Topic 1: Basic Guidelines

Listening is a crucial skill and it relies more on practice. Challenges:

1)Their ear may not be accustomed to the specific articulation of the foreign language especially if it is one from a different language group

2)The words sound different than what they have expected

3)Listening to natives uttering words with their specific intonation, articulation peculiarities, pitch, DIALECT and SPEED is quite different than reading them in a textbook, or listening to a special audio for learners where the characters speak clearly and slowly

Even though it is a difficult skill to master, listening is quite useful:

1)By listening to natives speaking, they can imitate the correct pronunciation

2)Exposure to native language constructions and collocations on a daily basis, helps the brain memorize the correct grammar constructions or specific vocabulary

3)It is important that they become used to not understanding everything and learning to rely on the context to comprehend the message

4)It is important that they get used to the rhythm and intonation of the language

Communicating is crucial to help student speak the target language as their goal is to communicate with the local people and facilitate their integration in the local society. Yet, speaking may seem like a daunting tasks for many students. Speaking in itself requires producing a language whch is another level of using it. It is important to familiarize the students and let them understand and be able to produce their ideas and thoughts with foreign words and sounds.