Strategies to Improve Listening Skills in Classroom and Zoom Lectures

This article discusses strategies that students can use to improve their listening ability in both classroom and Zoom lectures. It also explores how teachers can help students understand their lectures through various methods. The importance of active listening and other techniques are highlighted.

Individual assessment 2

ABSTRACT
Listening skills permit to make the sense to understand that what other individual is
saying. Lecturer using the better strategies to understand the student about specific subject area.
The different strategies discussed which students mainly used for improving the listening skill.
Teachers help students understand their lectures by using different ways.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................1
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................1
1) Strategies that students can use to improve their listening ability..........................................1
2) Teachers help students understand their lectures....................................................................2
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Zoom is cloud based video communication application that permits to set up the virtual
video as well as the audio conferencing, screen- sharing and some other collaborative
capabilities. In context to COVID-19, school and colleges use the ZOOM application to provide
the education facilities to the students (Becker, 2016). In present report, there will be discussed
about the techniques which teachers use for students to understand the lectures. Some of the
strategies will be examined which students can be used to make improvement in listening ability.
BACKGROUND
Lecture is oral presentation that intended to present the information regarding specific
subject. It is mainly used to convey the critical background, theories, history and the background.
The lecture style consists sitting as well as listening to instructor speak regarding pre- assigned
topic while students take the notes as well as memorised to better of ability. Due to the COVID-
19, schools and colleges are closed and due to this reason lectures are on the Zoom. This
application is removing 40 minute time limit on the accounts for primary and secondary school
that mainly impacted through Coronavirus. There are several strategies to make improvement in
the listening abilities which apply to the zoom lectures and classroom (Dean, Lee-Post and
Hapke, 2017).
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
1) Strategies that students can use to improve their listening ability
Listening ability is an ability to interpret and receive the messages in process of
communication. It is effective key to all the communication. If the listening skill of a person is
not good then it can not able to understand the messages effectively. It is necessary for the
students which take the classes on education can improve listening ability so that they can
understand the message of teacher easily. In regards to this, attentive listeners are the good
learners. Several students have the poor listening skills that can be problematic because they
spend their more time in classroom listening to the lectures in college (Gilakjani and Sabouri,
2016). In order to improve the listening skill of students, there are some strategies given below:
Predicting content- It is one of the most effective as well as useful strategies through
which the learning skill of students can be improved. The prediction is activity that the students
ate mainly carried out refire listening or reading to text where they predict what they read or
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hear. It provides them reason to be read or listen. In context to predicting content, students needs
two different things like use clues author gives in text and use what they know from the personal
knowledge or experience. When the readers combine two different things, they make the logical
predictions.
Listening for gist- This is when learner tries to be understand about the happening if
students can not be understand the every sentence or phrase. Student is trying to be pick the
intonation, words and some other clues in order to make guess at meaning. Other than this, when
listening, this is possible to get whole picture but with the important difference, information
comes in sequence. The main benefit of this listening strategy is that it helps in form a picture
(Kerr, Troth and Pickering, 2020).
Signposting language- It is phrases and words that the people use to tell listener what
happened and going to be next. It mainly guides listener by presentation. This listening strategy
is helpful for the student to guide so they can follow what they are mainly saying. Signposts in
the language assist to follow what they are mainly listening to.
Listening for details- This is concerned to listening type students can be use under
which they can not afford to be ignore anything because they do not know what information of
listening is passage will be required to finish task. In context to this listening strategy, students
are interested in particular information types such as object, number and object. They can be
ignore anything which do not relevant.
Active listening- It is process through which a person secures the information from other
person or group. This mainly consists paying the attention to conversation and not to be
interrupting and talking time for understand what teacher is discussing. The active learning is
important because this develop strong relationship and when this may not be come naturally then
this is a invaluable communication skill (Wood and Su, 2017).
These all the effective strategies which students can be used for active listening. They are
also beneficial for the classroom and zoom lectures.
2) Teachers help students understand their lectures
Students come to the lectures rarely with no knowledge regarding the topic. The teachers
assist the students for understanding lectures effectively. Teachers make assure that students
should understand what they teach in detailed manner. In regards to this, lecture method is
