Texto aula 1 - Estudos Avançados de Língua Inglesa

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AULA 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ESTUDOS AVANÇADOS DE
LÍNGUA INGLESA –
COMPREENSÃO AUDITIVA E
COMUNICAÇÃO ORAL
 
 
 
 
 
 
Prof. Robson Ribeiro
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INITIAL TALK
Welcome to the Listening and Speaking Module in the Methodologies of 
Teaching English course. Speaking and listening is considered by many are two of 
the main aspects of language use, often regarded as the most crucial skills. 
As language professionals, we acknowledge that learning a language 
encompasses more than just these two skills. However, speaking and listening do 
occupy a significant amount of time in our classroom routine, even when not taught 
explicitly. These skills are not only valuable in their own right but also play an 
important role in helping learners acquire other language features. For instance, 
we introduce grammatical concepts through a listening activity or even use 
reinforce new vocabulary through a speaking task. 
Listening and speaking activities offer teachers a wide array of creative 
teaching activities. However, it is important to highlight that inadequate use of 
listening and speaking activities can impact students in a negative way if they lack 
appropriateness or neglect crucial subskills. After all, listening and speaking go 
beyond mere act of exchanging auditory messages. 
Sentences like "Can you listen to English?", for example, would sound 
rather unusual to a native speaker of English. Rather, one would expect questions 
like "Can you speak English?" or "I can speak English at an intermediate level." 
Reading and writing are relatively recent are artificial inventions that, although 
important for communication, do not capture all the details in speech. In contrast, 
listening should be viewed as just as significant as speaking, especially when 
acquiring a Second Language (L2). Some arguments suggest that for language 
learners, listening may even surpass speaking in importance because: 
• Students tend to listen more than they speak in the classroom; 
• Language users are exposed to diverse spoken English varieties; 
• Listening, as an input method, plays a crucial role in the acquisition of both 
native and second language. 
Throughout this module, we will delve into the processes of listening and 
comprehension, identify factors that hinder language users from understanding, 
and explore the different types of auditory experiences in communicative situations 
in and out of class. Our ultimate goal is to build an interactive model of listening 
comprehension. 
 
