Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PPBL, FSSK
The role of listening
Listening – the ‘neglected’ ‘overlooked’
or ‘taken for granted’ skill.
Assumed that listening ability will
develop automatically through exposure
to the language.
Of the time an individual is engaged in
communication, 9%-writing, 16%
reading, 30% speaking and 45%
listening. So, listening is important
We can only hold word sequences for only a few seconds and only
initial analysis of the language is possible, concentrating on key
words or pauses or other significant features.
The load on the short term memory is heavy as listeners try to hold
various parts of the message in mind while inferring meaning and
deciding what is necessary to retain.
Overload can occur if there is too much unfamiliar info and the
greater part of a message can be lost. It is the gist of the spoken
message rather than its detailed structure that is retained and stored
in the long term memory
Taking turns
one of the greatest difficulties is entering a conversation. –it
requires a rapid sequence : watching for signs the speaker is
coming to a close [falling intonation], giving signals to come in [eg
raised eyebrows, leaning forward, looking at the speaker intently,
coughing], formulating a turn which fits the flow of the conversation
and to pick up on what has already been said; and finding the
language to express it.
Devices to invite other speakers to contribute - tag endings like
‘isn’t it?’, questions ‘what do you think?’, and ‘would you agree?’.
Interrupting is difficult as cultural conventions may differ from their
first language. Students need to acquire the politeness phrases
which make interruption acceptable .