1. With
Khaled M. Al-Abbadi

2. Week 2 Lecture Notes

3.  1. Discuss Listening to Conversations
◦ Definition
◦ Types
◦ Features
 2. Discuss Listening Strategies for Conv.
◦ General Listening Strategies Revisited
◦ Subject Tracking
◦ Practical Strategies for Conversations
 3. Start Practicing with some Exercises
◦ Exercise 1, as a group
◦ Exercise 2, (if we have time)

4. Discussion about
Types and Features

5.  What do we mean by “listening to
Conversations”?
 How is it different from narratives and
specific information?
 Are there different types of conversations?
 Can I improve my speaking by learning to
“listen to conversations”?

6.  Conversation-
◦ oral exchange of sentiments, observations,
opinions, or ideas.
(Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary via:
http://www.merriam-webster.com)
 What is “Listening to Conversation”?
◦ Another name is “bi-directional listening”

7.  Bi-directional Listening-
◦ “Two (or more) participants take turns exchanging
speaker role and listener role as they engage in
face-to-face or telephone verbal interaction.
(Source: Morley, J. “Aural Comprehension Instruction: Principles
and Practices”. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.) Teaching English as
Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed., p.69-85). Boston: Heinle
& Heinle Publishers)

8.  So Listening to Conversation is…
◦ Between 2 or more participants
◦ It’s an exchange of:
 Sentiments (emotions or feelings)
 Observations (sensory experiences)
 Opinions (attitudes)
 Ideas (thoughts)

9. Specific
Narratives Conversations
Information
One speaker One speaker Two or More speakers
Information Disorganized
Information Organized (Plot) Information Organized (Structure)
(Dynamic)
Facts, Observations, Opinions, Everything and attitudes and
Facts
Ideas emotions
Active listening Selective listening Reflective listening

10.  There is a “key” difference between Listening
to Conversations than to Narratives and for
Specific Information
◦ It includes the speakers’ attitudes and emotions
◦ This means:
 Listen to facts and observations
 Listen for clues on attitudes (views)
 Listen for clues on emotion (feelings)
 This is called “empathetic listening”
◦ Paying attention to the “relationships” between
speakers

11.  Relationship
◦ What is the relationship between the speakers?
◦ How does this control the topics, language,
attitudes?
 Attitudes/Emotions
◦ How do the speakers feel, in general?
◦ How do they feel towards each other?
◦ What are their views towards the subjects?
 Subjects of Conversation
◦ Involve the topics and details

12.  Reflective Listening
◦ Involves “Active” Listening
◦ Asking Questions for Verification
 Why Reflective Listening?
◦ Conversations are interactive and dynamic
 Subjects change (often quickly or without notice)
 Need to Verify information
◦ Involve more than facts and observations
 Share and exchange feelings and attitudes

13.  There aren’t exactly types
◦ Almost everything you hear between 2 or more
speakers
◦ Including if you’re one of them
◦ Topics could be about anything
 There could be more than one topic
◦ Includes other listening types:
 Narratives (when your friend tells you a boring story)
 Information/Data (getting directions)

14.  You’re kidding right?
 You can hear them anywhere and everywhere,
in fact, you do it everyday:
◦ Radio (Radio shows, interviews)
◦ TV (Movies, shows)
◦ Phone, internet (even chatting counts)
◦ Anywhere, between people…

15.  You’re kidding right?
 You can hear them anywhere and everywhere,
in fact, you do it everyday:
◦ Radio (Radio shows, interviews)
◦ TV (Movies, shows)
◦ Phone, internet (even chatting counts)
◦ Anywhere, between people…

16.  Absolutely,
◦ “Bi-directional” Listening means “two-way”
◦ Identify speaker emotions and attitudes
◦ Improve relationships
◦ Ask Questions
◦ Listen for Info and Narratives in a dynamic “real-
world” setting
◦ Practice authentic conversations without speaking
◦ Listen for conversation “fillers”

17.  This week, we will deal with longer clips of
“real world” conversations
◦ About 2-4 minutes long (a little longer than the
other clips)
 Listening to Conversations requires you to
listen reflectively
◦ This skill is the most difficult to learn.
◦ Listen to disorganized discourse with no title and
sometimes no controlling topic (only a setting and
relationship)
◦ Stay focused and remember details

18.  Very Important Skill
◦ Mastering this will help you a lot in English
Listening…
 Interacting with people
 Listening/Watching conversations (movies, etc…)
 General English listening
Helps you to know when to ask questions and verify
meaning…

19.  Questions
 Comments
 Ideas
 Relax for a bit…quiet time…whatever…

20. Practical Strategies for
Listening to Conversations

21.  2 General Ones
◦ Bottom-Up Strategies
 You start from words, then phrases, then sentences
 Word-Segmentation skills
 Ability to separate words and sentences
 Recognizing them to identify meaning
 Deals with Speed, Intonation, Pauses…
◦ Top-Down Strategies
 You start from Main ideas, Context, bigger issues
 Metacognitive Awareness
 Thinking about listening, weaknesses, solutions, the topic
 Deals with Predicting, Monitoring, Evaluating…