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CONTEXTUALIZING
Language learners' skills were once categorized as either active or passive. 
In language education today, we tend to refer to those skills are productive and 
receptive: 
• Productive skills encompass speaking and writing (once “active” skills); 
• Receptive skills encompass listening and reading (once “passive” skills). 
While the terms active and passive have become less popular over the last 
two decades or so, their historical usage explains how skills are sometimes 
perceived by most even today. Such terminology implies a sense that the reader 
or listener is not fully involved in the communication process. Speaking and writing 
are regarded as active skills because they demand considerable effort from the 
user, requiring thoughtful consideration of what and how he wants to communicate 
the message. In contrast, reading and listening appear to require little to no effort; 
the listener or reader simply takes in the language, and comprehension seems to 
occur as if by magic. 
However, this perception is far from accurate. A proficient listener or reader 
is highly engaged in the process. This engagement is readily apparent on a surface 
level, where a listener demonstrates attentiveness through body language and 
verbal responses. On a deeper cognitive level, this engagement remains true. 
Listening and reading involve complex cognitive processes, and comprehension is 
essentially constructed within the listener's or reader's brain. When communication 
breakdowns occur, they may be due to environmental conditions, the speaker’s
way of speaking or even the listener. In the communication process, the listener 
plays an essential role. 
THEME 1 –WHY IS LISTENING A CHALLENGE?
Many learners are often concerned about their listening skills, particularly 
when comparing their performance in their L2 to that in their native language (L1). 
However, one might wonder why listening should be challenging if students 
already hear their native tongue effectively. If students have acquired the 
necessary listening skills in their L1, why do they still have a hard time listening to 
sound contrasts in an L2? 
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1.1 Vocabulary
A fundamental reason why students often have a hard time with listening 
comprehension has to do with their vocabulary knowledge in the second language. 
When encountering an unfamiliar word, students have limited strategies at their 
disposal, apart from attempting to deduce its meaning. The challenge of 
vocabulary is further compounded by colloquial expressions or cultural references 
that may surpass the learner's language experience. 
1.2 Chunking
A basic sentence serves as the backbone of any text when one expresses 
themselves through writing. However, spoken communication often requires 
shorter units for effective comprehension. These units may correspond to clauses 
at times, but not always. Because we naturally speak in clusters or chunks, 
successful listening entails the ability to identify these meaningful units. Students 
frequently struggle because they attempt to understand entire sentences instead 
of focusing on the key separate components within each sentence. 
1.3 Redundancy
In our native language, we frequently employ word repetition or phrases 
which are often not essential for understanding. L1 listeners can manage this 
redundancy by concentrating on the core meaning and filtering out filler words 
(fillers). However, L2 learners often feel pressed to attend to each and every word. 
Moreover, we might initiate a sentence and then, midway through, drop it and start 
working on a new idea. This shift can be baffling for individuals listening in a second 
language who end up not know how to cope with this aspect. 
Nevertheless, the encouraging aspect is that once students become aware 
of redundancy, they can be trained to make use of it to their advantage. 
Redundancy can serve as a mechanism to "buy" time so they can process the 
essential information more effectively. 
THEME 2 – OTHER REASONS WHY LISTENING IS A CHALLENGE
Now, let us explore what other factors contribute to the complexity of 
listening comprehension. 
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2.1 Phonological Reduction
In a classroom setting, many learners struggle with listening tasks. 
However, a notable improvement in their performance can be observed when they 
simultaneously read a transcript while listening. One underlying reason for such 
improvement lies in the way words are reduced in everyday conversation. For 
instance, "Did you eat yet?" may sound more like "Djeetyet?" Besides, words can 
also undergo morphological reduction, such as contractions like 'I'm' or He’s. There
is also syntactic reduction, evident when someone asks, "What time will you be 
home?" and the response is '12, perhaps.' 
2.2 Distractions
In an ideal scenario, one would pay full attention to the content they are 
attempting to comprehend. However, reality often presents distractions that hinder 
active listening. These distractions can be internal, like pondering responses, 
fatigue, or hunger, or external, such as poor telephone connections, background 
noise, or a musician playing lively and loudly at a bar. 
2.3 Speaking Rate
Nearly every language learner has encountered instances where speakers 
of the target language appear to speak too rapidly. Research suggests that no 
language has an inherent faster or slower pace than another, theyjust have 
different rhythmic patterns. This has to do with the way the syllables are organized 
in a language. Whereas English is considered to have a rhythmic pattern 
characterized by peaks and valleys (stress-time), Spanish is acknowledged for its 
syllable-timed one, where syllables have exhibit similar time duration. Regardless 
of the rhythmic type, speakers tend to speak more words per minute when they 
are reading than speaking. 
2.4 Stress, Rhythm, and Intonation
Effective listening goes beyond listening to language sounds. English's 
stress-timed nature occasionally requires the compression of numerous syllables 
into a confined space to maintain the language typical rhythm. 
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While intonational differences between Portuguese and English may be 
subtle, they hold significance. Moreover, word stress can appear arbitrary to many 
learners, particularly as written English lacks diacritics (accent marks) to indicate 
stress placement. 
2.5 Interaction
A good listener should also be a good speaker. One must respond to the 
speaker to demonstrate comprehension and facilitate further conversation. Even 
non-verbal responses, a facial expression can impact subsequent comprehension. 
Some educators might attempt to reduce these challenges in the classroom 
to help students concentrate on the act of listening alone. However, this approach 
can be counterproductive, considering that learners will inevitably face such 
challenges in real life contexts. Rather than diminishing them, the solution lies in 
embracing and teaching students how to surmount these challenges. 
It's important to note that not all these challenges will manifest in every 
listening scenario. To effectively address these challenges, we must consider the 
diverse listening tasks our students may encounter. 
THEME 3 –WHAT WE LISTEN TO
While many learners equate language proficiency with the ability to engage 
in conversations, language users actually encounter various types of listening 
experiences in their daily lives. These distinct listening categories are displayed in 
the diagram below: 
Figure 1 – Diagram of listening types 
 
