EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Listening and Communication
EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Listening and Communication
EFS 693B
Week 9 Notes
I. Opening: Friends: The One with all the Thanksgivings (Season 5, Episode 8).
A. First part with captions on.
B. Second part with captions off.
II. Watching TV comedies:
Comedy shows are very popular on American television. There are dozens of them on during the week, and they provide us with a way of laughing at ourselves and our culture. Being able to understand a comedy show in another culture is an impressive feat. It takes time and keen observation skills to note which parts are supposed to be funny before you hear the laughter from the studio audience.
Comedy shows tend to fall into groups. Most programs can be divided into one of three types: friend shows, family shows and work shows. A few cut across two or all three types. Common themes are friend/friend, boy/girl, husband/wife, and parent/child relationships. Some shows have an ethnic basis to their humor, some have regional humor, and some have humor based on social class. There are also animated forms of these shows, such as The Simpsons.
Traditionally, a comedy episode revolves around a single problem or theme which is set in the first few minutes of the show. Attempts to resolve the problem may be unsuccessful at first, which is often where the humor comes in. Increasingly, shows have multiple problems or themes which evolve more or less in parallel, making a more complex plot to follow.
Besides their general value for practice in listening to casual conversation, comedies are useful to watch for enjoyment just to get some additional insight into aspects of American culture. To get the most out of listening to comedy shows, there are a few points you should keep in mind.
1) Because a lot of the humor in the show is cultural, be prepared not to understand why something is funny. If you can, take notes and try to think about them. If possible, ask a native speaker why something was supposed to be funny.
2) Many of the jokes depend on understanding the characters, both their individual personalities and their patterns of interaction with other characters. In order to appreciate this part of the humor, you need to watch a number of different episodes. A good strategy is to find an older show that is rerun every day instead of only once a week (like Friends: see below). Alternatively, look for shows that are available online (e.g., www.hulu.com) or DVD.
3) Although commercials can be fun and useful practice themselves, they are meant to be distracting. You can mute the TV (turn off the sound) during commercials, reflect on what you’ve just watched, and predict what you think will happen next. If someone else is there with you, you can talk about the show at this time (preferably in English). Of course if you are working from recordings, commercials are not an issue.
4) Finally, there is a lot of variation in the language difficulty among comedy shows. Try to find one or two that you enjoy but can follow best. If you have to have the captioning on to understand much of it, then the show is of questionable value for language learning.
One of the most useful shows for improving listening is Friends--the language is easier than many other comedies, and the stories are often more universal. It's on every weeknight twice on KTVU Channel 2, at 6:30 and 7:00. You can get the transcripts for Friends at http://www.friendscafe.org/scripts/ and a number of other TV shows at www.script-o-rama.com. The scripts will be particularly helpful if you can record the shows and listen to them using some of the techniques we've discussed in class. You can find the name of the episode (so that you can get the right script) at www.tvguide.com.
If you like British humor, British comedy shows can be found on Channels 9 and 54. And if you like other types of comedy, including “standup”, there’s a whole channel on cable called Comedy Central. You can see some clips at www.comedycentral.com.
III. Discussion of dramas (in pairs)
Which show did you watch? How well were you able to understand it?
Describe the procedure you used to watch it.
How often did you use the captions? Were they helpful?
Do you think the show would be helpful for vocabulary development? Why or why not?
Did you like the show? Why or why not? Do you think you will watch it again?
IV. Comments on FlashACE: www.stanford.edu/dept/lc/efs/FlashACE/: provides processing practice through rapid, intensive comprehension and optional dictation.
V. Groundhog Day continued
NOTE: Our final class on will meet in Meyer 280C at the usual time Tuesday Dec. 1, 3:15-4:30; Wednesday Dec. 2, 9:00-10:15.
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Homework: There is no class during Week 10--we break for the Thanksgiving holidays
1) This assignment is for two weeks, for a total of four hours minimum combined. Your report is due Monday November 30 at 8:00 PM. This time, be sure to specify the objective(s) of each activity (improve comprehension, build vocabulary, improve capacity, etc.). I'll provide you with the form.
2) Go to www.stanford.edu/dept/lc/efs/FlashACE/. Go through FlashACE Advanced Lessons 3, 4, and 5. Listen first for comprehension. Then, for each lesson, try to do dictation on at least three items. Notice what you have to listen to most closely and any mistakes you make--come prepared to discuss your experience.
3) There will be a couple of tests on the last day of class to see how your listening proficiency has improved. We will meet in Meyer 280C so that you can take one of the tests on computer--please be on time.