Optimizing Listening and Speaking through Learning Strategies
Rebecca L. Oxford, Ph.D.
I-TESOL
Oct. 17, 2014

The secret to success is in the learning strategies!
• What is a learning strategy?
• It is a step or action that the learner consciously takes to improve his or her learning.

Learning strategies are “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations.” (Oxford, 1990, p. 8).

How successful vs. unsuccessful learners use strategies
• Successful listeners plan their strategy use to fit the task, but unsuccessful listeners do not plan and instead use strategies in a random, desperate way.

Strategies involve the whole person
• Cognitive strategies help learners process language and enhance memory
• Affective strategies help learners manage motivation and emotions (“The human brain is an emotional brain” – Le
Doux, 1996)
• Sociocultural-Interactive (SI) strategies help learners deal with social identity, enhance interaction, and learn about the culture
• Metastrategies help the learner guide the other strategies and involve planning, organizing, and evaluating

Oxford’s (2011) Strategy Dimensions
Sociocultural-
Interactive
Dimension
(social, cultural, and identity aspects)
Cognitive Dimension
(language processing and memory)
Affective
Dimension
(emotions, attitudes, motivation)
Metastrategies guide all 3 dimensions.

The 8 master strategies
(“metastrategies”) that guide all other strategies
• Paying Attention
• Planning
• Obtaining and Using Resources
• Organizing
• Implementing Plans
• Orchestrating Strategy Use
• Monitoring
• Evaluating

• We have found out about various categories of strategies
• However, we will look at learning strategies from a different angle now
• We will focus on:
– Vocabulary learning strategies (why?)
– Listening strategies
– Speaking strategies
• Which have you used? Which do you teach?

Vocabulary learning strategies to prepare for listening and speaking
• I identify a certain number of new words or phrases to learn each day or week.
• I check whether I learned those words.
• I place new words everywhere, such as on the mirror, on the refrigerator, etc.
• I use songs to remember new words.
• I use new words as soon as possible.
• I pay attention to the cultural appropriateness of new words in different contexts.
• I practice saying new words or phrases out while jogging.
• I set up a vocabulary study group or testing group.

Vocabulary learning strategies to prepare for listening and speaking
• I make word lists in a small notebook, smartphone, or iPad that can be carried everywhere.
• I listen to people talking in the language, write down what they say, and look up meanings later.
• I categorize new words by topic (sports, literature, etc.).

Vocabulary learning strategies to prepare for listening and speaking
• I categorize new words by parts of speech (verb, noun, etc.)
• I write down prefixes and suffixes that go with new words.
• I write synonyms and antonyms together.
• I make a drawing to remember new words or phrases.
• I write sentences in the notebook using new words.
• I mark new words that are hard to remember, and review them again.
• I write down where I first saw or heard a new word.
• I write down my associations with new words.

Vocabulary learning strategies to prepare for listening and speaking
• I make a semantic map —Example: What words are related to the main concept FAMILY? Here are just a few.
Brother, sister
Parents
Family
Food
Vacations

• Having an objective
– I have a clear objective for listening to the language right now (today or in this task). Examples: grasping the topic, listening to the details, etc.
• Making the time
– I set a certain amount of time to listen to the language every day. Example: For 30 minutes a day, I listen to native speakers on TV, listen to songs on CDs, or watch a movie without the subtitles.

Before-listening strategies
• Finding the place
– I try to find a quiet place to listen without distracting noise.
• Finding resources and opportunities to listen
– I look for opportunities to listen as much as possible—with native speakers, tapes or CDs, TV, movies, YouTube, etc.
– I plan to record myself and listen to it to identify any differences from native speakers.
• Focusing
– I think about what I will listen to and what I know about the subject.
– I brainstorm everything I know about the topic.
– I make a semantic map or concept map about the topic.

During-listening strategies
• Concentrating and paying attention to details
– While listening, I try to concentrate on what the person is saying and put unrelated topics out of my mind.
– While listening, I pay close attention to the stressed words to understand the main idea (the gist).
• Processing the information
– While listening, I try to jot down what I hear—important words, stressed words, etc.
– While listening, I mentally summarize what I have just heard.
– While listening, I see a mental image of what I am listening to.
– I monitor (check) my comprehension during listening.
– In a conversation, I try to repeat back a little of what the other person says to see if I understand it.

During-listening strategies
• Repeating
– I repeatedly watch the same TV show or the same movie to memorize key lines.
– I repeatedly listen to the same song in the language to memorize the lines.
– When listening to a CD or tape in the language, I get the main idea from the tape, and then I re-listen for details.
• Guessing & predicting
– When I can’t understand perfectly what the other person is saying, I guess intelligently.
– I pay attention to the speaker’s gestures and facial expressions while listening.
– I try to catch a sentence type (question, order, etc.) to respond correctly.
– I predict what might come up next in the conversation or lecture.

