The most noticeable ‘listen and practice’ activity we should use, is giving simple directions. Most classroom language is a variety of ‘listen and practice’ activities, and these activities help teachers pick up very quickly if the students have understood the message instructions or not.
How to practice ‘listening and practice’ activities in the classroom
Listen and Draw
The Listen and Draw activity isolates listening from speaking for students who struggle to express themselves in English. Teachers must remember that drawing takes time, so they should keep the picture simple.
For example, a teacher might say the following:
- Draw a square in the centre of the paper.
- Draw a triangle on top of the square.
- Draw a small rectangle inside the square, at the bottom.
- Draw two small squares inside the square near the top.
If the students have listened accurately, they will draw a boat (or something like it), and you will be able to tell whether they understood your directions.
This activity is beneficial for testing the vocabulary of colours, shapes, and prepositions of location.
Movement Activities
- Younger students usually enjoy physical activities that include movement. These activities can consist of asking students to do various things such as – ‘stand on one foot’: ‘hop on your right foot five times’ – the more language the students learn, the more teachers can ask them to do.
- The benefit of this sort of exercise is that teachers know at once if the students have understood.
- The educator can check classroom vocabulary, movement words, counting, spelling, etc.
- Students learn from each other. If they have not understood the first time, they will still be able to do the activity by watching the others.
Simon Says
- Simon Says is great for teaching with Total Physical Response and a great go-to listening game.
- The Simon Says game requires students to follow simple commands and perform actions in the way the teacher directs them.
- This game is also suitable for reviewing vocabulary or grammar structures if you include them in your verbal directions.
- The teacher starts by volunteering to be “Simon” and the class as the game players to begin the game.
- After “Simon” gives them a few short instructions, ask the class to tell you what they witnessed and if their friends did well. Write their answers in a thinking map on the board.
Listen for the sound activity.
- For this activity, the teacher will ask the students to pick up their hands when they hear a particular sound or word,
- In order to relax them a bit, the teacher can lower the volume of his/her voice, count from one to twenty, and ask the students to listen for when he/she misses out a number for them to put up their hands.
- There are a variety of uses for the ‘put up your hand when’ type of exercise.