How to teach listening in the primary classroom

Listening is one of the receptive skills, but this does not say Can you speak a bit louder, please? You can use
mean that listeners are passive recipients of what they gestures to clarify grammatical concepts, too, e.g.
are hearing. As we listen, our brains are working hard to point backwards over your shoulder to indicate the
decode the stream of sound we hear and make sense of it. past. Tone of voice is especially useful for illustrating
Young children acquire their native language by feelings, such as sad, angry, or scared. You can also
listening to the language around them. Children are use classroom objects or bring key items into the
able to extract meaning from what they hear because classroom to illustrate meaning.
of the context in which the language is spoken and the 2 Routines
outcomes they observe. Slowly, but surely, they build Routines are an essential part of the young learners’
up their repertoire of sounds, words, and structures until classroom. Spoken instructions provide an ideal
eventually they start to try to use them themselves. This opportunity for children to listen to English and
process requires a great deal of one-to-one attention associate certain words and phrases with a situation.
over a long period of time. By building a bank of words and phrases that you use
Although it is impossible to reproduce this total consistently, you expose the children to language
immersion in the language classroom, we can attempt used for real communication. For example, your
something similar. We can expose the children to routine for the start of a class may be asking about
spoken language in a clear context and ask them to the weather (What’s the weather like today?) or finding
demonstrate their understanding with suitable tasks. out if anyone has a birthday (Has anyone got a
Such exposure allows them to unconsciously absorb birthday today?). As you set up an activity you can tell
vocabulary and language structures. After repeated the children what they are going to do (We’re going
exposure, they will be able to use some of the language to listen to a story), or what they need (You need your
themselves. Once they have reached a certain level of colours). You can praise or comment in English, too
cognitive maturity, we can focus on the language and (Well done! That’s great! That’s not quite right, try again).
help them see how it is put together. These all provide great listening practice, and help
the children become familiar with the sounds and
Context is key to understanding when listening. We
rhythms of spoken English.
use clues from the surrounding environment to make
sense of what we hear. These include the situation, the 3 Checking understanding
place, the people involved, the time of day, the weather, Checking understanding is an essential part of
the speaker’s facial expression, and body language, to teaching listening. Understanding is obvious if the
mention a few. Because of this, you, the English teacher, children follow an instruction or complete an activity
are one of the most important sources of spoken correctly. But sometimes it is more difficult to see, for
English. Unlike an audio recording, you can support the example when you tell a story or explain something.
children’s understanding by whatever means necessary, Questions like Did you understand? don’t show you,
using, for example, gestures, facial expressions, the teacher, that they have indeed understood. One
repetition, and realia. Classroom routines, instructions, way to check understanding is to get the children to
greetings, and praise all provide opportunities to expose reflect back what they have understood using their
the children to language in context. Simple questions own language. It is generally accepted that teachers
requiring basic answers are great practice. And every should use English as much as possible, so you
teacher knows how effective storytelling is for engaging can use a puppet who is able to understand both
children’s attention and feeding them a wide range of languages and ‘translates’ what the children say for
language. you. The child tells the puppet and the puppet tells
you. This method means the children have to think
for themselves and do not become dependent on
Four tips for helping children
the teacher to translate for them.
understand you in class
4 Storytelling
1 Supporting understanding
Storytelling is not difficult, but it does require
We can support children’s understanding in a wide preparation and practice. Here are some guidelines
range of ways. Use mime to demonstrate meaning: to good storytelling. See also the separate guide on
open your arms wide for long, draw a box with your this topic: How to use stories in the primary classroom.
hands and mime opening it for present, stretch and 1 Choose a story which lends itself to telling. For
yawn for wake up. Don’t be afraid of exaggerating. younger children, stories which have a section
Use a set of gestures to support frequent instructions, which is repeated with minor variations are
for example move your hands up when you say especially good, e.g. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Stand up!, put a hand behind your ear when you or The Billy Goats Gruff. The repetition means that

