Pre-listening Activities

What are Pre-listening Activities?

Pre-listening activities are tasks that help students get ready for listening to a story or passage. These activities are done before the main listening task to make the listening experience smoother and more effective. They prepare students by activating their prior knowledge, teaching key vocabulary, and setting a purpose for listening.

Why use Pre-listening Activities?

Pre-listening activities can be especially beneficial in the language classroom. Some key benefits of these activities are that they:

1. Activate Prior Knowledge: Help students remember what they already know about the topic.
2. Encourage Prediction and Build Anticipation: Get students thinking about what they might hear and set clear goals for listening..
3. Facilitate Contextual Preparation: Provide background information to make the story easier to understand.
4. Vocabulary Introduction: Teach important words before listening to make comprehension easier.

Pre-listening activities can also aid meta-cognitive development i.e. they can help students develop listening strategies by teaching students how to take notes, make predictions, or summarize what they hear. This can make them more effective listeners.

Examples of Pre-listening Activities

The following activities can be adapted to suit different proficiency levels and classroom contexts. Remember to start with simple tasks and gradually increase complexity as students become more comfortable.

S.No.	Name of the Activity	Activity Description	Sample
1	Total Physical Response (TPR) Activities	The teacher gives commands in the language being taught, and students respond with actions.	Example: "Salma says touch your nose," "Salma says point to the door," "Clap your hands" (students shouldn't respond to this one).
2	Brainstorming	Introduce the topic/ theme and ask students what they know about it. Relate the story's theme to students' own experiences.	Example: Before listening to a story about animals, ask students to name as many animals as they can.
3	Vocabulary Introduction	Explain what students should listen for during the story.	Example: Introduce words like "forest," "lost," and "rescue" before listening to a story about an adventure in the jungle.
4	Setting a Purpose	Give a series of directions for students to follow.	Example: Tell students to listen for the main characters and the problem they face in the story.
5	Picture Walk	Show pictures related to the story and discuss them with students.	Example: Before listening to a story set in a city, show images of busy streets, buildings, and parks.

Related Activities and Pages

1. Significance of Listening Skills for Language Acquisition and Learning
2. Transacting Audio Stories in the Language Classroom
3. Total Physical Response (TPR) Activities for Listening
4. During-listening Activities
5. Post-listening Activities