• Evaluating listening
– After a conversation is over, I write down any problem words (ones that had to be repeated) and look them up or figure out what the problem was (pronunciation, tone, vocabulary, noise, etc.).
– I evaluate whether my listening is improving. I check whether I met my current listening objective.
– I check whether I met the teacher’s or class’s listening objective, if different from my own.
– I test my listening proficiency periodically.
• Evaluating strategy effectiveness
– I evaluate whether all of the listening strategies I used today were successful. (If some were not successful, I decide to use other strategies when listening next time.)

I have a clear objective for improving my speaking now. Examples: pronunciation, intonation, fluency, accuracy, speech act appropriateness (or a combination).
I set a certain amount of time to speak the language or read it out loud. Example: 20 min. / day.
I try to find a place where I can speak the language.

I look for people I can talk to in the language.
I practice speaking the language with other students.
I record my speaking in the language and listen to it later focusing on my current objective.
I plan what to say in the language in advance.
I practice talking to myself in the language before I talk to others.
I try to find patterns that native speakers use, and I get ready to practice these patterns.
I tell myself “I can do it!”

I use grammatical patterns that native speakers use.
I use conversational words like “well”, “you know,”
“ok”, etc., to speak the way native speakers do.
I imitate native speakers’ tones, stress, and pronunciation.
I ask native speakers to correct my speaking.
I use appropriate speech acts.

While speaking, I notice whether the listener understands me or not, and I try to improve.
I don’t worry too much about errors, but instead I try to go on speaking.
While speaking, I breathe deeply if I become nervous.
I try to speak slowly and clearly if I get anxious.
While speaking, I slow down to find words to say.

During-speaking strategies (These specific ones are called “communication strategies ” to make up for missing knowledge of vocabulary)
I try to start conversation with a familiar topic.
When I can’t think of a word, I use gestures.
When I can’t think of a word, I move back to my native language very briefly.
When speaking, I make up new words if I do not know the right one.
If I can’t think of a word, I say a word or phrase that means the same thing.
To stay in the conversation, I pretend to understand by nodding or agreeing. (This is a dangerous strategy!)

I check whether I met my current speaking objective.
If someone did not understand me, I identify the source of the speaking problem: my vocabulary, idioms, pronunciation, grammar, or lack of cultural knowledge.
I check whether I am improving overall in my speaking.
I evaluate whether all of the speaking strategies I used today were successful. (If some were not successful, I decide to use other strategies when listening next time.)

• People perform actions through utterances (what they say).
• Example:
With this statement, the boss has just performed the ending of your job
.

More speech performances
(speech acts)
• You’re very nice! You’re gorgeous!
(Compliments performed)
• You’re in the way. (Indirect request performed -
What is the request?)
• You’re annoying. (Indirect request performed)
• You’re nuts! (Expression of surprise performed)
• You’re welcome. (Acknowledgment of
thanks performed)

Students need to know the strategy of judging whether speech acts are appropriate or not
• A speech act is not appropriate when . . .
– it does not fit the norms for culture, age, social distance, and social status (see the figure earlier)
– it is illogical: I promise to call you last year.
– it is probably or obviously insincere: Great-
Grandma, you really look sexy in that bikini. (Also a problem with lack of respect for age.)
– the requirements cannot be met: I will buy you a
Porsche with the next pay check, honey.

• EXERCISE: Which of the love statements below sounds most sincere?
– I love you.
– I really love you.
– I truly love you.
– Of course, I love you. I don’t have to say it.
– I swear my love for you.
– I declare my undying love for you.
– You know I love you; why do you keep asking?
• Why does one or another of the above statements seem more sincere and convincing in some cultures than in others?
• Who can appropriately initiate love talk, and when?

• Learning strategies can provide great strength
• They can be “lifesavers” in communicative situations
• Vocabulary strategies are needed to prepare for listening and speaking
• Successful and unsuccessful L2 listeners use different combinations of strategies
• Purposes for listening help determine utility of strategies

TIPS TO REMEMBER!
• Three stages of listening and speaking strategies exist: Strategies for Before Listening or Speaking, During Listening or Speaking, and
After Listening or Speaking
• Students desperately need strategies for choosing appropriate forms for speech acts

How teachers can teach listening and speaking strategies
• Incorporate strategy instruction into your regular language teaching.
• Use simple strategy names.
• Demonstrate strategies.
• Ask students to talk about or demonstrate their most effective strategies.
• Use a strategy bulletin board.
• Assess students’ strategies.

Where can you find useful information on learning strategies for listening and speaking?
• Most of the recent foreign and second language textbooks by major publishers
• Language learner guidebooks
• Books for teachers about how to teach languages
• Research books, journals, and articles
• Conferences
• Websites from university selfaccess centers
• CARLA website