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How to teach listening in the primary classroom

the children have plenty of opportunities to work 1 Good listening habits

out the meaning of the language they are hearing. Acquiring good listening habits will be useful to
2 Tell the story in your own words. Don’t read the children throughout their education and beyond. To
story aloud. Make yourself a story skeleton of encourage them to focus on what they are hearing,
the key points to help you remember them. This ask for silence before you play the recording, and
is important, as spoken and written English are encourage them to put their hands on their desks
different. The children need exposure to natural, if and look at a fixed point in the classroom or the task
simplified, speech. in their books. You could use this action chat to help
3 Decide how you are going to provide clues to them settle down. Say the words first and then do
help the children understand the story. You can the actions rhythmically:
support meaning in many different ways: Check your mouth (then touch your lips twice)
• use flashcards which illustrate key points of the Check your eyes (then touch each eye once)
story. Check your ears (then cup your hands behind one ear,
• use real objects then the other)
• use puppets, which are especially useful if the Check your hands (then put one hand on the desk,
story contains dialogue then the other)
• use show images on the IWB. These can be Now you’re ready to listen (said very quietly)
useful to provide a setting for the story, e.g. a (Play the recording)
dark wood, a castle, a pirate ship 2 Preparation
• change your tone of voice and your facial Listen to the recording and check the task(s) before
expression to indicate different emotions or to going into class. This will help you decide how
create an atmosphere you can best support the children. You may want
• incorporate pauses and silence. These give the to prepare a pre-listening activity to revise key
story rhythm, focus the children’s attention, vocabulary or structures.
and give them some time to work out what is
happening in the story 3 Context
• use gestures and mime to indicate shapes and Good listening requires the children to use their
sizes, objects, actions like opening a box or a imagination to make sense of what they are hearing,
door, emotions, and states of mind and illustrations can activate previous knowledge
4 Practise telling the story over and over again with so their brains are expecting to hear the language
your support material until you are comfortable associated with that context. Context always includes
with it. Look at the children and draw them into the setting and the people who are talking. It could
the story. Enjoy yourself; your enthusiasm will also include the time of day, the weather, and what
make the whole activity work better. has happened just before the dialogue. Ensure that
the children have all the necessary information
surrounding the listening before you play the
Five tips for using audio recordings recording.
Although teachers are an important source of spoken 4 A reason for listening
language, there are things that they can’t provide: a A task will focus the children’s attention while they
range of voices, male, female, old and young; dialogues are listening, giving them something concrete to
and conversations with a number of speakers; songs with listen out for. It’s a good idea for tasks to mirror
catchy music and rhythm; a story told with sound effects; real-life reasons for listening, so if the listening is
a conversation set outside the classroom. This is where between a waiter and a customer, the children may
audio and video recordings are invaluable resources. have to choose the picture of the meal the customer
As teachers, our job is to help the children approach orders. Go through the task with the children before
recorded listening tasks with confidence, building their playing the recording, so that they are clear about
self-esteem as they realize that they are able to extract what they have to do.
meaning from what can be, at first, an incomprehensible
5 Different kinds of listening
stream of sound. As a general rule, there are three stages
to a listening activity: the pre-listening stage in which First listening
we prepare the children for listening, the while-listening Listening to a foreign language is challenging, as
stage where they do one or more tasks as they listen, the language being listened to is only available
and the post-listening stage which consists of feedback, temporarily. Children can feel lost and disoriented as
correction, and possibly further work on the language. it disappears into the air. It is helpful if the first time

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How to teach listening in the primary classroom

