1. With
Khaled M. Al-Abbadi

2. Week 2 Lecture Notes

3.  1. Discuss Narratives
◦ Definition
◦ Types
◦ Elements of a Narrative
 2. Discuss Listening Strategies for Narratives
◦ L1 and L2 Listening
◦ General Listening Strategies
◦ Practical Strategies for Narratives
 3. Start Practicing with some Exercises
◦ Exercise 1, as a group
◦ Exercise 2, (if we have time), alone

4. Discussion about
Types and Elements of Narratives

5.  How would you define a “Narrative”?
 How are they unique?
 Are there different types?
 Where do I find “narrative” situations in real
life?

6. Definition of NARRATIVE
 1: something that is narrated : STORY, ACCOUNT
 2: the art or practice of narration
 3: the representation in art of an event or
story; also : an example of such a
representation
 (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary via:
http://www.merriam-webster.com)

7.  The Key word is : STORY
◦ (Lets not make it anymore complicated than that,
it’s a story, plain and simple)
 If I can add something:
◦ It has a Narrator
 (there could be more than one)
◦ It has a Sequence
 (there is more than one event)

8.  There are many types of Narratives
(these are but a few) :
◦ Biographies (includes autobiographies)
 Story about someone’s life
◦ Fiction
 Includes literature like poems, novels, short stories
 Includes visual works like movies and plays
 Includes auditory works like songs, hymns, and
folklore
◦ Non-Fiction
 Includes historical accounts and records
 Includes documentaries and interviews…etc…

9.  You can hear narratives anywhere and
everywhere:
◦ Radio
◦ TV
◦ Lectures (in class and otherwise)
◦ Conversation
 This requires some special attention

10.  Conversation is Different
◦ There are paralinguistic features that play a role.
 Body Language
 Cues
 Tone (including intonation)
 Pausing, etc..
◦ This actually makes it easier for you to listen
 Paralinguistic features help in the recognition and
evaluation stage
◦ We will deal with this more in Week 5: “Listening in
Conversation”
 By the way, it’s called “Bi-Directional Listening”
(if you cared to know)

11.  This week, we will deal with short clips of
continuous narration
◦ Easiest form of “one-way listening”
 Narratives require you to pick up information
in the context of a story
◦ This is different (and easier) than listening for
specific information/data

12.  Narratives  Specific
Information/Data
◦ Info is easier to ◦ Info is more
gather because it complicated to
pertains to one of the gather because it
elements of a pertains to a topic
Narrative… about the main idea
or subject of the
listening…(we’ll deal
with this next week)

13.  What are the Elements of a Narrative?
◦ (There are mainly 3 considered)
 Setting
 Characters
 Plot
(Reminder: This goes for Reading and Writing Narratives
as well)

14.  Some consider the Question approach
◦ Who, What, When, Where…Why, How…
◦ Forget about “Why” and “How”
 Based on context
 Higher levels of listening
 Kind of irrelevant really…
So just, Who, What (like what happened?), When, Where

15.  By the way, there are more elements to a
narrative…
◦ Point of View
◦ Themes
◦ Atmosphere
◦ There’s more…
We will only consider the main 3 elements because
we only care about listening comprehension…

16.  Answers the “When” and “Where” questions
◦ Date and Time of the story
 Dynamic
◦ Could change slightly or dramatically
◦ Chronological (in sequence, in order of time)
 Pacing
◦ The speed at which the story goes
◦ Depends on the sequence of events

17.  People in the Story that drive the plot
◦ Major Characters
 Protagonist (Good guy)
 Antagonist (Bad guy)
 Supporting characters (friends of the good guy or bad guy)
◦ Minor Characters
 Foils, etc…
 Important to know some Info about them
◦ Names
◦ Background (Position, Job, Relationship, Gender, etc…)
◦ Importance to the Plot (Major or Minor, role in events)

18.  Series of Events that unfolds the story
(Sequence)
 3 Main Parts:
◦ Conflict – Struggle between opposing forces
◦ Climax – Conflict builds up to a peak
◦ Resolution – Conflict ends (resolved).
 Plot is the basic content of the narrative
◦ Most important element

19.  Questions
 Comments
 Ideas
 Relax for a bit…quiet time…whatever…

20. Practical Strategies for
Listening to Narratives

21.  Good Listeners – Remember the Situation
 Very important to do many things when you
listen to Narratives
 In L1, many of these things you do naturally
and automatically
 We want the same competency in L2
(If it works in L1, why not L2)

22.  2 General Ones
◦ Bottom-Up Strategies
 You start from words, then phrases, then sentences
 Word-Segmentation skills
 Ability to separate words and sentences
 Recognizing them to identify meaning
 Deals with Speed, Intonation, Pauses…
◦ Top-Down Strategies
 You start from Main ideas, Context, bigger issues
 Metacognitive Awareness
 Thinking about listening, weaknesses, solutions, the topic
 Deals with Predicting, Monitoring, Evaluating…

