Teaching Aural Comprehension to Inexperienced Listeners

Listening comprehension,a long-neglected area in English language teaching,was not taught as a separate course in our schools until the early 1980s.“Yet ithas been estimated that of the time adults spend in communication activities 45per cent is devoted to listening,only 30 per cent to speaking,16 per cent to read-ing,and a mere 9 per cent to writing.”Listening can and ought to be taughtapart from speaking;it has its peculiar problems.There’s just as much activity

Discussion on Expression of Piano Opuses Based on Listeners’ Psychological Laws

a perfect piano performance needs excellent playing competence and outstanding artistic contents. Musical expression is the soul of piano playing. If a player lacks of abundant attainments and solid skills, it will be difficult for him/her to express the emotion of the opuses. As listeners’ aesthetic quality is increasing constantly, the emotional skill of piano playing is important. This paper expounded the definition and functions of musical expression, and discussed the methods for improving musical expression of piano from the perspective of listeners.

The Intelligibility of Thai Speakers’ Pronunciation from Chinese Listeners’ Perspective

The intelligibility of Thai speakers’English pronunciation from Chinese listeners’perspectives have not been analyzed deeply in current researches.As is known to all,the interconnection between China and Thailand is greatly developed with the sup⁃port of‘One Belt and One Road initiative’.However,it is inevitable for non-native English speakers to encounter some pronuncia⁃tion problems,which would affect them to communicate with each other.As for Chinese English learners,Thai accent to some ex⁃tent would be a great challenge during the conversation with Thai speakers.In order to promote a better communication,it is neces⁃sary to analyze the origin of Thai speakers’English pronunciation problems.Therefore,this research based on the previous studies to categorize the common pronunciation problems among Thai speakers.However,there are numerous English learners in Thailand that have various language proficiency.In this respect,two Thai speakers with different IELTS scores have been selected for com⁃parison,and six postgraduate students in the Education University of Hong Kong are invited to serve as a listener.As a result,this research will base on the listeners’feedback to highlight some suggestions to enhance the intelligibility of Thai speakers’pronun⁃ciation.

Auditory Narrative in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon

This article primarily explores the centrality of sound and listening in Toni Morrison’s literary text.Drawing on theories on sound cultural studies,narratology,and cultural identity,this essay analyzes Morrison’s representation of sound and its significance on characterization,plot,and theme in Song of Solomon.Morrison’s literary sounds-voices of oral storytelling,the sound of music,and the protagonist Milkman Dead’s listening experiences are deeply rooted in African American sound culture.A close analysis of her sound writing in Song of Solomon helps to give the reader a glimpse of the soundscape of African American culture as well as the vital role listening plays in African American survival,endurance,and cultural identification.

Pets are good listeners(第1课时)

本节课是一节阅读课,教学活动围绕两条主线展开。第一条主线是对学生阅读能力的培养,通过不同层次的阅读活动,来培养学生获取、理解信息的能力,和批判性思维能力。第二条主线是对学生口头表达能力的培养,通过设置不同的问题,引导学生进行从基于文本的口头表达到结合自身生活经验的真实表达。此外,老师还注重学生情感教育的渗透。引导学生关注宠物特征在宠物疗法中所起的重要作用,以此来提升学生在人际交往中学会倾诉和倾听的意识。

高中英语翻转课堂在Listening and Speaking的应用

随着全球化的不断深入,英语作为国际交流的主要语言,其重要性不言而喻。在高中阶段,培养学生的英语听说能力,不仅是语言学习的基本目标,更是他们未来融入社会、实现个人价值的关键。然而,传统的英语听说教学往往存在诸多弊端,如教学模式单一、学生参与度低、缺乏实践机会等。翻转课堂作为一种新兴的教学模式,为高中英语听说教学提供了新的可能。

Listen to the Tales of Mohe Camel Farm's Caravans

Editor's Note:If you learn about the history of Mohe Camel Farm and get close to the ordinary people there,listening to their historical tales,you would firmly believe that the hustle and bustle has gradually become silent after 70 years.Whenever the bells hanging on the camels ring again,the greatest camel caravans in human history will never be forgotten.This is because the camel bells not only represent the past but also the direction of advancement.

Analysis of Young Learners’Listening Skills

The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.

Research on Learner Needs Analysis and Listening Activities

Listening is the primary method to access language information.It is an essential part of L2(second language)teaching but also the most difficult skill to master for L2 learners.Based on this,it is necessary to analyze learners’needs in listening.This article aims to conduct a needs analysis of a selected learner from Iraq and describe course material selection and design.Methods including questionnaires,interviews,and observation were used to collect data.Additionally,targeted 60-minute online listening activities were designed.It was found that listening activities can improve both listening and speaking skills.Thus,language teaching should be student-oriented,and subsequent course materials and activity design should be selected based on the analysis of students’needs.

