Name: IKA FITRIANI Ag.3
Outlining an Essay
ESSAY: Learning to Listen in English
As a newcomer to the United States, have you ever had a
difficult time understanding normal spoken English on TV, at work, or in
school? If you have, you are not
alone. Many beginning students of
English have a difficult time learning to listen in English. Listening can actually be one of the more
difficult language skills to master, but there are a number of strategies that
can help you comprehend spoken English better.
These strategies could be broken down into pre-, while-, and
post-listening strategies.
The process of preparing yourself to listen
to a TV program or classroom lecture is sometimes just as important as the
actual practice of listening. If you
know that a lecture or TV program is going to be on a particular subject, you
can practice the strategy of predicting.
Predicting is when you try to guess what you will hear before you
actually hear it. If you think about a
subject before you listen and predict what is going to be said, you will
understand more of the lecture or TV program as you listen. Try asking yourself these questions before
listening: What is the topic? What do I already know about the topic? What do I need to know before I listen? What can I predict will be said?
An excellent
while-listening strategy is the practice of making guesses about what you
hear. Oftentimes, people do not need to
understand or hear every word of a lecture, conversation, or TV show to
understand the main idea of what is being said.
Some ways of making good guesses in listening is to first pay attention
to the speakers’ gestures and facial expressions. These things can often communicate more than
the words people say. To practice this
strategy, try listening to a video without sound. Pay careful attention to the speakers’
gestures and facial expressions. As you
watch, try guessing what the speakers are saying. When you are finished watching, rewind the
tape to see if your guesses are correct.
You will probably be surprised at how much you were able to understand
just by guessing!
An important
post-listening strategy that will help you become a better listener is
evaluating. You need to check to see if
you what you understood from the TV program, lecture, or conversation is
correct. To do this, you can ask a
classmate or co-worker to summarize what you just heard. By doing this, you will be able to determine
whether or not you are making progress in your listening skills or if you need
to adjust your goals and expectations.
Learning to comprehend normal spoken English
can sometimes be a difficult and frustrating experience for many beginning
English language learners. However, the
strategies of predicting, guessing, and evaluating can help lessen some of the
frustration. Try these strategies today
and see if you notice an improvement in your listening skills.
I. Introduction
As a newcomer to the
United States, have you ever had a difficult time understanding normal spoken
English on TV, at work, or in school? If
you have, you are not alone
Thesis Statement:
These strategies could be broken down into
pre-, while-, and post-listening strategies.
II. Body Paragraph
One:
Topic Sentence: As a newcomer to the United States
Supporting
Ideas or Examples:
A.
Students of English
B. Listening
subject
C. The
strategies to comprehend spoken English better
D. into
pre-, while-, and post-listening strategies
III. Body Paragraph
Two:
Topic Sentence: The
process of preparing yourself to listen to a TV program or classroom lecture is
sometimes just as important as the actual practice of listening.
Supporting
Ideas/Examples:
A. A
particular subject
B. Practice
the strategy of predicting
C. Predicting
D. Asking
yourself about the question
IV. Body Paragraph
Three:
Topic Sentence: An
excellent while-listening strategy is the practice of making guesses about what
you hear.
Supporting
Ideas/Examples:
A.
it does not need to understand or hear
every word of a lecture said.
B. Making
good guesses in listening.
C. try
listening to a video without sound.
D. Pay
careful attention to the speakers’ gestures and facial expressions.
E. try
guessing what the speakers are saying.
F.
rewind the tape to see if your guesses
are correct.