the children listen to a recording, they only listen, Preparation Prepare materials to make zigzag books
without actually doing the task. This allows them for the class. If you are not familiar with these books,
to focus on the general meaning, without being there are a number of YouTube™ clips showing how
distracted by anything else. to make them. Prepare enough partly finished zigzag
Second and third listenings books so there is one for each child in the class, and a
Check the children have all they need to do the task few more in case they are needed. Make one finished
and play the recording again, pausing between items example of the book to show as a model. Then,
if necessary. Finally, check their answers, and play the prepare a script for the dictation; the example in this
recording once more if you feel it would be helpful activity is for a lesson about the seasons. Make sure
to them. the sentences are simple. Remember that children
can understand more than they can produce. As long
as they know the key words, the structures are less
Four teacher-led listening activities important, especially if you support meaning with
1 Total Physical Response voice and gesture.
Aim To show understanding through physical Example of a script:
actions. This is a while-listening task. Picture 1
Age range All children This is an apple tree. It’s winter. Write ‘winter’ at the top
of the page. It’s snowing. There’s a bird on the tree. There
Preparation Prepare the text. This can be any set of
aren’t any leaves. There aren’t any flowers.
sentences, such as some instructions, a story, or a
chant, e.g. Jake wakes up at eight o’clock. He cleans his Picture 2
teeth and then he washes his face. He has breakfast, etc. Now it’s spring. Write ‘spring’ at the top of the page. It’s
raining. There are some small leaves on the tree. They’re
1 Decide on an action to reflect key words or
light green. There are some flowers on the tree. There’s a
phrases. For example:
nest in the tree.
wake up – rub your eyes and stretch
Picture 3
clean your teeth – mime using a tooth brush
Now it’s summer. Write ‘summer’ at the top of the page.
wash your face – mime washing your face with
It’s sunny. There are big leaves on the tree. They’re dark
both hands
green. There are apples on the tree. They’re red. There are
have breakfast – mime putting cereal and milk into
some baby birds in the nest.
a bowl and eating
Picture 4
2 Say the key words one by one and show the
Now it’s autumn. It’s windy. The leaves on the tree are red
children the action. Encourage them to do the
and orange and yellow. There are some leaves in the air.
action with you (or you can ask them to suggest a
There are some leaves under the tree. There are four birds
suitable action).
in the picture. They’re flying in the sky.
3 Put the key words into sentences. Encourage the
1 Show the children a blank zigzag book. You could
children to do the actions as they hear the key
also show them a finished book with all the
words:
drawings so they know what they are aiming for.
Jake wakes up at eight o’clock (the children rub their
2 Hand out all the partly prepared zigzag books.
eyes and stretch).
Explain that you are going to tell them what to
He cleans his teeth and then he washes his face (they
draw on each page. Show them all the pages.
mime brushing their teeth and washing their
faces). 3 Tell the children to take a mixture of pencils and
He has breakfast (they mime having breakfast). colours.
Variations You can use this activity with a wide range 4 Read the text for the first page, pausing so that
of language structures, adapting it to the level of the the children can draw and colour.
children in your class, e.g. I can jump. I’ve got a cat. I 5 Repeat for pages 2, 3, and 4.
like playing tennis. I went to the cinema last weekend. 6 Show the children how to fold the paper to
I’ve been to London. TPR also works well with story- complete the zigzag books.
telling. Variations There are many ways of doing a picture
2 Picture dictation dictation. You can dictate the colours on a picture of
some balloons, the furniture in a room or a house,
Aim To show understanding by drawing a picture. the animals on a zoo plan, a route through a maze,
This is a while-listening task. the information on a bar graph or other infographic.
Age range All children Older children can work in pairs, with one child
Materials Pencils, rubbers, crayons dictating and the other responding; the activity

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How to teach listening in the primary classroom

then becomes an integrated skills activity, practising Cut out another section Repeat.
speaking and listening. Equally, the end product of of the egg box. This is the
the picture dictation is flexible. In this example, the other eye.
children complete a zigzag book, but it could also
Stick the eye to the plate Show the children
be a single picture, or a shape book, or a simple
with sticky tape, like this. how to stick the egg
comic strip.
box eye to the plate.
3 Make a puppet
Repeat with the other eye. Repeat.
Aim To follow spoken instructions to make a simple
Now decorate and colour Take some crayons or
puppet. This is a while-listening activity.
your frog puppet. felt tips and draw on
Age range Younger children spots or other features.
Materials In this example the children make a frog,
and need the following materials: two paper plates 1 Show the puppet you have made to the children.
per child, egg cartons, sticky tape, crayons or felt tips, Explain that they are going to make one for
scissors themselves.
Preparation Decide what puppet you are going to 2 Show the materials that they will be using and
make; if you need inspiration, try looking for ‘ideas teach the words if necessary. Write a list of the
for making craft puppets with kids’ on the Internet. materials needed by each child on the board.
When you have chosen an appropriate puppet, make 3 Demonstrate how to make the puppet. Follow
it yourself. Prepare the script and plan the actions your script as you do each step. It is better not to
you will use to explain how to make the puppet in read from the script, but to make the language as
class. Think about how to support understanding natural as possible.
non-verbally. In the example used in this activity, the 4 Give out the materials, or invite the children to
script and actions would be as follows: come to your table and take what they need.
Encourage them to refer to the list on the board.
Your script Your actions Tell the children not to start, but to wait for your
You need these materials. Hold the materials up instructions.
Can you show me? Two as you name them. 5 Give the instructions step by step, pausing so the
paper plates … an egg children can implement them. Help them where
box … some sticky tape … necessary.
crayons or felt tips … 6 When they have finished their puppets, give them
scissors. feedback both on the process and the product.
Take one plate. Fold it in Fold a plate in half. You 7 Optionally, you can use the puppet in a speaking
half, like this. need to fold it so the activity.
top halves of the plate Variation You can use this activity for making any
are showing. kind of puppet. It works well with simple paper
Take the other plate. Cut it Demonstrate cutting folding activities. You can also use the technique for
in half, like this. the plate in half. simple science experiments.
Now stick one half plate to Show the children 4 Listen and echo
the plate with sticky tape, how to stick the top Aim To learn a chant line by line by listening to the
like this. Look, you’ve got a of the half plate to the teacher and repeating in different ways. This is a
pocket for your fingers. top of the folded plate while-listening activity.
to make a pocket. They
Age range All children
will put their fingers
Preparation Find a suitable chant between four and
into this pocket to
eight lines long, e.g. a traditional rhyme like this one:
hold the puppet.
Rain on the green grass, Rain on the tree, Rain on the
Repeat with the other Repeat with the other rooftops, But not on me. Prepare flashcards of the key
half plate. Now you’ve got half. words.
another pocket for your
1 Use the flashcards, or draw pictures to check that
thumb.
the children understand the key words. In this
Cut out a section of the egg Cut out one section of example they are rain, green grass, tree, rooftops.
carton … like this. This is the egg box. Leave a 2 Teach the first line. Use the flashcards for rain and
one eye. rim so you can stick it green grass to support meaning; you can also add
on the plate. actions. Say the line clearly and at normal speed

