Listening: authentic texts

Warning: contains two references to sex

Warmer

Work with a partner. How difficult would you find the following things?

- making a pizza from scratch

- telling someone you've known for a long time that you don't want to be friends anymore

- running 10km

- doing every piece of English homework you're given for one month

- making small talk with a stranger at a party for more than 30 minutes

- giving a presentation to a hundred people

How difficult is it for you to understand authentic text (listening to podcasts / watching TV shows / movies) in English?

In what ways might listening to English authentic text more difficult than, for example, Russian, German or Italian?

Now read the text below

Does it mention any of your answer?

English vs Englishes

A huge problem with understanding (AELT) authentic English listening text is that there are so many varieties of English. There can be huge differences in pronunciation in these varieties, not just internationally, but also within the UK.

And the differences aren't just in pronunciation. Many regions in the UK have their own specific vocabulary, and even grammatical patterns. In some places in the north of England, for example, it's very common to hear, "It were really good!" or "You was here yesterday, wasn't you?"

AELT is usually delivered very quickly (the speech sounds fast), but this isn't unique to English. Students of all languages complain that authentic texts are just too fast. In addition to speed, authentic dialogues in English can be particularly difficult because of natural dysfluencies, fast turn taking and people speaking in fragments (not full sentences), or breaking the rules of textbook English - think of Joey Tribbiani asking, "How you doin'?"

Using AELT in the classroom

As we've seen before, there are TWO things that can make listening difficult:

1) the text

2) the task

A teacher can spend a loooooot of time looking for a text that is suitable for their learners, but a much simpler approach is to modify the TASK. Teachers can also PRE-TEACH some difficult language before students come across the text.

So let's do a simple example.

Vocab: matching

to get off with smb

strange

to fancy smb

a man (informal)

a bird

a woman (informal)

weird

to have sex with smb

bloke

to kiss smb

a Fisherprice man

a sexual act using a hand

to do smb

to have romantic interest in smb

a hand job (sorry!)

a popular toy in the UK

Vocab: matching

to get off with smb

to fancy smb

a bird

weird

bloke

a Fisherprice man

to do smb (sorry)

a hand job (sorry)

strange

a man (informal)

a woman (informal)

to have sex with smb

to kiss smb

a sexual act involving a hand

to have a romantic interest in smb

a popular kids' toy in the UK

Now take a look at the still on the slide below.

Where do you think they are?

How does the man in the background feel?

Now watch the video.

Were you right?

Detailed comprehension

Now watch the video again and answer the following questions

01: What does Gareth find difficult to believe?

01:What criticisms does Gareth have of Tim?

03: Why is Gareth 'confused'?

04: What direct question does Gareth ask Rachel?

05: Does Gareth demand an immediate answer?

Discussion

This clip is taken from the original version of the Office. Have you ever seen this show? Have you seen the US version of the office?

The UK Office is known for its cringe humour. What is cringe humour, and was it evident in this text?

The UK Office is also praised for its realism, something which makes it very different from the US version. This is a difficult question, but what aspects of realism were present in the clip?

Gareth uses a vulgar term (handjob) in this scene. Some teachers avoid texts that feature such language, saying that it's inappropriate for the classroom. Others think that it's part of the lahguage, so it should be taught. What are your views on this?

Reflection

What did you notice about the STAGING of the listening today?

How difficult did you find the TEXT?

How difficult did you find the TASKS?

How much did the pre-teaching vocab task help?