Lakhasly

Content

Interest factor

Perhaps the most vital factor of all is interest.In conclusion, teachers need to make sure that the students have the content knowledge to make the text accessible, and this knowledge extends to cultural issues.A recording which describes gangs of ten-year-olds in witch costumes trick-or-treating their way through the pumpkin-laden streets would, therefore, make little sense in an African context.Here's a passage taken from UK television:

He bowls a well-disguised googly and his top-spinner is delivered from a bit wider of the crease.In order to try to ensure that the listening texts they use in class are intrinsically interesting to their students, some teachers give lists of topics and subtopics to their classes to choose from.They then find listening materials to match their students' needs, a surefire though potentially time-consuming way of raising the interest factor.Funny, enjoyable or gripping texts contain their own built-in interest factor.Cultural accessibility

The text needs to be accessible to the listener.Certain concepts simply don't exist in some cultures, so the situations and contexts of some recordings may be incomprehensible.If the aims of the lesson involved learning new cultural information, fine, but if the aim was listening practice, then

the passage would be unsuitable.

Content

Interest factor

Perhaps the most vital factor of all is interest. If the text is intrinsically interesting, and particularly if the students have a personal stake in it, they will listen attentively. Weller's audience wanted to listen because they believed their lives were under threat. In order to try to ensure that the listening texts they use in class are intrinsically interesting to their students, some teachers give lists of topics and subtopics to their classes to choose from. They then find listening materials to match their students' needs, a surefire though potentially time-consuming way of raising the interest factor. Of course, what is interesting for one person may be dull for another, but part of the role of pre-listening tasks (see Chapter 41 in to raise interest in the topic.

Entertainment factor

Related to the notion of interest and 'having a stake in the text' is entertainment. Funny, enjoyable or gripping texts contain their own built-in interest factor.

Cultural accessibility

The text needs to be accessible to the listener. Certain concepts simply don't exist in some cultures, so the situations and contexts of some recordings may be incomprehensible. For example, Hallowe'en is unheard of in most of Africa. A recording which describes gangs of ten-year-olds in witch costumes trick-or-treating their way through the pumpkin-laden streets would, therefore, make little sense in an African context. If the aims of the lesson involved learning new cultural information, fine, but if the aim was listening practice, then

the passage would be unsuitable. Here's a passage taken from UK television:

He bowls a well-disguised googly and his top-spinner is delivered from a bit wider of the crease. At any rate, all of the batsmen are having trouble picking him.

Many people, hearing the sentences above, would be left baffled, even though the number of words they had never heard before may be small: googly, top-spinner, batsmen. Then there will be other words that the listener may have heard, but which are specialised terms in this context, such as crease, which has a completely different meaning from the crease that we have in our trousers. And then there are straightforward-sounding expressions which make no sense unless you know what happens in this particular context: what, for example, does picking him mean? If, however, the listener is told that the sentences describe the game of cricket, things become a bit clearer. In conclusion, teachers need to make sure that the students have the content knowledge to make the text accessible, and this knowledge extends to cultural issues.