September 24, 2009 by Willy Cardoso Helping ESL Students Adapt
to Authentic Listening Situations John P. Madden St. Cloud State
University (St. Cloud, MN, USA) Learners and teachers give
listening greater emphasis now than in the past (Flowerdew &
Miller, 2005), though frustrated learners traveling in English
speaking countries have always recognized the importance of L2
listening. Having to start listening in the middle of a
conversation or broadcast is a challenge for learners. This
article describes techniques to help learners meet the challenge
of listening from the middle. The techniques can be used with
learners over a range of ages, languages, and proficiency
levels. First, it will be provided a rationale for the
techniques, and then the techniques themselves. We usually know
why we are listening, and we usually have some idea of what we
are likely to hear. Our reasons and expectations help us
understand the words we hear. This relationship between
expectations and words is central to listening. Listen