The way that someone presents themselves and reacts to a story sends a message that may or may not align with what they’re saying. Body language plays a HUGE role in communication, and it’s one that we don’t often realize. Listening is much more multifaceted than just being verbally involved in the conversation. Phrases like, “really?” or “I don’t think I understand you…” can give your students more confidence to seek clarification and to enter into conversations with others, and phrases like "oh yeah" and "mmhmm" can give the speaker more confidence to continue. See the list below for even more useful back channeling phrases: It doesn't just refer to seeking clarification, though those often happen to be more helpful for students, back channeling can also refer to the little affirmations that listeners give to encourage the speaker to continue. If Your Students are Really Struggling to Understand English,įind Out How You Can Support Your Struggling Listeners Today!īack channeling phrases can be incredibly helpful for ELLs. Understanding other speakers can be really difficult in a second language, which is why it’s important to know how to ask for clarification in the midst of a speaking opportunity. Perhaps the most important tool you can give to your students is back channeling, which refers to the small comments and questions that happen parallel to the conversation. Plus, there’s a free corresponding lesson plan in our Free Resource Library that you can learn more about below as well! Keep reading to learn more about what active listening actually is and how to make your students more aware of it. Teaching our learners how to be active listeners is 50% teaching the art of verbal cues and asking questions, and 50% making them aware of their body language and how that’s translated in the culture they find themselves in. There’s nothing worse than being excited about something and telling a friend all about it, only to find them glancing past you, getting distracted, and not at all engaging with your story. You can just sit there and hear what someone is saying, but to listen you have to be involved and active, which is where active listening comes in. Looking for Ways to Assess Your Learners' Listening Skills? Listening, while definitely a receptive skill, is an incredibly social activity. Most teachers think of listening as a receptive language skill, and one that is difficult to work on and difficult to assess. After all, you just sit there and listen, right? Wrong. As a teacher, many students simply hear what you say, but don’t actually listen to the specific directions you’re giving. As a child, I could hear my mom tell me to do something, but I didn’t actually listen to what she wanted. We all know that hearing is not the same as listening. Based on an excerpt from Practical English Language Teaching: Listening by Mac Helgesen and Steven Brown
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