Listening skills are especially important for students of a new language. Teach your students to give each other constructive feedback to ensure that they are listening and understanding conversations. Their feedback should be timely, descriptive, aimed only at behaviors that can be adjusted and based on the speaker's needs. Students must thoroughly discuss the feedback to ensure the speaker understands the listener's comments.

Divide students into groups of three. Each will play the role of speaker, listener or observer. Choose a simple topic, such as their hobbies or favorite school subject, for the speaker to discuss.

Have the speaker talk for five minutes, and then instruct the listener to share constructive feedback with the speaker. The observer must evaluate the conversation to ensure the feedback meets the desired qualifications and that it is received without hostility.

Ask the listener if giving the feedback felt natural and whether she would have felt more comfortable using her native language. Drawing such comparisons may identify opportunities for the student to improve on her English communication skills.

Assign different roles to the same students. Allow the listener to become the speaker and the speaker to become the listener. This role reversal will allow students to evaluate communication skills from different angles. As they speak, they will begin to think more about the role of the listener, resulting in more clear communications.