TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

On the side:

WORKSHOP: LISTENING AND CREATING RAPPORT

The rationale: listening is a complex skill that not only requires knowledge and strategies, but rapport between the listener and the text/speaker

Lead-in activity

What would it take for someone to cross the bridge into your heart? Draw the bridge and come up with a password. You can also write down instructions (trainer shows a model).

Awareness

The Chinese sign for 'listening' shows how listening is not just a minor skill.

Source

We filter what we hear

Game: Chinese Whispers -> Listeners construct meaning according to their own language skills and knowledge. Same goes for our learners. Especially important for instructions!

 

Activity: Selective Listening

Students get one word from a simple story. The story is read out by teacher. Whenever they hear 'their' word, they stand up.

Alternative:
Students listen to a song (e.g. I just called to say I love you: vocabulary seasons, months, days).

 

Activity: Following instructions and bonding

One student is a lighthouse, another one the captain of a ship. The classroom is the ocean, the students spread out and create obstacles. The task: the lighthouse operator has to instruct the captain (who is blindfolded) how to reach the harbour (avoiding to crash into the obstacles).

 

Awareness: Wordcloud Listening

Source: Kaltenbacher

 

Activity: Intonation

Blackboard:

Mmmm
Yes
No
You
Me

Task: Work in pairs. Create a conversation using only these words.
After a while add:

I don't know
When? 

Discuss importance of intonation and body language for successful communication.

 

Activity: Active Listening

Learners work in pairs.

a) Both partners give 1'-talks AT THE SAME TIME
b) Partner A gives a 2'talk to partner B. B is a statue and shows NO reaction
c) Partner B gives a 2'talk to partner A. A fidgets and shows lots of signs of being distracted

Have trainees/class write down what makes a good listener.
Check and discuss aspects of active listening (verbal and non-verbal clues) in whole group.
Make group aware of intercultural differences, e.g. in turn-taking

Source: lecture notes Kaltenbacher

Reflection Activity

Trainer reads out metaphorical story: the Wise Woman and the Hats

Source: Jane Revell and Susan Norman, In Your Hands, 1997, p.25

Group discuss meaning of the story, followed by individual mapping activity.