Active Listening Series, Part 5: Self-Reflective Listening

Students are used to listening to their teachers and their peers...but they could also use practice listening to themselves! This is not only a strategy that will lead to improved pronunciation, but it will also enhance mindfulness and auto-correction of errors (especially the most common ones that you are TIRED of addressing!).

One way that I have had success with this practice is through the use of voice recordings. Those headphones serve the students well! By recording projects using a VoiceThread, a movie maker or even a simple application like www.voki.com (fun talking avatar!), students can record a prepared text. In theory, they should be doing their best work as they record, since they are producing a project that is visible on the web and is preferably published on a class blog or wiki. But we know that even our best work almost always contains some errors, and learning to reflect upon our work and identify our own strengths and weaknesses is not only a critical academic skill, but a life skill that will serve our students forever.

You will definitely need to model what it looks like to complete a listening evaluation of oneself. You might record a demo project yourself. Using a projector, project the checklist/rubric of requirements for an excellent recording. Demonstrate what it looks like to listen for each element of the checklist. Think aloud. Call on students to assist. Make it a fully interactive reflection session so that students are aware of what you are asking them to do. Make sure they understand that they DO posess the skills necessary to do this. They may use their notebooks, their text books, online dictionaries that offer pronunciation, Quizlets or podcasts you have made...any resource that supports their learning is great.

Give students an opportunity to find their errors, and also to correct them for an improved score on a project. When growth, improvement and self-reflection become clear classroom goals, your students will feel empowered and motivated to speak the target language more mindfully and accurately.