Improving Listening Skills In TEFL Class

We spend a large amount of time listening as part of the communication process. That’s why it’s important to teach your students listening skills in your TEFL class whatever their level.

Resources you can you use in your TEFL class

Drawing

This is a method of teaching your students to follow your instructions. Drawing is a good resource because it can even be used on young learners.

Small children in a TEFL class who can’t draw very well, can be given a picture and you tell them which parts of the picture to colour in and what colours to use. You can use drawings for topics like body parts, food or clothes.

With older students in your TEFL class you can dictate a series of instructions. An idea would be to get your students to draw a scene which practices prepositions of place. So, you could say draw a table. Draw a bowl of apples on the table and a spider under the table.

Explain to your students that it’s not the drawing that matters and that students who aren’t good at drawing shouldn’t worry. Explain that the lesson is about listening and following instructions.

Listening to a Tape Recording

Tell your students they are going to join a (pretend) local music club and they need to fill out a form with some personal details. Then play a recording you have made previously that asks questions that the students have to fill in on their forms. This could be their names, ages, address, school, favourite group and singer and what times they would like the club to open and shut.

Using Video

Video is a great resource for a TEFL class. Pick out a short video, it could be something from the TV or YouTube. Prepare some questions beforehand and then let your students watch the video with the sound down. When they done this block out the picture and let the students listen again for the gist. Finally play it again and ask them to answer the questions.

Listening to a book

A book can be spread out in your TEFL class over a number of months. It is a great way to engage students as long as you pick a book that is narrated clearly, and which matches your student’s level.

• Always supply a transcript
• Teach any new vocabulary
• Listen with the transcript
• Listen again without the transcript and answer some pre-set questions

You can also get the class talking once you’ve covered some of the book by discussing their favourite characters and getting them to talk about what they think is going to happen next.