TSLB3063

Developing Listening &

Speaking Skills in the Primary
ESL Classroom

Techniques for Teaching Listening

and Speaking Skills

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Importance of the Listening Skill
 “Speaking does not of itself constitute
communication unless what is said is
comprehended by another person.
Teaching the comprehension of spoken
speech is therefore a primary importance
of the communication aim is to be
reached”
Rivers (1966: 196)

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Basic stages of listening process
(Nunan, 2001: 24)
 Hearing,
 Attending,
 Understanding,
 Remembering,
 Evaluating &
 Responding

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What makes listening difficult?
 Clustering
 Redundancy
 Reduced forms
 Performance variables
 Colloquial language
 Rate of delivery
 Stress, rhythm, and intonation
 Interaction
 Processes Involved in Listening

 Top-down processing
When a listener can relate what he is able
to hear with what he already knows - helps
him understand what he hears.

 Bottom-up processing
If whatever a listener hears does not trigger
anything in his previous knowledge, he
resorts to contextual clues(linguistic data).

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Processes
Involved in
Listening

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What types of listening skills are
developed?
 Microskills
- attending to smaller bits of language; involving
bottom-up approach to listening comprehension

- is achieved by dividing and decoding the sound

signal bit by bit.; the ability to separate the
stream of speech into individual words
What types of listening skills are
developed? (cont’d)

 Macroskills
- focusing on larger elements; involving
top-down approach to listening (listening
for general idea; use of background
knowledge)
 What kinds of listening skills are
taught?
 Reactive (listen and repeat)
 Intensive (listen on a focused sound)
 Responsive (listen and respond – briefly)
 Selective (listen for particular items in a
longer passage)
 Extensive (listen for interactive/responsive
purposes)
 Interactive (listen to discuss, respond,
debate)
Principles for teaching listening
 Integrate listening into the course
 Appeal to students’ personal goals
 Use authentic language and contexts
 Consider how students will respond
 Teach listening strategies
 Include both bottom-up & top-down
listening
Common listening strategies
 Looking for key words
 Looking for nonverbal cues to meaning
 Predicting a speaker’s purpose by the context
 Activating background knowledge
 Guessing at meanings
 Seeking clarification
 Listening for the gist
 Developing test-taking strategies for listening
Guidelines in Teaching Speaking:
 Taking short turns (responding
to an invitation/question) is
usually easier than telling a
story or making a speech.
 Talking informally to a friend is
less stressful than to the rest
of the class.
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 Guidelines for Teaching Listening
N.Chitravelu, S.Sithamparam & Teh S.S. (2000)

1. Explain what pupils have to do

before they start an activity.
2. Provide a context for listening.
Tell them what kind of text
they are going to listen to and
where it takes place.
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Guidelines for Teaching Listening
3. Ensure pupils know what they
are listening for each time.
4. When pupils listen to the input
for the first time, ask some
direct questions to help them
understand the gist of the
text/story.
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Guidelines in Teaching Speaking:
1. Praise pupils frequently.
2. Select material that is
motivating and related to the
pupils’ interests and life.
3. Reduce anxiety by moving
from simple to difficult

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 Guidelines in Teaching Speaking:
4. Maintain a balance between
accuracy (production of correct &
appropriate words/structures as
well as correct use of phonological
features like pronunciation, stress,
intonation and rhythm, etc.) and
fluency (ability to speak without
unnecessary pauses) 16
Guidelines in Teaching Speaking:
5. Be a good model for the
pupils to imitate
6. Provide appropriate stimuli
for eliciting speech
7. Vary interaction models
8. Give clear instructions
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Guidelines in Teaching Speaking:
9. Monitor pupils’ responses –
note common & recurring
errors/ suitability of tasks
/encourage those who
perform well or try hard.
10. Handle errors sensitively
and effectively .
Source: N.Chitravelu, S.Sithamparam & Teh S.S. (2000) 18
Techniques for Teaching Listening
and Speaking
•Integrate listening practice into
the class.
- Allow more listening time.
•Include both global (gist of
message) and focused listening
(form and accuracy).

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Techniques for Teaching Listening
and Speaking
•Appeal to students’ intrinsic
motivation.
- Include students’ interests, goals and
abilities.
•Use authentic language in
meaningful contexts.
- Highlight relevance to real-life needs.

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Techniques for Teaching Listening
and Speaking
• Consider how students will respond.
Listening cannot be seen; we must infer
students’ comprehension from their responses

•Teach conscious listening strategies for

beyond the classroom.
Listen for key words, guess at meaning,
observe non- verbal cues; seek clarification;
guess at meaning from context, listen for
general ideas; listen for details.
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Techniques for Teaching Listening
and Speaking
•Engage both bottom-up (linguistic
knowledge) and top-down (background
knowledge) listening processes.
•Focus on fluency and accuracy in
speaking (depending on lesson/activity
objective).
•Provide appropriate feedback and
correction.
•Optimize the natural link between
listening and speaking.
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Techniques for Teaching Listening
and Speaking
•Give students the opportunity to
initiate oral communication.
•Develop speaking strategies: Using
fillers (“Well,” “Um,”); using
conversation maintenance cues (“uh-
huh,” “right,” “yeah,” “okay”); getting
someone’s attention (“Excuse me”).

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 Activities for Listening:
1. Listening for Perception
2. Listening for Comprehension
 Listening & making no response
- Aided by visuals/informal talk/
- entertainment

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Activities for Listening:
 Listening & making short
responses
- Obeying instructions, ticking off
items, detecting mistakes, maps
 Listening & making longer
responses
- Repetition & dictation, paraphase,
- filling gaps, predictions…
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Activities for Listening:
 Listening as a basis for study &
discussion
- Problem-solving, jigsaw
listening, cloze listening

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Activities for Speaking:
1. Drilling & chants
2. Dialogues
3. Communicative tasks
4. Drama, role-play & simulation
5. Discussions & debates
6. Conversation and chat
7. Presentations & talks
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 Tutorial:
 Review your notes and explain what
you understand from this lesson on
techniques on developing listening &
speaking skills.
 What new techniques can you
suggest to help develop listening/
speaking skills in the primary
classroom?
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References:
1. Celce-Murcia, M. & Hilles, S. (1988). Techniques
and Resources in Teaching Grammar.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Chitravelu, N. et. al. (2000). ELT Methodology:

Principles and Practice. Selangor: Fajar Bakti.

3. Thornbury, S. (2005). How to Teach Speaking.

Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

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