23.  Requires us to Listen many times
◦ Even slowing down the tape if we have to
◦ (This is why you will transcribe your assingments)
◦ I advise you to transcribe on your own
 Requires us to Listen and Read the transcript
◦ To highlight what you didn’t get
◦ Identify words, phrases, or situations that are hard
(We’ll do a little of this in class, the
assignments should cover it pretty well too…)

24.  Involves different processes
◦ Using Prior knowledge
◦ Predicting
◦ Monitoring
◦ Evaluating
◦ Reflecting
 Practically (how we do these processes)
◦ Discuss the topic (before listening)
◦ Take notes (while listening)
◦ Checking what you heard (with others, after listening)
◦ Identifying problems and fixing them
DEFINITELY – LISTEN MORE THAN ONCE

25.  Before Listening
◦ Think about the Story
 Title
 Setting/Characters
◦ Think about some issues you may have
 Listening weaknesses (speed, pronunciation, etc…)
 Words, phrases, situations
◦ Think about some solutions
 What are you going to focus on
 What are you going to try this time

26.  While Listening
◦ Identify the 3 Main Elements
 Make Headings on paper
◦ Take Notes of Information
 Write down dates and places
 Write down names and character information
◦ Make a Sequence Map
 Write or Draw the events
 Picture them in your head even
 Draw out the map (in your head, or on paper)

27.  After Listening
◦ Review the Information
 Look at your notes
 Remember what you heard (and thought about)
◦ Check with Others around you
 Did they get the same information?
 Where did you guys differ?
◦ Identify Areas
 Areas of Confusion or Disagreement
 Areas where you didn’t get anything (or got it wrong)
◦ Reflect
 What was my problem?
 What can I do different next time?

28.  That’s why I said you need a Notebook
◦ Get used to writing while you listen
 Don’t forget, LISTEN AGAIN AND AGAIN…
 Any Questions, Comments…
 Lets Practice…

29.  Title: “Injured Man at Restaurant”
◦ Setting?
◦ Characters?
Ready?

30.  1. Was the man seriously injured?
 2. Did the female employee spill the coffee
accidentally?
 3. Did the man accept medical aid?
 4. Did he get three free gift certificates?
 5. Was the employee fired?
 6. Did she sue the restaurant that night?

31.  1. Where was the man injured?
 2. How old was the man?
 3. What was he doing when he was injured?
 4. What did Sherman say was the only
problem?
 5. When was the employee let go?

32.  “Injured Man at Restaurant”
A 79-year-old man was slightly injured on Saturday while
waiting in his brand new convertible in a drive-through lane at
Burger Prince restaurant. Herman Sherman of Northville suffered
a mild burn about 9:00 p.m. when a young female employee
accidentally spilled a cup of coffee into his lap. Sherman said the
coffee was hot but not scalding.
He refused medical aid, saying the only problem was the
stain on his slacks, but it would wash out. He was given a fresh
refill. Before Sherman drove off, the restaurant manager, John
Johnson, gave him two free gift certificates--one for an extra-
large coffee and one for the restaurant's newest sandwich, the
McRap.
The employee, who was a new hire, was let go later that
evening. She was quite upset. She said she would probably sue
Burger Prince for letting her go. She said it was the man's fault
for ordering something that she might be able to spill.

33.  Title: “Sarah’s Shopping Trip”
◦ Setting?
◦ Characters?
Ready?

34.  1. Is Sara 50 years old??
 2. Does Sara have a new car?
 3. Was Barget having a holiday sale?
 4. Did she buy eggs on her way home?
 5. Was her husband still sleeping when she
arrived home?
 6. Was the breakfast nutritious?

35.  1. Who is Sara married to?
 2. How many children do Sara and John have?
 3. When did she go to Barget?
 4. How did she pay for the toaster?
 5. What was the price of the milk?

36.  “Sara’s Shopping Trip”
Sara Smith, a Pasadena resident, went shopping. She is
30, and has lived at 3037 N. Foothill Street since 1992. Sara has
been married to John for seven years. They have two children;
Bob is five years old and Nancy is three. Sara owns a 1995 four-
door blue Toyola. At 9 a.m., Sara got into her car and drove to
Barget, a department store a mile away.
Barget was having a holiday sale. Sara bought a four-slice
toaster for $29.95 plus tax. The regular price was $39.95. She
paid by check. On her way home, Sara stopped at MilkPlus to buy
a gallon of nonfat milk. The milk was $3.50. Sara got 50 cents
back in change.
Sara arrived home at 10 a.m. John and the kids were still
sleeping. She woke them up and then made a hot and nutritious
breakfast for everyone.
.