Marc Jones

Akita JALT Meeting (In Person): Teaching listening from top-down to bottom-up

Presented By Marc Jones

Abstract
Listening has been termed a “Cinderella skill” (Vandergrift, 1997) that is frequently tested but rarely taught, and which is infrequently researched in comparison to reading, speaking and writing. However, I posit that this is changing with a marked increase in listening research, particularly in the field of second language acquisition. However, not all teachers have access to, or are aware of, research findings on listening pedagogy. Difficulty in listening instruction can bring about deprioritizing the skill in the classroom, which can result in learners having counterproductive ideas regarding their learning and the learnability of listening. This presentation covers some of the key research on listening, approaches to teaching skills and strategies, and also on teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the teaching of listening. Different techniques for teaching at the level of sound, word, utterance and text level are introduced; problems in some current pedagogical practices and published materials are explained and potential solutions are then described; finally, ways to produce listening materials and/or exploit existing authentic listening materials and online tools for developing listening abilities in our learners are explored.

Bio Data
Marc Jones is a lecturer in the Department of Global Innovation Studies at Toyo University,
Japan and a PhD candidate at TU Dortmund, Germany. He has worked in many English
Language Teaching contexts in Japan. His main research interests are listening and
phonology, duo-ethnography, and ADHD in language teachers. He is the Publications Chair
of JALT Listening SIG.

As stated, the presentation will be in person at Akita International University on Saturday June 21st from 14:00 to 16:00 in room D103. Apologies as we do not have the capability to make it hybrid with online.

Akita JALT members will receive a reminder email closer to the date.

Anyone else who is interested and in the Akita City area can email for more info at: akita@jalt.org