Challenges and Countermeasures in Integrating Chinese Traditional Culture into English Listening and Speaking Course

Foreign language education involves not only language education but also cultural education.It is the new mission of today’s foreign language education to integrate Chinese traditional culture into foreign language teaching and cultivate foreign language talents who can tell Chinese stories well and spread Chinese voice.As a basic course for English majors,English Listening and Speaking faces many challenges when it is integrated into Chinese traditional culture,such as complex teaching content,limited teaching resources,insufficient teachers’literacy,and students’listening and speaking difficulties.In order to solve these problems,teachers and universities should work together to sort out the connotation of Chinese traditional culture,develop audio-visual teaching materials,organize teacher training,and innovate teaching methods,so as to effectively promote the connection between Chinese traditional culture and English Listening and Speaking curriculum system.

The Effectiveness of Explicit Instruction of Certain Decoding Skills in Improving Chinese EFL Listeners’ General Comprehension Performance

The importance of decoding skills has long been neglected in L2 listening classes, especially in a Chinese EFL context. To help foreign language teachers and learners see the value of decoding skill instruction, a quasi-experimental study was designed to test the effectiveness of certain decoding skills in improving learners＇ general listening comprehension performance. Sixty non-English major freshmen were made the experimental group, and another 57 such students were made the control group. The intervention was 6-week-long explicit instruction of basic decoding skills, mainly based on the training framework proposed by Goh （2000）. Data was collected in pre-test, post-test and delayed post-test. The results of data analysis show that the performance of both groups improved in post-test and delayed post-test. However, the experimental group made significantly greater progress in both tests. This study shows that explicit instruction of decoding skills, together with well-designed skill training, contributes to learners＇ better understanding and control of the L2 listening processes and thus helps them improve their general comprehension performance. A series of recommendations for both L2 listening pedagogy and future research are also offered.

EFFECTS OF SYLLABLE STRUCTURES ON THE PERCEPTION OF L2 ENGLISH LEXICAL STRESS AMONG TEENAGE MANDARIN LISTENERS

This study explores the effects of syllable structures on the perception of L2 English lexical stress among Chinese junior ELF learners.Specifically,it focuses on to what extent syllable numbers and syllable patterns differentiate the subjects’perception of target English lexical stress.The subjects were 93 junior middle-school students from two natural classes in Grade 7.The target lexical stress was the primarily stress placed on the 1;and 2;syllables respectively,which were embedded in two kinds of carrier words(nonsense&real English words)with three types of syllabic patterns(CVC.V,CVC.VC&CVC.CVC).The subjects first listened to the stimuli read by a British RP phonetician in falling tone and then did the perception tests in the pen-and-paper manner.Their correct perception ratios(CPRs)of the target English lexical stress were calculated and compared according to syllable numbers and syllable patterns.The results reveal that the CPRs of L2 English lexical stress in disyllabic words significantly outperformed those in trisyllabic words,and that among the disyllabic words,the CPRs ranked top,second,and bottom with the disyllabic patterns of CVC.V,CVC.CVC,and CVC.VC,respectively.The findings provide considerable evidence for the impact of syllabic structures on teenage Mandarin listeners’perception of L2 English lexical stress.

WHAT DO CHINESE EFL LISTENERS NEED TO IMPROVE: BOTTOM-UP SKILLS OR TOP-DOWN STRATEGIES?— A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE ON CHINESE EFL LISTENERS' ROOT PROBLEMS

L2 listening comprehension is a cognitive process, in which listeners use both bottom-up and top-down processing to comprehend the aural text. This study explores whether Chinese EFL learners' listening problems are more associated with their bottom-up or top-down processing. A questionnaire and students' verbal report were conducted. The results show that both high-and low-proficient listeners are actively engaged in top-down processing, but their degree of comprehension depends, to a large extent, on their success in bottom-up processing. This study appeals for more focus shifted back to training Chinese EFL learners' bottom-up processing ability.

The relationship between age,acceptable noise level,and listening effort in middle-aged and older-aged individuals

Objective:The purpose of the study was to evaluate listening effort in adults who experience varied annoyance towards noise.Materials and methods:Fifty native Kannada-speaking adults aged 41e68 years participated.We evaluated the participant's acceptable noise level while listening to speech.Further,a sentence-final wordidentification and recall test at 0 dB SNR(less favorable condition)and 4 dB SNR(relatively favorable condition)was used to assess listening effort.The repeat and recall scores were obtained for each condition.Results:The regression model revealed that the listening effort increased by 0.6%at 0 dB SNR and by 0.5%at 4 dB SNR with every one-year advancement in age.Listening effort increased by 0.9%at 0 dB SNR and by 0.7%at 4 dB SNR with every one dB change in the value of Acceptable Noise Level(ANL).At 0 dB SNR and 4 dB SNR,a moderate and mild negative correlation was noted respectively between listening effort and annoyance towards noise when the factor age was controlled.Conclusion:Listening effort increases with age,and its effect is more in less favorable than in relatively favorable conditions.However,if the annoyance towards noise was controlled,the impact of age on listening effort was reduced.Listening effort correlated with the level of annoyance once the age effect was controlled.Furthermore,the listening effort was predicted from the ANL to a moderate degree.

