How to Improve Listening Skill & Develop Listening Activities

Both of teachers and Students usually find difficulties in teaching learning Listening, what make listening difficult subject, what strategies we must imply to develop our student's skill in listening, that's rock. Before we make a strategies we must know the first what is the listening?

Listening is the ability to understand what others say and why they have to said it.

Listening comprehension is the psychomotor process of receiving sounds waves through the ear and transmitting nerve impulses to the brain.

Listening is an active proccess of understanding the text by activating various kinds of knowledge, such as background knowledge (knowledge of the content), grammatical (knowledge of the language), phonological knowledge (knowledge of sounds) and knowledge based on learners experience.

Principles for Designing Listening Techniques

1.Preparation is important
2.Intergrate 4 skills
3.Techniques should be intrinsically motivating
4.Techniques should utilize authentic language and contexts
5.Carefully consider the form of listeners’ responses
6.Encourage the development of listening strategies
7.Include both bottom-up and top down listening techniques

Here are exercises that can be used to teach listening skill :

a. Give student exercises to develop their ability :
1. To distinguish between sounds in English
2. To identify stress in words, and sentences
3. To distinguish different words in a stream  of speech

b.Give students monolog exercises that help them

1. Understand the meaning of what is said
2. Learn how different intonations and word stress can change the meaning of a message

c. Give student exercises that help them manage conversation and dialogs  

1.Listening to passages where word sounds are blended or left out
2.Changing the level of vocabulary
3.Increasing the number of topics being spoken about.
4.Increasing the number of topics being spoken about
5.Increasing the number of speakers in a conversation
6.Increasing the amount of new information, which is presented

Other ideas for listening exercises :

Teacher can simplify listening text so that students can understand it easily.
Listening exercises should be graded according to the students’ level and move from simplified material to non-simplified authentic material.
Listening exercises can be supported visually with photograph, illustrations, cartoons, diagrams, maps, written texts, advertisement, etc.
Teacher can use listening materials from english language radio or TV programs, movies and songs.