Most ESL students will say that listening is difficult, if not actually admit that this is their weakest skill. The difficulty comes down to two main points. The first point results from the pace, vocabulary, phrases, grammar structures, and pronunciation is determined by the speaker. The listener has only one chance to catch the meaning of a word or phrase. Comparisons can be made with reading, because the writer similarly determines the language. However ESL students can easily re-read passages, consult a dictionary, and generally work at their own pace. This simply isn't possible when listening.

The second problem students usually have is related with how teachers use listening exercises. Listening-focused activities often incorporate a scripted monologue or dialogue. The activity generally begins with students listening once or twice to the CD, which they then follow with comprehension questions. Unfortunately, this feels like a testing situation, as there are right and wrong answers. This adds pressure and negative feelings to an already difficult skill.

So what should a teacher do?

To start with, prepare the students with an activity or two. Set aside some discussion time, with several questions that deal with the topic. If the listening activity focuses on likes and dislikes, give the students a set of questions to quickly discuss their likes and dislikes. This gives them some background ideas, thereby gearing up their thoughts towards the upcoming content. With lower-level students, use more basic questions.

Next, you want to clarify the subject and purpose of the ESL monologue/dialogue or ESL conversation. The students can quickly begin the activity once they have a general description and the purpose of the conversation. In other words, they won't lose any time orienting themselves with the speakers and the purpose of the conversation. You should also explain exactly what the activity requires. For example, will students need to answer questions? Will they need to complete a task, like filling out a calendar or diary? If necessary, walk the students through the instructions step-by-step, and confirm understanding. This will prevent any false mis-steps during the listening activity.

Now it's time to listen to the CD. Students listen and answer questions, complete a worksheet, or take care of some other related task. With more difficult passages, it's okay to allow the students listen once and catch the gist of the conversation. They should not take any action because they want to understand the big picture.

For the final step, confirm and discuss the listening task. What parts did the class not understand or struggle with? Why? This empowers the students because they learn a little more about their strengths and weaknesses with listening. You should then follow this with a chance to check the answers, which can be done in pairs or together as a class. Then wrap up the exercise with an opportunity to reuse the information that they just heard in combination with other language skills. Discuss specific questions in pairs or groups, for example, or debate the information. Lower-level students should reuse vocabulary or grammar with partners.

Although there are more ESL listening activities , these steps will guarantee a more positive and productive set of listening activities.

If you are interested in learning more about ESL listening activities , as well as other areas of your lesson, please check out Better Language Teaching at http://www.betterlanguageteaching.com.