Professional Development  How to teach grammar in the primary classroom photocopiable © Oxford University Press 4
How to teach listening in the primary classroom

and volume. Encourage the children to repeat it 3 Listen – pair – share

after you, but don’t correct them overtly. If there Aim To share understanding of the recording before
are obvious mistakes, say the line again until doing more focused tasks. This is a first-listening activity.
they get it right. Repeat the line in a number of
Age range Older children
different ways: very slowly, very quietly, very fast,
very loud, and any combination of these. Finally, 1 Give a very brief outline of the context of the
mouth the sentence and encourage the children recording, but without giving too much information.
to say it out loud. 2 Play the recording once or twice, depending on
3 Repeat these steps with line two. Then have the difficulty.
children say lines one and two. 3 After listening, ask the children to discuss what
4 Continue adding one line at a time until the they have heard and understood in pairs or threes.
children have learned the whole chant. 4 Finally, invite the groups to share their ideas with
Variation You can use this technique to teach songs, the class and build their understanding of the
poems, and dialogues. text together. This sharing supports the weaker
children so that they are better prepared when
they move onto the main listening task.
Four activities for using audio 4 Listen and order
recordings
Aims To focus on the main information in the
1 What words? texts and to show their understanding by ordering
Aim To listen for key words in order to activate the pictures. This is a while-listening activity.
children’s previous knowledge of the context. This is Age All children
a pre-listening activity. Preparation Prepare six to eight pictures that show
Age All children the main narrative stages of the text. Prepare one set
Preparation Select six to eight key words from the of these pictures as flashcards or electronic versions
recording and add two more as distractors. for the IWB. Prepare a set of smaller pictures for each
1 Write all the words on the board and check the child or pair in the class.
children understand them. 1 Show the flashcards to the children. Check they
2 Explain the context of the recording. If there are know the key words in each.
pictures, they can look at them, or simply tell 2 Play the recording once. Tell the children they are
them where the recording takes place. You can going to listen and then order the pictures.
give other details like the age and relationship 3 Give a set of pictures to each child, or pair of
between the speakers, the time of day and so on. children.
3 Ask the children to guess which of the words they 4 Play the recording again. Encourage the children
think they will hear. They can do this individually to order their pictures. You may wish to pause the
or in small groups. If they work in groups they can recording at key points.
discuss their choices. 5 Play the recording again.
4 Play the recording and ask the children to check 6 Check the activity using the flashcards. Ask the
their guesses. children to stick them on the board in the correct
5 Move onto the main listening activity. order. If you have an IWB the children can move
the pictures into order.
2 Guess the answers
Note If you are working with older children, you can
Aim To help develop the children’s prediction skills
put all the pictures onto a worksheet and ask them
for listening. This is a pre-listening task.
to number them in the correct order.
Age range Older children
Variation You can substitute the pictures with key
1 Set the context as usual and then focus on the words or phrases from the recording.
task in their books.
2 Ask the children to take a guess at what the
answers may be. Encourage them to use their
knowledge of the situation. Tell them that it does
not matter if they are wrong.
3 Play the recording and ask the children to check
their guesses. You may need to play the recording
again if many of their guesses were wrong. Find out more about professional development courses at
4 Check their answers as usual. www.oup.com/elt/oxfordteachersacademy

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