22.  Requires us to Listen many times
◦ Even slowing down the tape if we have to
◦ (This is why you will transcribe your assignments)
◦ I advise you to transcribe on your own
 Requires us to Listen and Read the transcript
◦ To highlight what you didn’t get
◦ Identify words, phrases, or situations that are hard
(We’ll do a little of this in class, the
assignments should cover it pretty well too…)

23.  Involves different processes
◦ Using Prior knowledge
◦ Predicting
◦ Monitoring
◦ Evaluating
◦ Reflecting
 Practically (how we do these processes)
◦ Discuss the topic (before listening)
◦ Take notes (while listening)
◦ Checking what you heard (with others, after listening)
◦ Identifying problems and fixing them
DEFINITELY – LISTEN MORE THAN ONCE

24.  Key to Listening to Conversations is focusing
on the features…
◦ Speaker relationships
◦ Speaker emotions and attitudes
◦ Subjects of Conversation

25.  How are the speakers related? Are they
related?
 That leads to  What is the setting of the
conversation? Where are they?
◦ All of this helps with context
◦ Teaches appropriate conversation language
◦ Framework for the conversation (task based,
informative, empathetic, etc…)

26.  How do the speakers feel? How are their
emotions changing?
◦ Feelings in general
◦ Feelings towards each other
 That leads to  What are their attitudes
towards the conversation subjects?
◦ What are their opinions?
◦ How do they interact?
◦ Does that affect the subjects of conversation?

27.  What are they talking about? Are there any
sub-topics in which they get into?
 That leads to  What do they discuss? What
direction does the conversation take?
◦ What kind of language do they use?
◦ How do they change subjects?
◦ What kind of questions do they ask for verification,
additional information?

28.  You have to Track the Conversation
◦ Note the different Subjects
◦ Note the different sub-topics they discuss
◦ Note the conversation details
◦ Note opinions and attitudes
◦ (you do this in real life conversation)
◦ Focus on changes in subjects/topics
 Tracking helps you to organize otherwise
very spontaneous, dynamic (disorganized)
discourse

29.  How do we “Track” the conversation
◦ Take notes on your paper
◦ This is how:
Subjects Speaker 1 Speaker 2
Hotel Guest Clerk
Room Single Double available
Price ? $75 a night
Amenities ? Wi-fi, Gym, …
Weather
Last week Hot Hot next week too..

30.  Before Listening
◦ Cant think about the Main Idea/Topic, because we
don’t know yet
◦ Think about some issues you may have
 Listening weaknesses (speed, pronunciation, etc…)
 Words, phrases, situations
◦ Think about some solutions
 What are you going to focus on
 What are you going to try this time

31.  While Listening
◦ Identify the Speaker Features
 Relationship?
 Attitudes and Emotions
◦ Take Notes of Information
 Track subjects and Speaker Info.
 Write down any specific information or data
◦ Make an Chart (Subject tracking)
 Organize the info you write into a chart
 Follow the format we used as an example
 Try to visualize it (in your head or on paper)

32.  After Listening
◦ Review the Information
 Look at your notes
 Remember what you heard (and thought about)
◦ Check with Others around you
 Did they get the same information?
 Where did you guys differ?
◦ Identify Areas
 Areas of Confusion or Disagreement
 Any gaps in your Chart? Areas where you didn’t get anything…
◦ Reflect
 What was my problem?
 What can I do different next time?

33.  That’s why I said you need a Notebook
◦ Get used to writing while you listen
 Don’t forget, LISTEN AGAIN AND AGAIN…
 Any Questions, Comments…
 Lets Practice…

34.  Title: NO TITLE (there’s isn’t going to be one)
◦ Now, listen and focus on the speakers
◦ Listen to the whole clip, what are the subjects of
conversation?
◦ Try to make track them in a chart
◦ What different things do they talk about?
Ready?

35. Now review your notes and chart,
◦ Answer these questions:
 What is the relationship of the speakers?
 Who is older?
 What is the subject of conversation?
 What is the Man’s attitude toward the subject?
 What is the Woman’s attitude toward the subject?
 How does the Man feel? How does she?
 What else do they talk about?

36. Now listen again carefully for some specific
conversation information,
◦ Answer these questions:
 What are the items she bought?
 How did she get the credit card?
 What is her reason for getting a credit card?
 What is his reason for NOT getting a credit card?
 How does she plan to fix her credit card problems?
 What is he going to do for her to help her?

