Topic 2: Listening to Various Types of Information – English Lesson Notes New Syllabus
Listening is a very important skill in learning in genaral especially learning English Language since it enables a person to engage, understand, connect, sympathise and acquire knowledge and information from different sources like TV show presentations, Radio and Audio – visual records.
Think about
(a) Can you differentiate listening from hearing?
(b) Can somebody listen and hear at the same time?
(c) What should someone do when listening?
Most of the people confuse these two terms: listening and hearing Although they can relate in a sense that both involve the perceiving sound through our ears.
Listening is the process of receiving oral presentation through our ears attentively or a concentrated manner, while hearing is the process of receiving oral presentation with no concentration.
> Look the picture below as an example of listening, whereby a person is talking while others are listening carefully.
Activity 1
Look at the picture below then answer the question.
Qn. Can we listen while doing other activities like talking with your classmates or eating ? Or can we hear while doing the same activity?
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DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS
In order to become an effective listener in the process of learning especially in classroom you have to the following :-
(i) pay attention while listening
(ii) Avoid multi tasking when listening
(iii) Listen without interrupting the speaker (teacher)
(iv) prepare yourself mentally and physically. Example before going to the class you have to prepare all your particulars
(v) Always stay open-minded such as avoid sleeping in the class
(vi) post pone judgement to the speaker
(vii) Be patient when listening
Importance of listening carefully
(a) You will save time to listen
(b) You will learn more about the world through TV and radio
(c) you will be more successful in school
(d) You will avoid misunderstanding with your teacher
Having seen tips for listening in order to develop our listening skills, Now let us apply them in answering questions based on the information from presentation
NOTE : Teacher’s activity. Ready any short text to the students then ask them the following qualifications ( Read more short text as you can)
Guided questions
(i) what is the story or passage about?
(ii) what is the name of.
(iii) who is the main speaker?
(iv) Can you report this story to your friend?
(vi) write down new vocabularies you have heard from the story.
EXERCISE 1
Create a short story using the picture below and write it in order to present in the class.
Practicing pronunciation of words from oral, audio and audio – visual sources.
Pronouncing English words is a bit different from Kiswahili pronunciation since English speech sounds are different from Kiswahili speech sounds. ( consult Oxford English dictionary you will see English word with right speech sounds as its proper pronunciation.
(a) Minimal pairs
These are pair of words which differ in one phoneme.
Read the following minimal pairs and distinguish their sounds and meaning
(1) Minimal pair in vowel sound differences
Bit – beat
But – bat
Bird – bed
Ship – sheep
Full – fool
Pull – pool
Pen – pan
Turn – ten
(2) Minimal pair in consonant differences
Bat – pat
Sip – zip
Ten – den
Fan – van
Cap – gap
Sin – sing
Run – rung
EXERCISE
Read the following minimal of words, then show how they differ .
1. Bet – bat
Coat – cought
2. Rope – robe
Price – prize
3. Name – lame
Dime – time
4. Ice – eyes
Kin – king
5. Walk – woke
Luck – Lug
MINIMAL PAIR GAMES
Playing games with minimal pairs is a fun way to improve listening and pronunciation skills. Here are some engaging minimal pair games:
1. Minimal Pair Bingo
How to Play:
Create Bingo cards with different minimal pairs (e.g., bit/beat, pat/bat).
(a) The caller reads one word from a minimal pair.
(b) Players mark the word they hear.
(c) The first to complete a row or column shouts (“Bingo” ) Examples
2. Minimal Pair Pelmanism
Pelmanism means Memory game,. It used to strengthen sound recognition and memory
How to Play:
1. Write pairs of minimal pair words on separate cards.
2. Shuffle and place them face down.
3. Players take turns flipping two cards, trying to match words with similar sounds (e.g., cap/gap).
4. The player who finds the most pairs wins.
Examples
NOTE : Students have to match letters with pictures related to the correct name.
3. Odd One Out.
It help learners to recognize sound differences.
How to Play:
Give players three words, two that form a minimal pair and one that doesn’t. Example:
Players must identify the “odd one out” based on pronunciation.
More examples
(i) vowel differences
Bot-beat – bat ( odd one out is bat)
Hop – hope-hot ( odd one out is hope)
Pen – pan – pin ( odd one out is pin)
bit – beat – car on rgg os C
(ii) Consonant sound differences
Pat – bat – sat ( odd one out is sat)
Sip – zip – lip ( odd one out is lip)
Fan – van – man (odd one out is man)
(iii) Final sound differences
Coat -goat – cod ( odd one out is cod)
Cap – cab – cart ( odd one out is cart)
Note: In diagram above play odd one out quickly.