mostly used teaching method. This is teacher controlled and information centred approach under
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which teacher mainly works as sole resources in the classroom instruction. In this, teachers talk
only and students are the passive listeners (Lorente-Catalán and Kirk, 2016). Other than this,
there are some ways given below which help the teachers to understand lectures:
Teacher and student centred learning- The teacher centred learning is traditional
approach. The function of teacher in familiar role of the classroom lecture, presenting the
information to students which are to be passively expected to receive knowledge that being
presented. Its benefit is that it is fully in control that reduce the concern of teacher that the
students can missing the key material. Issues included in this method is related to that students
may have the minimum opportunity to develop thinking and communication skill (Tschirner,
2016).
In the student centred learning, teacher is in classroom but functions as more of the
facilitator or coach as students are embrace active as well as collaborative role in learning. Its
benefit is that students develop the communication and collaboration skill. On the other hand, its
disadvantage is that classroom management can more issue for teacher and there is cutting in
instructional activities.
Concept questions- These are the questions which mainly designed to check
understanding of learners of language item. These are mainly used through teacher to check that
the students have to understood meaning of the new language.
Clear structure of lecture- It is necessary for the teacher to have the clear structure
about the lecture so that students can not face the complexities in learning (Pan, 2016). Writing
the clear structure means that the students can follow meaning than they will not be lost among
all information and ideas. This mainly consist providing reader the reminders continuously as to
the signposts.
Use of intonation and pauses- Lecturer should be focus on using the pauses and
intonation at the time of lecture so that student can easily understand. Pauses can punctuate
spoken words, proving listeners clues to when the single phrase and next starts. In regards to this,
intonation shows attitude of lecturer aspects not possible to be decipher through reading the
words.
Adapting lecture to suit different learning styles (VARK)- It is mainly used to explain
the 4 modalities of the learning of students. In this different leaning styles are Visual Learners,
Auditory Learners, Reading Learners and Kinesthetic Learners. In the visual learners, students
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who synthesize the information when this is to be presented to them in-graphic depiction of
symbols. Auditory learners are successful when they are mainly provided opportunity to hear the
information that presented vocally. In reading learners, students work best in reading the
modality demonstrate strong the learning preferences for written word. Kinesthetic learners are
the participatory learners which requires to take active role in learning process to attain better
educational outcomes (Shin, 2016).
RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding the the above mention information, there are some recommendations mention
below:
 It has been recommend that lecturer should use the specific method to connecting with
students and provide them the better information regarding their specific subject.
 The clear structure of lecture is helpful for the students to understand the way of teaching
and understanding concepts related to subject.
 Teacher should design the questions in structured manner.
 The concept questions helps to the students to understand the language effectively.
 Understanding and adapting to various styles of learning is necessary in instruction form.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from above mention report that providing the better knowledge to
student is responsibility of a lecturer. There has been discussed about the strategies which the
students use for active listening in classroom and ZOOM application like predicting content,
Listening for gist, Signposting language, Listening for details and Active listening. The teacher
helps students to understand the various ways such as Teacher and student centered learning,
Concept questions, Clear structure of lecture, Use of intonation and pauses and Adapting lecture
to suit different learning styles (VARK).
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Becker, A., 2016. L2 students' performance on listening comprehension items targeting local and
global information. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 24. pp.1-13.
Dean, T., Lee-Post, A. and Hapke, H., 2017. Universal design for learning in teaching large
lecture classes. Journal of Marketing Education. 39(1). pp.5-16.
Gilakjani, A. P. and Sabouri, N. B., 2016. Learners' Listening Comprehension Difficulties in
English Language Learning: A Literature Review. English language teaching. 9(6).
pp.123-133.
Kerr, D., Troth, A. and Pickering, A., 2020. The use of role-playing to help students understand
information systems case studies. Journal of Information Systems Education. 14(2). p.6.
Lorente-Catalán, E. and Kirk, D., 2016. Student teachers’ understanding and application of
assessment for learning during a physical education teacher education course. European
Physical Education Review. 22(1). pp.65-81.
Pan, Y. E., 2016. Analysis of listening anxiety in EFL class. International Journal on Studies in
English Language and Literature. 4(6). pp.12-16.
Shin, M. H., 2016. The effect of convergence for pronunciation and listening activities on
listening ability and learning interests. Journal of the Korea Convergence Society. 7(3).
pp.71-75.
Tschirner, E., 2016. Listening and reading proficiency levels of college students. Foreign
Language Annals. 49(2). pp.201-223.
Wood, M. and Su, F., 2017. What makes an excellent lecturer? Academics’ perspectives on the
discourse of ‘teaching excellence’in higher education. Teaching in higher
education. 22(4). pp.451-466.
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