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Move
Your Students from Taking Notes
to
Taking Part
John Brezinsky, Higher
Education
Marketing Manager
For academic listening and speaking courses to be effective, students
need to move beyond just taking notes. They need to learn how to listen
actively and participate in small-group discussions. When we were developing the new edition of Contemporary Topics, our market research revealed a number of ways you can improve the skills your students will need
in academic classrooms. Here are three tips.
Show Lectures, Don’t Just Play Audio
Students benefit most when the skills they practice most reflect the
reality of academic life. Showing a lecture on video instead of just
playing audio allows students to see the professor and pick up on body
language and gestures.
Practice Small-Group Discussion and Conversation
Students will need to do much more than just take notes in a mainstream
college classroom. They will be called on in class and will need to
participate in small-group discussions. This means that students need
to practice conversation strategies and should often be called on to
express their opinions about the academic lecture.
Assign Authentic Academic Tasks
Beyond note-taking and small-group discussions, there are many other
tasks that students must be able to perform in mainstream college
situations. They will need to be able to use their notes as study tools
and take tests. They will be asked to conduct their own research and
present in front of the class. It is important to give students many
opportunities to develop these skills so that they are better prepared
later.
All three of these tips were taken to heart when we wrote the new
edition of Contemporary Topics.
Students learn to become active learners and can view lectures and
small-group discussions on DVD. The new edition is available
now—contact your ELL Specialist for more information.
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