Teaching Emphases for English Proficiency Levels
Improving Teaching and Learning for ESL Students from Years 1 - 12
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Level: Middle/Upper Primary LISTENING – Level 1

Language Capabilities	Teaching Emphases	Suggested Resources
Watches and imitates Interprets non-verbals and intonation patterns Joins in mainstream activities but may not speak Comprehends through non-verbal cues such as gestures and through intonation patterns Asks for translation or clarification from other L1 speakers	Allow time to absorb new information and process questions before expecting a response Allocate a buddy e.g, for group work, during breaks Weave short focused activities that require active listening with alternate activities that don’t require this level of concentration (as a means of avoiding concentration loss and tiredness especially when there is an overload of unfamiliar language) Challenge student intellectually through linguistically simple trans-disciplinary problem solving activities e.g. group reconstruction of a geometric shape –Kay’s ‘ESL in the Mainstream’ course notes Use high frequency greetings and courtesy phrases rather than unexpected alternatives e.g., ‘bye’ rather than ‘so long’ Accompany face to face (use of an OHT rather than whiteboard ensures face to face) interactions such as simple instructions, directions, questions and other classroom activities with culturally familiar non-verbals (e.g. body language, gestures), repetition (prefaced by student name if necessary to attract attention), simplification, rephrasing, clear intonation (e.g. for questions vs statements vs imperatives), stress on key words and visuals e.g. pictures, diagrams Assign student to routine duties (e.g. open the windows) and special errands (e.g. take this note to the office) accompanied by a buddy Play games which enable student to act out simple instructions/directions e.g., PE-students run and stop on whistle to follow instructions-stand up, sit down, stand inside/outside the hoop, lie on/under the mat ; treasure hunt-follow directions to find a hidden object Give listen and draw/make activities e.g., craft activity List a series of numbers/letters for student to follow in completing a dot-to-dot Where to Start pg33 which is out of sequential order Familiarise student with vocabulary (e.g. through drill and practice software, participation in board/card games with native speakers or sharing of stories that lend themselves to storymaps) such as action verbs related to classroom instructions- open, put, start, read, write, draw, cut; simple prepositions of place/motion – on, off, under, in, out; names of school areas, classroom items and subjects – tuckshop, playground, pencil, ruler, maths Take student on a tour of school/classroom and use language such as – here, upstairs, left, right, music room and mark path taken and key places visited on a map in order to recycle language later Invite L1 peers and adults to explain school procedures and English content in class activities Accompany beginner level stories, songs, poems, raps (strong rhythm and rhyme) with visual support, gestures, simplification and repetition Become familiar with L1 culture-specific non-verbals (e.g. Chinese point to nose when referring to themselves, Nepalese tilt head shoulder to shoulder to express ambivalence) as well as those which are common to English and L1 Become familiar with L1 consonant/vowel configurations in order to understand student’s difficulties in hearing certain sounds in certain positions (e.g. Chinese and Vietnamese tend not to hear consonants in final position) Encourage use of L1 ( e.g., at home, in the community, at Saturday school, in place of worship) as an aid in making sense of English discourse Demonstrate sounds and corresponding positions of articulators (tongue and lips) and teeth when student experiences difficulty hearing or producing an utterance Practise songs, rhymes, poems, stories, minimal pairs that discriminate fine differences in sounds (phrases-wash the door/watch the floor; words in isolation or in carrier phrase-tea/tree; sounds-/v/, /b/) and which emphasise sounds not perceived (i.e. those identified in contrastive analysis and commonly omitted or substituted such as plural ‘s’ indicating a change of meaning)	Listening Activities for ESL Beginners Green Transit Listening English on Your Own New Arrival Program- Kay and Melody Classroom Game Where to Start (on order) New Oxford Picture Dictionary PM CD- Red Level Jazz Chants Asian Language Notes- Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean Rosie’s Walk Wiggleworks- The Tree House Multi-lingual Contrastive Analysis chart Phonics Alive (on order) Thrass (British accent) Alphabet CD (Australian accent) Scissors, Glue and Concepts Too- listening activities On the Way Listening Newcomer Phonics Listen to This

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Authors: Kay Mc Namara & Esther Watt                  © Education Queensland 2004
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