EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Listening and Communication
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EFS 693B
Notes: Week 3
I. Warmup – www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpLc5nM64RM. What is this about?
II. Homework: "The importance of selective information," Carly Fiorina: http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1716, and other material from her talk. Discuss the following questions in small groups:
A. What did you do to prepare for listening to this?
B. What was the difference between your first and second listening? Did you go straight through both times? Did you pause--if so when? Did you ever rewind?
C. When you did the dictation, how did you do it? What errors did you notice? (spelling, grammar, getting the right words, etc.)
D. What did you think of Fiorina's speaking style. What made her easy or difficult to understand?
E. Did you put the transcript into the vocabulary profiler at http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/bnc/? Did that help you recognize words you didn't know?
F. How did you watch the other five clips from Fiorina's talk? How well did you understand them?
Gap fill exercise.
III. Discussion of vocabulary tests and independent reports
IV. Suggestions for how to do your Independent Project: example from http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2241. Link what you do to general objectives (A, B, and C below). Note that this is just one of many possible procedures.
A. Listen for meaning
1. Pre-listening: Preview the topic and think about it before listening; predict what you might hear
2. While listening: Use the pause and rewind when needed
3. Post-listening: Write or record a quick summary of what you remember--this is like a self quiz
4. Determine what you understood and missed the first time (if possible): focus on figuring out missed parts
5. Repeat, starting at #2--turn on the subtitles if needed
6. Watch a final time without subtitles or pausing, but with focused concentration
7. Think about what you learned here and how you might use the ideas
B. Improve processing: dictation
1. Listen again to the first 30 seconds or so--pause.
2. Do a dictation of the next 20-30 seconds or so. Try to listen to a short piece (2-3 seconds), pause, and then write what you heard. Don't repeat until the end of the 30-second segment.
3. After 2-3 times through. Check your answer against the script. Pay close attention to what you're missing. Especially, note linkings, reduced forms, and grammar errors.
4. Listen to the next 30 seconds or so without dictating, then start another dictation segment if you want.
C. Increase language knowledge: build vocabulary
1. Look through the text without listening and underline every word or phrase that you aren't sure of. Double underline any that look particularly interesting or important
2. Listen again while you read. Pause when you come to an underlined word and try to guess the meaning from the context. Move on quickly if you can't.
3. Use an online dictionary to look up all the double underlined words; use Google to look for other examples and definitions of phrases/idioms (note: you may not find all of them--that's OK).
4. Keep the new words/phrases in a list--note, if you have identified a lot of words, go to www.lextutor.ca/vp/bnc/ to help you select which ones to study. The list should include the word, one or more definitions, its translation (optional), and the sentence in which it occurred (this will help you remember the context you encountered it in).
5. Study them regularly
V. The English sound system - an overview
A. Basic sounds (phonemes): http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#
B. Rhythm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_timing
C. Stress: www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress.htm
D. Intonation: www.americanaccent.com/intonation.html
E. Linking: www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/linking.htm
F. Reduced forms: www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/ReducedForms.html
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Homework: Unless otherwise stated (e.g., the independent project) you should complete this material in time to discuss it in the following class. Be sure to bring notes if requested
1) Review the handout on the English sound system and check the preceding websites: make sure you understand how processing the sound can affect your comprehension. Note that these websites can help you with your pronunciation as well.
2) Be sure to do this before (3). Listen to www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv99WA0xyNk, which continues the topic of information overload. Write a one paragraph summary of Ted Koppel's main points and your reaction to them. Include that summary with your independent project report.
3) Listen to www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGcvj3JiGA, a Google tech talk on information overload titled "No Time to Think" by David Levy. You do not have to listen to the question session at the end but may if you wish. Do the following:
1. Prepare for listening by reading the abstract and bio of the speaker. Think about what you might hear him say.
2. Listen closely as you would to a lecture and take good notes. Pause every few minutes and try to summarize what you heard without looking at your notes.
3. Make a note of any section that is confusing (check the time stamp) and return to it for a second viewing.
4. Bring your notes to class Monday: I will give you a quiz on the material and you may use your notes to help you answer.
4) Continue working on your independent project. Plan to do at least four 45-minute sessions this week on different days. You may continue with the same types of topics and materials you used last week. Your report is due again by Monday October 12 at 8:00 PM. We will have a meeting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday next week to discuss your progress (I will send you the report form tonight).