Listening portfolio

podcast French cafe entry no 1.

2011-03-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Source: French cafe www. frenchcafe.com

Strategies: a) listen for main idea
b) stop after each sentence
c) use my dictionary if I don't understand the words

Evaluation:
a) I could get the first main idea, which was about..., but I had no idea what the second half was about. I think this was because I didn't really understand the vocab!

Reflection:
a) Getting the main idea is a good strategy, but probably you need to be listening to something that is at your specific level. If it is too hard, then it is impossible because you just don't know enough vocab. I think that I need to find a different podcast that is at the right level for me!

Introduction

2011-02-01T14:26:00.001-08:00

Your first blog entry should respond to the questions below...

How do you feel about listening as a skill?
What do you like listening to in your L1? In English?
Explain the listening portfolio in 2 or 3 sentences using your own words
List 2-3 listening strategies that you already use

eg. I enjoy listening, but I tend to get lost in trying to identify individual words and then I don't always notice the main ideas. Listening is probably my best skill however. I love listening to the radio when I am driving, in both my L1 and in English. etc.

Example of a BAD blog entry

2010-08-09T13:54:00.001-07:00

Source: Just the name and no details

Strategies:
A
B
C

Evaluation
A was helpful.
B was OK.
C was good.

Reflection
I think I will keep doing A in the future.
B is useful.
C is something I will use next time.

Please give more details. Evaluate the strategies for THIS listening experience. What helped? What did you learn? Give examples.
When reflecting on the future, explain why this strategy might be useful for YOU - not generally.

Listening portfolio entry no 1 (YouTube)

2010-07-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Source: Commoncraft on Podcasting in Plain English http://commoncraft.com/podcasting

Strategies
1. pause and repeat new words
2. take notes

Evaluate
1. This didn't really help me very much. I did think about the new words eg. aether but I had no idea what it meant. I really should have used a dictionary. There was one sentence where just stopping and thinking about what I had heard did actually help me understand it more.

2. Note taking I found much more helpful. I was able to hear most of the information, and wrote down some good ideas. He did talk quite fast though, but it was an OK speed for me. There was a bit at the end that I missed. I had no idea what he meant by broadcasting, even though I could hear the actual word.

Reflection
1. Pausing and repeating new words might be quite useful if I was listening to a lecture online for instance where the vocab was very difficult. But I prefer to get the whole idea from listening to DVDs or that sort of thing.

2. Note taking is a bit unrealistic to do in general. The only place that I might use that would be for a lecture. However, I think that I might actually try it as a strategy to use to practice, so I'll choose a TV programme and take notes. I'll see if I can get a friend to do the same thing, and then we can compare our notes and talk about what we heard.

Film

2009-07-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Source: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Strategies:
1. think about the plot of the last movie in the series, predict what might happen next

Evaluation:
1) This strategy was quite useful, because I remembered some of the names of the characters, and was able to catch the names of others during the movie. I actually had a chat to my sons to refresh my memory about some aspects of the plot.

Reflection:
1) useful for some films, especially in a series. But on the whole, it is not a very useful strategy.