EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Listening and Communication

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EFS 693B
Notes: 5 - 2 
 

I. Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZzuNpEwkvg

II.  Report on homework: go to the Online News Hour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/. Look at the archives under "recent programs" and find one there from before mid-2007 (after that Flash is used in place of Windows media format.  Follow the instructions in V and VI (see week5-1.html) and listen to at least 5 minutes of one of the stories at slow speed (70 or 80%, even 50%) and then at normal speed. Did slowing it down seem to help your comprehension? Were you able to notice new words, reductions and linkings, more easily? Did you follow the pre-listening, while listening, and post-listening recommendations?

III. Example from the archives: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june03/dna_04-25.html or
      http://www.pbs.org/perl/media.cgir?t=w&f=virage/newshour/pbsnh042503_220k.asf&s=2774844&e=3270047&extn=.asx

IV. Review importance of vocabulary - How many words do you know? How many words do native English speakers know? What do you know when you know a word?

                        1. General service list; Academic word list (also called University Word List)

                        2. www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/levels/: a set of tests at various levels

                        3. Babylon: www.babylon.com; Google definitions; AnswerTips plugin for Firefox
                            Note that for listening, you need to connect to the sound

                        4. Keeping a list and reviewing it:
                            a) note unknown words that 1) you've seen before or 2) that seem important: decide whether to take time to learn them
                            b) get the word, its definition, and a sentence from the context you saw it in if possible
                            c) collect in groups of 10-20 and review regularly (till you know them)
                            d) try actively to notice these words in other contexts, and use Google to find more examples

V. Gathering vocabulary from a transcript: use www.lextutor.ca/vp to get frequencies and/or use a Google search. Look for high frequency (0-3000) and mid frequency (4000-9000) words first. Focus on low frequency (10000 and above) words only if they seem important or interesting.

VI. CNN Student News: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/studentnews/04/27/transcript.tue/index.html. How would you CNN Student News to work on both comprehension and vocabulary building?

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Homework:
1. Listen to the CNN Student News program for Wednesday April 29: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/studentnews/04/28/transcript.wed/index.html. Listen for comprehension practice first, then review the transcript for words and phrases you may not know. Identify at least 10 that you think might be useful and look up their definitions: use AnswerTips if you can. Then go to Google (or Google News) and find two or three other examples of their use. Bring your list to class on Monday and be prepared to show you have learned these new words or phrases. Note: if you find more than 10, how would you decide which 10 to learn?
2. Continue work on your independent project:. Send me the report by 10:00 PM Sunday night.: 1) be sure to include some work on vocabulary; 2) try at least one new technique or strategy and report on how successful it was.