RECEPTIVE SKILLS
(listening & reading)
RECEPTIVE SKILLS: ways of extracting meaning from the discourse Sb sees or hears
WHAT WE BRING TO THE TASK:
a. Schema:pre-existent knowledge (mental representations of typical situations, discourse patterns, contexts, genre)
b. purpose : in real life we always have a purpose for rding/lsning
c. expectations: before you’re actually listen or read sth.
REASONS FOR RDING & LSNING
a. interest (pleasurable)- for enjoyment, pleasure
b. usefulness (instrumental) - sb needs or wants to know sth
DIFFERENCES:
Written text:
- static
- can be consumed at the speed of the reader
- can be read again
- focuses on grammatical correctness
- develops logically (introduction, main body, conclusion etc)
- can be corrected, re - drafted
Spoken text:
- fleeting
- happens at its speed
- cannot be repeated (only in conversation)
- usage of colloquial vocab, ungramm utterances, noise, non-repetition etc.
- speakers hesitates, changes the topic, reformulates etc.
according to Penny Ur: (notebook)
TOP-DOWN & BOTTOM UP
top-down:
- the Ss’ general knowledge has to be used to understand the text
- “knowledge from the outside the text”
past experiences
meaning
intuition
expectations
knowledge of the subject
motivation, attitude
bottom-up:
- information encoded in the words/ text
- “knowledge from outside the text”
link sounds to worm words
chain the words together to form clauses and sentences
every letter discriminated (in print)
A BASIC METHODOLOGICAL MODEL FOR TEACHING OF RECEPTIVE SKILLS
a. lead -in: pre-listening, introduction to topic, discussion, pics etc.
b. pre-task work: looking through worksheet, work on vocab, prediction etc.
c. setting the task - the T has to set the task clearly
d. task: cd, video, text - Ss don’t have to understand everything
e. feedback on task: Ss to Ss, Ss to T,..
f. conclusion/follow- up task: related to the text; to do sth with the text
DIFF SKILLS WHICH ENABLE SS TO UNDERSTAND THE TOPIC:
a. identifying the topic : it allows understand the content of the text better
b. predictive skills: ability to predict the content of the text
c. looking for key words (important for the task)
d. looking for non - verbal clues fo meaning: e.g. pics, gestures, graphs
e. associating info with sb’s existing knowledge
f. getting the general pic: without being to concentrated with the details.
g. extracting specific info: disregarding the others
h. extracting detailed info: e.g. why, how many, how often etc.
i. recognizing function and discourse patterns: e.g. structure, organization, devices for cohesion
j. deducing meaning from context: discovery techniques
k. interpreting text: understanding the subtext
TYPES OF RDING & LSNING TASKS, TECHNIQUES
a. to confirm expectations:
- emphasis on lead-in stage
- Ss are encouraged to predict the content of the text
using of:
headlines
sub- headings
pics
key-words
jumbled sentences from the text
b. to extract specific info:
- ss should read the question about the text first
- they should scan the text
open-ended questions / sentences
transferring info (true/false, multiple choice questions/ game, open-ended statements)
c. for communicative tasks (e.g. fill-in forms, underst directions):
jumbled paragraphs
questions
Questions:
- general
- open - ended
- detailed
pooling info
jigsaw rding & lsning
cloze ex
d. for general understanding:
- Ss should skim the text (to get the general pic)
matching pics with paragraphs/sentences
general questions
jumbled sentences/ key points
e. for detailed comprehension (for specific info):
open - ended questions
detailed questions
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS:
a. problems:
- long sentences/words - more diff to underst
- a large nr of unfamiliar words
- negative expectations (unsuccessful experiences)
b. solutions:
- pre-teaching vocab - pre- teaching diff words but not those which are crucial for the text
- extensive or intensive reading and listening
extensive: an entire piece/ for pleasure/ on Ss’ own
intensive: concentrated & dedicated to an achievement of study goal; small portion of the text
- authenticity: authentic material can be used by Ss at any level. Low level à smaller/ simpler tasks
- manufacturing success: by getting the level of the challenge right in terms of lg, texts and tasks
- agreeing on a purpose: if the Ss know the purpose of the task - they are eager to do it and know how to approach the text.
PRINCIPLES FOR TEACHING RECEPTIVE SKILLS
2. Ss understand more than can produce (receptive > productive skills)
3. Using authentic or non -authentic text:
a. authentic:
designed for native speakers
e.g. newspapers, radio programmes
b. simplified authentic texts
c. non-authentic (“presentation text”):
...
Ylayda