‘Now, class, we’re going to do some listening. Everyone quiet’. The teacher shares a task - perhaps a series of questions to answer, perhaps a series of statements to which the student needs to dichotomise (true / false. Positive / negative. Bob / Katie). Then the teacher presses play on their device, and students listen - probably twice - and note down answers. Finally the teacher recaps. Some might simply give the ‘answers’ (more later on why this is in inverted commas), others might elicit answers from students in various ways. Some might ask the students to note a mark out of five in their books. And then we move on to another task (frequently a speaking exercise in which the students are asked to produce output similar to what they have just heard.) This is a scenario played out in language lessons across the world. It’s what John Field calls ‘The Comprehension Approach’ in his 2008 book Listening in the Language Classroom. (An aside. It’s a brilliant book, rigorous...
Learning To Listen, Listening To Learn