Top-down conversation
In the latest post in his series on teaching listening, Interchange author Jack C. Richards considers exercises and activities we can use to teach top-down processing, and how we can combine the teaching of top-down and bottom-up processing in the same lesson.
Combining bottom-up and top-down listening in a listening lesson She makes more use of top-down processing. However, a novice cook listening to the same program might listen with much greater attention, trying to identify each step in order to write down the recipe. Here, far more bottom-up processing is needed.
The post-listening phase typically involves a response to comprehension and may require students to give opinions about a topic. However, it can also include a bottom-up focus if the teacher and the listeners examine the texts or parts of the text in detail, focusing on sections that students could not follow. This may involve a microanalysis of sections of the text to enable students to recognize such features as blends, reduced words, ellipsis, and other features of spoken discourse that they were unable to process or recognize. Jack will be back in a few days time, exploring listening strategies. To read other posts by Jack Richards, click here. |