4. Pronunciation Relay
Encourages active listening and quick thinking.
How to Play:
1. Divide players into two teams. Then Say a minimal pair word like (ship or sheep).
2. A player from each team must run and write the correct word on the board.
3. The team that writes the correct word first gets a point.
NOTE : You can use minimal pair slap such as
slap – slat
Slap – slab
Slap – slip
Slap – clap
Minimal pair up.
Up -ape
Up – Op
Up – eep
NOTE: is it a pair?
Is it a pair?
Not every set of words that might seem like a minimal pair is actually a true minimal pair.
For two words to be a pair, they must differ by only one sound (either a consonant or a vowel) while keeping the rest of the word the same.
e.g.
cup and pup
kap / pap
The difference is in the initial consonant, but in certain dialects, it might also be /kAAp/
pen / pan
NOTE: Read more about this concept
Examples of Minimal Pairs
Consonant Change:
cup / pup (only the initial sound changes: /k
+/p/)
pen/pan (/e/ -* /æ/)
Vowel Change:
bit / bet (/1/-+/e/)
ship / sheep (/1/”4 /k:/)
How to Check if a Pair is Minimal?
The words must differ by only one sound (not spelling).
The change must create a new word with a different meaning.
Not Minimal Pairs
Cat / Cart (differs by more than one sound)
Fast / Past (changes more than one sound)
English Tongue Twisters
A tongue twister is a sequence of words that are difficult to pronounce quuickly and correctly
Examples:
A proper copper coffee pot
Long-legged ladies last longer
Pink lorry, yellow lorry
Three grey geese in green fields grazing
Smelly shoes and socks shock sisters
Carla corks cupcakes quickly
Double bubble gum bubbles double
She sells sea-shells on the sea shore
A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped
Tiny boat, tiny boat, tiny boat
No need to light a night light on a light night like tonight
Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen
Exercise:
1. Which tongue twister was easy or difficult to pronounce? Why?
2.Write four tongue twisters which you have heard before.
Here is the text from the image:
Writing Words Heard from Oral and
Audio-Visual Sources
Tips for Writing Words You Hear:
i. Listen Actively
ii. Pay attention to how words sound, especially with different accents or fast speech.
iii. Repeat Words
iv. Try listening to the same audio multiple times to catch tricky words.
v. Context Clue
vi. Use the context around the word to help with spelling and understanding.
vii. Use Phonetic Spelling
viii. If you aren’t sure, write a word phonetically first and then look up the correct spelling in a dictionary.
Other Steps Students Should Consider:
a) Listen to the words dictated by the teacher and write them down.
b) Listen to the sentences dictated by the teacher and write them down.
c) Listen to the paragraph dictated by the teacher and write it down.
Here is the text from the image:
(e) Watch the audio-visual text played by the teacher and perform the task below.
Exercise:
List the new words you have heard from the video clip.
Read the words from the list to the class.
Teacher’s Activity:
- Play the recorded songs.
- Dictation
- Reciting some words/phrases.
Reproducing Messages from Oral Presentation
Reproducing messages from an oral presentation involves summarizing and paraphrasing.
Summarizing – The process of shortening or reproducing a message by using a few words, phrases, or sentences without distorting the original meaning.
Paraphrasing – The process of shortening or reproducing a message by using your own words without distorting the original meaning or message.
Things to consider when reproducing messages from oral presentation
(i) Focus on main ideas or points
(ii) Be clear
(iii) Be selective – Don’t write everything you listen rather than focus the main points
(iv) Listen actively
(v) Take note
(vi) maintain the message – Don’t change the messenge when paraphrasing
(vii) Reviews your notes by summarizing and organize them.
Reproducing messages from oral presentations
(a) Follow the steps below to play a whispering game using the messages from the teacher.
A whispering game is a fun communication activity where a message is passed from one person to
another in a group by whispering. The goal is to see how much the message changes by the time it reaches the last person.
How to Play a Whispering Game
Form a group – Make a line or a circle with at least 5-10 players.
Start with a message – The first person whispers a short sentence to the next person.
Pass it along – Each person whispers the message only once to the next player.
Compare the messages – The last person says the message out loud, and the group compares it with the original message.
Discuss changes – Identify where the message changed and why.
Benefits of Whispering Games
i. Improves listening skills
ii. Enhances memory and concentration
iii. Encourages teamwork and communication
iv. Adds fun to learning
(b) Play a whispering game by using messages that each group member has prepared.
(c) Listen to the announcements read by your teacher and then repeat them
Task
Create two announcements and read them to the class for other students to repeat.
