This is part 2 of ESL Active Listening & the Listening Domain – How to teach it.
Are you wondering about the ESL Listening Domain and how to teach it? Teaching active listening to English learners is the focus of these 2 posts! In part 1 we talked about how to set up your lesson and what to cover during lessons on the listening domain. Part 2 focuses on some essential tips to include in every lesson. I hope this proves valuable to you as you plan your schedule around teaching this essential domain!
We know that it is important to build a strong English foundation for our ELLs. It involves introducing ESL students to the language in such a way that allows them to access new and unknown sounds and words but also understand them. One of the 4 domains English learners need explicit instruction is the listening domain. Essential instruction includes giving ELLs a wide variety of listening exercises that are fun and supportive and attuned to their age and skill level.
The exercises discussed in Part 1 and 2 the all aim to boost ESL student understanding and build their overall listening comprehension. As always, it is important to break large tasks into smaller chunks and provide step-by-step instructions.
To help you out, here are some important tips on how to effectively incorporate active listening comprehension into your lessons:
Model Active Listening
The best way for your students to learn about active listening is to observe it in action! Show them what it looks like by modeling the behavior yourself. Explain why it’s important and demonstrate how using it can help them become better communicators.
Use Visuals
Incorporate visuals into your lessons and show different types of language cues and body language associated with active listening. Have fun with this by creating worksheets or game-based activities. These make the material more enjoyable for your students to engage with.
Role Play Active Listening
Have students practice active listening through role-playing scenarios in pairs or small groups. Students act out different conversations and practice taking turns talking and actively listening to one another. Don’t forget to give appropriate feedback when needed.
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Focus On Smaller Speaking Goals
Encourage all of your ESL learners to focus on smaller goals when they’re speaking or actively engaged in dialogue with others, such as using content words correctly or forming complete sentences without mistakes whenever possible. This will give them something concrete they can work towards while they practice their speaking skills without feeling overwhelmed by trying too much at once.
Assess & Celebrate Growth
Encourage and acknowledge any growth that your students show in their understanding of active listening comprehension, even if it’s only a small step forward from where they started! Celebrating these small successes will help keep them motivated and excited about learning more about language communication in general!
These simple tips offer an easy starting point for incorporating active listening comprehension into elementary ESL classrooms, but don’t forget that there is also plenty of room for creativity too! As always – have fun teaching the fundamentals of effective communication to your amazing students!
Hope you find this helpful!
I would love to hear your comments below!
