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Listening Language Mode Activities

When learning a second language, many students may find that reading and writing the language comes more easily than speaking and listening comprehension. Being able to break down the spoken word and listen attentively may be the key to breaking past language barriers and moving toward fluency. Language listening practice will improve comprehension and do wonders for diminishing your students' accents.
  1. Break Down Words

    • Choose a word that your students have particular difficulty pronouncing and break the word down into syllables on the chalkboard. Slowly pronounce each syllable for the word, allowing students to really digest the sounds. Then speak the entire word at a regular pace. Go around in a circle and have each student take a turn repeating the word after you. This will drill the correct pronunciation into them while they listen for and recognize mistakes from fellow classmates. For a Spanish class, a good first word could be "anaranjado," which means the color orange.

    Syllable Stress

    • Write several words on the board, leaving out any possible accent marks. Pronounce each word out loud and ask students to identify which syllable receives the stress or emphasis. The syllable with the emphasis should be intoned as a higher note. When students identify the correct syllable, either write in the missing accent mark or underline that syllable. This will help students learn to listen for the correct intonation of each word.

    Movies

    • Choose a movie in the language you are teaching and put together a worksheet that asks questions based on the spoken words of the characters in the film. For example, you might ask "What phrase does Juan use to greet Janet?" instead of "What color is Juan's house?" Make sure the television is sufficiently loud so all students can hear. Space the questions out so that the answers come up every ten minutes or so.

    Conversation

    • Bring in an audio file of a conversation, along with several questions that go with it. Sample conversations are easy to find on the Internet and often come with pre-written questions. Pass out the questions to your students and play the audio file, making sure the volume is sufficient. Play the audio file a second time to allow students to check their answers, then discuss with the entire classroom.

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