1. Lexis and Listening
Andrew Walkley
CELT

2. Key to succesful listening and reading
Emphasis has been on teaching skills:
- listen for gist
- scan
- guess unknown words
Focus is on coping with what students don’t know.
The real source of improved receptive skills is vocab knoweldge

3. Lexis and text coverage
– Text coverage Vocabulary size
– 50% 100
– 72% 1000
– 80% 2000
– 90% 6000
– 97% 15000 (academic texts)

4. Additional problems for listening
– Don’t know how individual sounds and words sound
– Can’t tell where a word starts / finishes in speech (parsing)
– Different sound shapes in speech (city / sea): speechinaction
– Pronouns may be more common than the ‘collocation’ we teach (sort out the
problem / sort it out)
– Different forms may be less obvious than when written (bored, boredom / correr,
no corras, fui corriendo, corri 5 kilometros, corre)
– Hear the word but different meaning. (run 5 miles, run a company, correr 5
kilometros, correte un poco, puedes correr las cortinas?)
– Don’t process words / chunks quick enough

5. Listening is also speaking
As we listen we give feedback:
- Silence
- Ask for clarification: eh? -
- Comment: What a pain / that must’ve been good / Que fuerte! /
Que rollo!
- Add to comments and ask questions

6. Doing a listening
Pre-listening ‘activating schemata’ should be seen as opportunity to
teach vocabulary.
– Mind maps from key words
Focusing on vocab and connected speech following initial listening.
– Gap fill listening
– hotspots

7. What’s your name?
wosyorname
wusyunem
Do you know it?
duyewknowit
jernuwit
How long have you been here?
howLONGuvyubinhere
haLUNguverbinier
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EE1mInDsqm
Slow to fast chunks and questions

8. Word-lists and vocaroo
add bill cash
afraid bird chicken
alcohol book course
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1TqZDheIVQz
Can be self-checking, if based on a dictionary or answers sent later.

9. Please add your name to the list.If you want to go with us.
I'm afraid we don't have a vegetarian menu. Are you ok?
This chocolate has alcohol .
My husband asked for the bill and pay in cash.
I feed the birds in the park.
try to book the famous French restaurant. But it's already it's fully
booked.
Sorry I have no cash on me, can you lend me some money?
Do you like turkey? It tastes like chicken,if you like a chicken ,you'll
like it!
What would you recommend ?
The chef's speciality is a three course meal. you can choice each
one in the menu.

10. Hearing words and forms
Adapted Total Physical Response and ‘Simon Says’
Single words with actions: watch / read / run / speak / eat
Collocations: watch TV / watch my son playing football
Grammaticalised lexis: have you eaten? I ate too much at dinner
Simon says: (don’t do action when you hear a certain collocation)
Simon says: (don’t do action if you hear a different meaning – have you got a
watch? He runs a big company)

11. Vocabulary exercises
– Say the examples / students write the collocate / Ss remember key words
from the collocates
– Revisit vocab exercises from previous week. Say sentences. Note if same
or different meaning. Show sentences. Discuss meanings.
– Examples and questions exploring words and co-text (hugh’s workshop) will
help develop networks of language students will hear.

12. Listenership responses
– Teaching responses – comments and questions can be predictable.
Can also elicit (I’m pregnant).
– Drills
Sentences to elicit phrase:
(appropriate or not) - How did you get into that? / Of course
(clear differences) - What a pain! / That’s great.
(more subtle differences) - What a pain! / What a shame!
(more open) - That must be …
(Short answers – slow and fast) – Where are you from etc.

13. Thank You
Twitter: @CELTtraining
blog.westminster.ac.uk/celt