Reading 1: Comments

Response to reading 1

 Listening most definitely is a skill that needs to be taught, not only in the L2 classroom. The article outlines 6 strategies to use in the classroom to facilitate student listening. I like the idea of using the "think aloud" strategy as a way of showing your students how to actively listen. I find that often we as teachers take for granted that students have the skills they need already and that we do not have to teach them the skills only the content. We are responsible for creating students who understand how to learn. I think about how the L2 languages that are taught are actually applicable in real life, say for instance while traveling to a foreign country, and I think one of the most often overlooked ideas in the language classroom is that of context. When a learner applies their listening skills in the real world they are given a context, they can "read" the speaker and the context. Often in the language classroom we expect students to create context based on very little information, or understand oral language with no context. I believe that technology can really help teachers to create that context and teach students to "listen" actively based on all the information they have.

I would also be really interested in looking into the two surveys which the article recommends in order to assess the listening skills that the students have. If I have time I will be looking into how these surveys work and what types of questions they ask of students.

Reading for Day 2