Teaching Oral Skills Communicatively | Page 21

for general meaning which helps them listen flexibly. The questions are given to the students before listening so that they have a purpose for listening . Task 4 (see appendix VI)is a jigsaw listening activity. Students are divided in pairs where one student is labeled student A while the other is labeled student B They listen to the same dialogue but each student in the pair has to listen for different pieces of information. Students labeled A have to find information about the man while students labeled B have to find information about the room. This creates an information gap between the students which will be used for the next activity. The information the students are required to find in this task is hard focus so they have to listen more carefully. They also have to listen selectively as not everything they listen to is important to them. Finally, listening and note taking is an activity that simulates to listening for authentic purposes , makes the task interesting and integrates listening with speaking. Task 5 (see appendix VI) focuses on the interactional function of dialogue. Students listen to the dialogue again this time paying attention not to specific information but to how the people speak to each other and what this reveals about their relationship, their mood and attitude towards each other. 3.4.3 Post-listening activities Task 6 (see appendix VI) asks students to act out the dialogue. The information gap which was created in task 4 gives dialogue authenticity. The students use their notes for controlled speaking practice. Task 7 (see appendix VI) asks students use the information from the two tables in order to write a letter. As the grid with information about the rooms supplies some extra information, the students have the chance to choose from a range of rooms to refer to. This can lead to a freer practice. Finally, writing the letter helps them understand the differences between spoken and written language. 4. Conclusion The understanding of the nature of spoken language and the way our brain process it as they are referred in part I can help the teacher provide students with input material which is more interesting to the students and very close to authentic language. This can improve the teaching situation so that more students will be 21