Development, and validation of non-speech dichotic listening test

Background:Classic dichotic listening tests using speech stimuli result in right ear advantage,due to the dominant crossed pathway for speech and language.It is presumed that similar crossed dominance could exist for non-speech stimuli too.Hence,this is an attempt to develop and validate the dichotic nonspeech test using environmental stimuli and explore the effect of focused attention on this test.Materials and method:Three lists of dichotic stimuli were created using these sounds with fifteen tokens in each list.Four professionals and non-professionals validated these materials.Normative estimation was obtained by administering the newly developed test on 70 adults and 70 children using a free-recall and forced-recall condition.Result:The results showed a significant difference between the left ear and right scores where the left ear score was better than the right,depicting left ear advantage(LEA)for free recall condition in both groups.In the forced recall condition,LEA was not seen;rather the mean score was significantly higher in the attended ear,irrespective of the stimuli presented to the right or left ear.The test-retest reliability in free recall was good in both the ears and moderate for forced right ear conditions.Conclusion:The novel test consistently showed LEA with good reliability and can be used to assess the hemispheric asymmetry in normal subjects and also in test batteries for the clinical population.

Remarks by Marinko Cavara,Chairman of the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina

I feel so honoured to be in the beautiful and great country China to experience its ancient culture and listen to President Xi Jinping's visionary proposals for a better world and a brighter future for humankind.I look forward to the opportunities to exchange views with all of you,to listen to your insights on the future and on the ways to make our aspirations true for a shared future.

College English Listening and Speaking Teaching Guided by Memetics

Memetics confirms the importance of recitation and imitation in college English teaching.Starting with the explanation of the replication cycle of language memes,this paper discusses how to use the memetic perspective in college English listening and speaking teaching,effectively transform the input language information into language output,and improve the classroom effect of college English listening and speaking teaching.

A Study of the Application of Lexical Chunks Approach to College English Listening Teaching

Listening is an important input way of language learning,and is closely related to language learning.Now,listening is still a weakness for English learners in colleges.In recent years,many experts and scholars have explored the application of lexical chunks in teaching,trying to solve the problem of students’vocabulary acquisition.However,there are relatively few researches between lexical chunks and listening achievement.Based on the lexical chunks theory,the research finds that lexical chunks teaching can relieve students’anxiety in English listening,improve their English listening scores,and stimulate students’chunk consciousness.

Efficiency in Teaching Speaker and Listener Repertoires:Comparing Three Instructional Sequences in Autistic Children

Previous studies have investigated the efficiency in teaching listener and speaker repertoires in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder(ASD).Some investigations focused on listener responding by function,feature,and class(LRFFC)and intraverbal by function,feature,and class(FFC).For some children,teaching intraverbal FFC was more efficient because it resulted in a better emergence effect of a related untaught repertoire(LRFFC).For other children,teaching LRFFC along with tacting pictures was more efficient,resulting in a better emergence effect of a related untaught repertoire(intraverbal FFC).In these cases,it is not clear whether the tact increased the efficiency of LRFFC training because a comparison with a condition in which tacts were not required was not conducted.This investigation consisted of a replication with two children diagnosed with ASD.Three instructional sequences were compared:teaching LRFFC-probing intraverbal;teaching LRFFC+tacts-probing intraverbal;teaching intraverbal-probing LRFFC.For a child,all sequences were equally efficient because all related untaught repertoires emerged without errors.However,the acquisition of intraverbals during training occurred with variability.In the case of the second child,the most efficient sequence consisted of teaching intraverbals,resulting in the emergence of LRFFC without errors.In both cases of teaching LRFFC,the emergence of related intraverbals was partial and acquisition of the trained repertoires occurred with variability.The case that did not demand tact responses was slightly more efficient.Data were discussed in the sense that the best instructional sequence may vary from learner to learner.

A Study on the Application of Indirect Speech Act Theory in CET-6 Listening

In recent years,the CET-6(College English Test,Band 6)has become an important standard to measure the English language ability of Chinese college students,and listening is a challenging task for many students.The application of indirect speech act theory in CET-6 listening is seldom studied.Therefore,it is crucial to study on it.Based on the two observation points of indirect speech act theory in CET-6 listening,this study analyzes the specific embodiment of conventional indirect speech acts and non-conventional indirect speech acts in listening,and discusses the effective teaching methods of CET-6 listening.