Source: Brown, 2001, p. 251. 
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Each of these listening types presents unique challenges. This will require 
distinct classroom approaches so they can be practiced and ultimately mastered. 
3.1 Monologue: Planned
Speeches, lectures, and news broadcasts are examples of Planned 
monologues. In such contexts, listeners must attentively follow long speeches 
without interruptions. These monologues share more similarities with written 
language than spontaneous spoken speech and are often recited verbatim from a 
written text. They lack features like redundancy or rephrasing, making them 
comparatively easier to understand. 
Nonetheless, the unbroken flow of information can overwhelm students, as 
the absence of redundancy leaves them with little or no time to process the input, 
leading to listening comprehension difficulties. 
3.2 Monologue: Unplanned
Anecdotes, jokes within conversations, spontaneous speeches, or lengthy 
explanations by a teacher are examples of unplanned monologues. These long 
monologues can pose difficulties to understands the speaker's thread of the 
argument. Features such as redundancy and hesitations, which are absent in 
planned monologues, can either help or hinder understanding, depending on the 
listener's perspective. 
3.3 Dialogue: Interpersonal or Transactional
Dialogues need at least two speakers and can be categorized as 
interpersonal or transactional following the goal of the conversation. Interpersonal 
dialogues aim to encourage, strengthen, or reinforce social connections. For 
instance, casual discussions about the weather typically (which is very common 
among British) serve as a means to convey politeness and demonstrate adherence 
to conversational norms. 
Transactional exchanges, by their turn, involve specific objectives or 
outcomes, often pertaining to the exchange of factual or propositional information. 
Examples include conversations in a store about product prices, negotiations 
between parents and children about curfew, or even teachers explaining 
grammatical concepts to students. 
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3.4 Dialogue: Familiar or Unfamiliar
Both interpersonal and transactional dialogues may involve individuals who 
are either acquainted or unfamiliar with one another. In interactions with pre-
existing relationships, shared knowledge levels tend to be higher. For instance, a 
conversation between a couple married for 20 years involves unique 
communication patterns, implicit meanings, and assumptions, with nuances that 
may elude outsiders. However, these features are not exclusive to long-term 
relationships; individuals who share common academic or work life, musical or 
movie genre preferences, may also leave certain details unspoken. 
Conversely, when speakers are unfamiliar, explicit communication 
becomes crucial to ensure comprehension. Such conversations often involve 
frequent checks for understanding, and language usage leans toward more 
explanatory expressions. 
THEME 4 – TV AND FILM
Watching TV programs or films is another facet of listening that both 
students and educators often prioritize. Typically, these media sources feature 
dialogues that can fall into various categories – interpersonal or transactional, and 
familiar or unfamiliar. Consequently, it is tempting to assume that they accurately 
represent real-life speech and can be effectively used for classroom practice. 
However, upon closer examination of TV and film scripts, it becomes 
apparent that they bear more resemblance to planned monologues than to genuine 
ones. Such resemblance arises from the extensive hours of rehearsals by the 
actors as well as the rarity of features like redundancy, ungrammatical speech, or 
hesitations in their lines. 
Nonetheless, this does not imply that we should avoid the use of TV and 
films in the classroom. Instead, it underscores the importance of recognizing their 
limitations in reflecting authentic everyday speech patterns and acknowledges that 
their primary function is to prepare students for engaging with such media. 
4.1 The Listening Process
As previously mentioned, the listener actively participates in comprehending 
spoken language, regardless of the type of conversation. It is only natural to inquire 
about the specific activities the listener engages in during this process. 
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The straightforward response is that listeners focus on the various 
messages they receive and transform them into something meaningful to them. 
While this general explanation holds true, it does not provide teachers or 
students with a detailed understanding of the elements they should pay attention 
to. Furthermore, inabilities to pay attention are not the sole reasons for 
misunderstandings. Therefore, it is imperative to identify the different stages 
involved in understanding spoken discourse. This will allow us to pinpoint potential 
obstacles. In brief, we must gain insight into the processes underlying listening and 
meaning construction. 
THEME 5 – SOME TYPES OF PROCESSES
In this segment, and as we conclude the current lesson, we will delve into 
an array of types of processes. 
5.1 Top-Down Processing
One approach to conceptualize how we handle information during listening 
is to envision it as a top-down process. In this framework, as depicted by Figure 2, 
we initiate the process by drawing upon our pre-existing knowledge of the world, 
the subject matter under discussion, and the genre. This framework is also 
described as 'schemata.' 
Figure 2 – Top-down process 
 