37. Conversation:
Man: Hi, Sis. I just came over to drop off the DVDs you wanted, and . . . Hey, wow!?
Where did you get all of this stuff?
Woman: I bought it. So, what do you think of my new entertainment center? And the
widescreen TV . . .
Man: Bought it?
Woman: . . . and my new DVD player. Here, let me show you my stereo. You can
really rock the house with this one.
Man: But where did you get the dough to buy all this? You didn't borrow money from
mom and dad again, did you?
Woman: Of course not. I got it with this!
Man: This? Let me see that . . . Have you been using Dad's credit card again?
Woman: No, silly. It's mine. It's student credit card.
Man: A student credit card? How in the world did you get one of these?
Woman: I got an application in the mail.
Man: Well, why did you get one in the first place?
Woman: Listen. Times are changing, and having a credit card helps you build a credit
rating, control spending, and even buy things that you can't pay with cash . . . like
the plane ticket I got recently.

38. Man: What plane ticket?
Woman: Oh yeah, my roommate and I are going to Hawaii over the school break, and
course, I needed some new clothes for that so . . .
Man: I don't want to hear it. How does having a student credit card control spending? It
sounds you've spent yourself in a hole. Anyway, student credit cards just lead to
impulse spending . . . as I can see here. And the interest rates of student credit cards are
usually sky-high, and if you miss a payment, the rates, well, just jump!
Woman: Ah. The credit card has a credit limit . . .
Man: . . . of $20,000?
Woman: No, no quite that high. Anyway, . . .
Man: I've heard enough.
Woman: Did I tell you we now get digital cable with over 100 channels? Oh, and here's your
birthday present. A new MP3 player . . .
Man: Yeah. Oh, don't tell me. Charged on the credit card. Listen. Hey, I don't think having a
student credit card is a bad idea, but this is ridiculous. And how in the world are you
going to pay off your credit card bill?
Woman: Um, with my birthday money? It's coming up in a week.
Man: Hey, let's sit down and talk about how you're going to pay things back, and maybe we
can come up with a budget that will help you get out of this mess. That's the least I can
do.

39.  Title: NO TITLE (there’s isn’t going to be one)
◦ Now, listen and focus on the speakers
◦ Listen to the whole clip, what are the subjects of
conversation?
◦ Try to make track them in a chart
◦ What different things do they talk about?
Ready?

40. Now review your notes and chart,
◦ Answer these questions:
 What is the relationship of the speakers?
 What are their jobs or positions?
 What is the subject of conversation?
 What is the Man’s attitude toward the subject?
 What is the Woman’s attitude toward the subject?
 How does the Man feel? How does she?
 What else do they talk about?

41. Now listen again carefully for some specific
conversation information,
◦ Answer these questions:
 What are the reasons he feels “targeted”?
 According to the man, what does Mr. Bond do?
 Has he tried to talk to Mr. Bond? What happened?
 What does she advise him to do? Why?
 How does he feel about her advise?
 How does she advise him to speak with Mr. Bond?

42. Conversation:
HRO Good morning Mr Johnson, how can I help you?
Mr J Well, I’d like to talk to you about Tim Bond, the department manager.
HRO What seems to be the problem?
Mr J Well… ever since Sandra left the department, I feel like I’ve been targeted to do all her work,
as well as mine. Tim has made me work overtime; I’m expected to attend too many meetings
and I seem to be spending a lot of my time doing unnecessary paperwork.
HRO I’m sorry to hear that….
Mr J And… on top of that, I’d specifically asked if I could leave early last Friday, as I’d done a lot of
overtime during the week. But we had a deadline on Friday afternoon and even though I’d
finished my specific work I was expected to help other colleagues finish their work too.
HRO But surely that is a positive sign showing that Mr Bond has a lot of trust in you, in getting you
to help other colleagues.
Mr J Yes, but I feel like I’m being singled out! Other colleagues get to leave early, and they don’t
have such a lot of work to do.
HRO So you feel he’s been making unrealistic demands on you?
Mr J Yes, absolutely.
HRO Do you think it’s because Mr Bond is unaware of what you're doing?
Mr J Well, he never seems to ask us to do a job. He just delegates, and that’s another thing, he
never listens!
HRO Right. Have you approached Mr Bond about this particular problem?

43. Mr J I’ve tried to approach him, but whenever I go to his office he is either in meetings, or
he is never there. It seems like he just has no time for us.
HRO Well at this stage it would be better if you approached him directly. If nothing
else, showing that you’ve tried to solve the problem yourself, before you take it
further, makes it clear that you’re not just a complainer and can boost your credibility.
Why don’t you send an email requesting a meeting with him in private?
Mr J Hmmm, I’d be a bit worried about his reaction. I wouldn’t know what to say!
HRO Well firstly, you’ll need to plan what you are going to talk about before going ahead
with a meeting. You can always take notes to which you can refer. This shows that you
have considered what you need to discuss.
Mr J OK.
HRO This is obviously a delicate situation, so be very careful not to criticise as this could
bring on a defensive reaction. You need to be diplomatic when you speak to him.
If, after you have spoken to him in a rational way, you still find he is being
unreasonable, come and speak to us and we can arrange a meeting between the three of
us. But do remember you need to have evidence for us to be able to take further action.
Mr J OK, I’ll send him an email now to request a meeting, and we’ll see what happens from
there. Thanks for your advice.
HRO Good luck and let us know the outcome.