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How can we ensure that students not only talk but also listen to each other in group and pair activities, fostering a vibrant classroom discourse community? In this episode, we talk about a crucial aspect of building a classroom discourse community — not just encouraging students to speak but also to listen attentively to one another during group and pair work.

While our last episode focused on engaging students in talking, here, we spotlight the other side of oral communication: listening. We discuss practical strategies to enhance listening skills among students, ensuring that everyone is heard and that discussions are meaningful and inclusive.

Highlights:

• The Importance of Listening: Understanding why listening is as critical as speaking for a productive classroom discourse community.
• 4 Key Strategies: Unpacking strategies to improve student listening in interactive settings, extending beyond the teacher-student dynamic to include peer-to-peer listening.
• Modeling listening behaviors through body language and expressions.
• Encouraging students to build on each other's answers to foster deeper conversations.
• Practicing asking follow-up questions to keep the discussion flowing.
• Teaching the skill of negotiating meaning to enhance understanding.
• Giving students compelling reasons to listen, such as finding similarities/differences or agreeing/disagreeing to spark interest and engagement.
• Practical Tools and Activities like the dice activity for small groups.
• Reflective Practice: Incorporating reflection through exit tickets that prompt students to consider their peers' contributions, reinforcing the value of listening.
• Assessment Insights: Discussing assessment strategies inspired by Donato's "TALK" model from "The Keys To Planning for Learning" by ACTFL

Listening is the silent half of oral communication, vital for a strong classroom discourse community.  You will discover many strategies to promote listening.  Click play and happy listening.

Resources Mentioned:

• Ep. 5: How to Make them Listen: 5 Strategies to Get Students Listening
• Ep. 73: Engaging Students and Encouraging Talking in the Target Langauge with Erica Peplinski-Burge and Justin Slocum Bailey
• Ep. 22: Empowering Conversations: 5 Interpersonal Activities to Build Communicatie Skills with Bethanie Drew
• Ep. 10: How to Encourage Students To Speak in the Target Language with Christina Margiore
• "The Keys To Planning for Learning" by ACTFL, specifically Donato's "TALK" model for assessing communication skills.

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