Source: Scrivener, 2005, p. 179. 
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The crucial point to note about schemata is that it works regardless of the 
specific content being listened to. We possess this knowledge beforehand, even 
before we start listening. During listening, we tap into this knowledgeto anticipate 
the type of information we might encounter and subsequently cross-reference what 
we hear with our predictions. 
To validate our predictions, we assess the entire text as a whole. We ask 
questions such as, 'Does it align with the expected genre?', 'Is the message I hear 
in conformity with my understanding of the world?' and 'Was I accurate in predicting 
the topic?' To ascertain the accuracy of our predictions, it is imperative to listen not 
only to the entire text but also to more extensive sections of text, complete 
sentences, chunks, individual words, and even individual sounds or phonemes. 
However, when employing top-down processes, our focus centers primarily on the 
larger elements at the top of the pyramid. 
5.2 Bottom-Up Processing
The top-down approach can be criticized when one asks how a person can 
understand a piece of text without attending to the individual sounds that constitute 
words, which in turn form chunks and sentences? This critique is valid. The 
alternative approach is to consider the bottom-up process. In this model, we listen 
to individual sounds to construct words, which are subsequently assembled into 
chunks, sentences, and ultimately the entire text. The complete text then informs 
the listener about the genre, topic, and shapes the listener's worldview. 
5.3 Processes in Action
It was once believed that a bottom-up approach was the sole means of 
understanding both written and spoken language. However, spoken language 
unfolds too swiftly to construct meaning methodically. 
In the real world, we employ a blend of both processes concurrently. We 
draw upon our schemata to anticipate what we are about to hear while 
simultaneously listening to individual sounds. These processes happen so rapidly 
within the listener's mind that he is not even fully aware of it. Nonetheless, our 
listening approach is not uniform; certain real- world tasks may lean more toward 
top-down processes, while others may require more bottom-up processes. 
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For example, an authentic task that relies on top-down processes might 
involve listening to a friend retell a wedding story. Given your general knowledge 
of wedding events and expectations, you would listen for information that either 
corroborates or contradicts your predictions, rather than meticulously parsing 
every word for intricate details. 
Conversely, a real-world activity demanding more bottom-up processes 
could entail receiving guidance from a friend while attempting a complex internet 
task. In such a scenario, you would need to listen attentively to each word to avoid 
errors. 
5.4 Learner Processes
In the real world, both bottom-up and top-down models coexist to make 
listening comprehension easier, with the emphasis on one or the other varying 
depending on the task. However, language learners may not always possess the 
same ease or willingness to employ both systems concurrently. Evidence suggests 
that students often focus more on individual sounds and words, potentially leading 
to challenges in processing excessive information and end up struggling when 
dealing with unfamiliar words and neglecting contextual cues. 
CONCLUSION
Listening, alongside speaking, is frequently regarded as an essential aspect 
of language use. The listening skills developed in our L1 do not transfer 
automatically to a second language due to neurological reasons. Hence, students 
must develop, and educators must teach listening skills. 
Before effectively teach listening skills, it is imperative to acknowledge the 
challenges language learners encounter when deciphering spoken language. 
These challenges entail understanding new patters of rhythm, intonation, and 
reduced forms, which are specific to listening casual speech, as well as more 
general issues such as a lack of lexical knowledge in the target language, along 
with other language skills. 
Additionally, aside from the reasons that make listening challenging, we 
must consider the various text types our students may encounter. In this session, 
we examined the distinctions between planned and unplanned monologues and 
how familiarity can influence interpersonal or transactional dialogues. 
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Ultimately, having a model for comprehending the listener's mental 
processes is crucial to achieving understanding. While there is a consensus that a 
combination of top- down and bottom-up processing occurs, the precise nature of 
this process remains somewhat enigmatic. 
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REFERÊNCIAS
COMMON listening challenges. Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Available 
in: . Retrieved: 2 nov. 2023. 
MORLEY, C. Listening: Top-down and bottom-up. 2007. 
Available in: . Retrieved: 2 nov. 2023. 
TENNANT, A. Listening matters: top-down and bottom-up listening. 2007. 
Available in: . Retrieved: 2 nov. 2023.