if the predictions students have made are
correct. If the predictions were off, what caused this, and how can students reorient
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 9
themselves before the second listening? Then, students can compare their notes to see
what else they have comprehended. Also, students can use notes to answer comprehension
questions set by the teacher. This stage can also be more open-ended; students can listen
Students can solve comprehension problems by using listening strategies. They can ask
themselves: what do I want to listen for when I listen again? What was difficult for me?
They can go back and listen to the track again with a transcript, or they may answer
comprehension questions that they missed by choosing the best available answer based on
the information they did manage to catch. They can also choose to focus on different
informationproper names and dates, for examplethat they did not catch during the first
listening.
After listening, students can evaluate whether their expectations matched their results,
what made the listening challenging, what they did well, and what they can carry forward in
Students can practice EL individually or they can listen and then discuss what they heard in
pairs or in small groups. EL can be aided by the use of listening journals, which can provide
the opportunity for metacognitive reflection (Vandergrift, 2011; Galloway, 2014). Listening
journals are just one way students can document their progress with EL, but it is important
for students to reflect on the listening process after EL to see what insights they can glean
A variety of genres is generally available to practice EL. With a wealth of online archives and
resources, quality listening texts can be chosen for virtually any level. Lai (2015) found that
learners positively rated the use of technology in at-home language learning, and that the
use of technology correlated with greater confidence. Such findings indicate that websites
with a wealth of listening texts would be useful to and appreciated by learners (p. 291).
Teachers may want to suggest listening texts from these resources that use different
accents so that learners are exposed to a wide range of English speakers voices. Some of
the resources we suggest to students in our classes (CEFR levels B1-C1) are included in the
appendix below.
Conclusion
Anecdotally, the feedback from students clearly supports the use of EL in English language
instruction. After working through EL projects in class, the authors students provided
overwhelmingly positive feedback that reflected the literature on EL. Some said they felt
more comfortable listening to English speakers with different accents or listened to news
reports at home and raised issues from the reports in class discussions and conversations;
study weekly vocabulary lists of words they encountered in listening texts; still others noted
that their ability to comprehend and take more comprehensive notes was fostered by
practicing EL consistently.
Incorporating Extensive Listening into a curriculum poses some challenges; yet, its
benefitsespecially greater listening fluency and confidence both in critical listening and in
listening, EL allows for lengthy, relaxed, out-of-class practice and helps students gain the
additional exposure to aural English they so desperately need and want. By asking students
to reflect on their metacognitive processes during listening, the gains made through EL
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 11
increase, are retained, and can easily be applied to in-class tasks. Frequent, effective
practice of EL empowers students to become better listeners that is, both more fluent and
more aware. They are then able to take this skill and confidence into the future in order to
http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/129472378/pop-culture-happy-hour/ (pop
culture)
personal essays)
References
Boyd, Frances A. (2006). Critical listening. ANUPI Conference Proceedings: Towards Greater
Chang, Anna C-S. (2012). Gains to L2 learners from extensive listening: listening
development, vocabulary acquisition and perceptions of the intervention. Hong Kong Journal
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 12
Chang, Anna C-S and Sonia Millett. (2014). The effect of extensive listening on developing
Field, J. (2010-07-01). Listening in the language classroom. ELT journal, 64(3), 331-
333.doi:10.1093/elt/ccq026
Lai, Chun, Weimin Zhu and Gang Gong. (2015). Understanding the quality of out-of-class
Renandya, Willy A. and Thomas S. C. Farrell. (2011). Teacher, the tape is too fast!
68/1: 22-30.
Stephens, Meredith. (2011). The primacy of extensive listening. ELT Journal, 65/3: 311-13.
Extensive Listening Benefits and Empowers Students 13
Vandergrift, Larry and Christine C. M. Goh. (2011). Teaching and Learning Second