Transitioning from a general listening-speaking class to an academically-oriented one can be challenging. After introducing oral communication competencies for low-intermediate learners, the presenters will describe effective scaffolding techniques that help learners systematically build skills and confidence in a curriculum that highlights communicating on campus and listening to lectures. By Marsha Chan and Ann Roemer

1. Scaffolding Learning
in an Academic
Listening-Speaking Class
MarshaChan,Mission College
Ann Roemer, Utah State University

2. Student Learning Outcomes
• Listening (receptive) competencies
• Speaking (productive) competencies

3. Low Intermediate
Listening & Speaking Competencies*
• Overall Purposes:
Students develop speaking and listening skills
necessary for participating in classroom
discussions with an emphasis on clarification
through rewording and asking questions.
* College Oral Communication 1English for Academic Success Series HeinleCengage Learning

4. Intermediate
Listening & Speaking Competencies*
• Description of Overall Purposes:
Students continue to develop speaking and listening
skills necessary for participating in classroom
discussions with an introduction to oral presentation
and critical listening skills.
* College Oral Communication 1 English for Academic Success Series HeinleCengage Learning

5. Oral Communication

6. BICS CALP
• Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
– Day-to-day language for socialinteraction
– Concrete
– Not specialized language
• Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
– Formal academic learning
– Abstract
– Essential for success in school

7. Scaffolding
• Supports learning process
• Gives access to meaning
• A temporary framework for construction
in progress
• Removed when learners reach success
When the house is built, the scaffolding is no longer necessary.

8. Vocabulary
• Develop vocabulary and expressions to discuss
academic topics
– K1 words: the most frequent 1000 words
– K2 words: the next most frequent 1000 words
– AWL words: the most frequent academic words
• Use a dictionary to learn the meaning and
pronunciation of new academic words.

9. Grammar
• Learn key grammar structures that will enable
students to comprehend academic language
in lectures and communicate orally on
academic topics.

10. Listening outcome: Take lecture notes
Part 6: People don’t realize they’re sleepy 3/28/09
--no clue of how sleepy they are
--scientf. study: measure tasks
-- > 1k people said not drowsy during day
-- but rsrchrs found 34% dangrsly sleepy
--Drowsiness: meaning
-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented
-- drowsiness last step b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy
-- story of Stanfrdprof., ssw/ red cards, “Drwsnss is red alert!”
-- lesson = be aware + Ok to say you’re drwsy
--gotta stop doing sthg dangerous + start repaying sleep debt
-- ½ US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep debt

11. Scaffolding listening & note-taking
Same lecture, different tasks
easy  difficult much support  little support
 Identify main ideas: Mark one of two choices
 Distinguish main ideas from details: Mark one of 3-5 choices
 Take notes on an outline withwith many words and 2 choices.
 Take notes on an outline with many words and blanks to fill in
 Take notes on an outline with few words and long lines to complete
 Take notes on a blank outline

12. A) Main idea or detail?
Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. Choose the best response for each item.
1. The main idea for this part of the lecture is . . .
a. A scientific study found 34% of the people dangerously sleepy.
b. People are not aware of how sleepy they are.
c. People realize they need to repay their sleep debt.
2. All of the following are true statements. Circle the letters of three details
that the lecturer gives.
a. A third of the people in the study were actually dangerously sleepy.
b. Drowsiness occurs just before you fall asleep.
c. It’s important to start repaying your sleep debt.
d. It’s perfectly fine to be drowsy during the day.
e. 66% of the people in the study were aware of their drowsiness.

13. B) Taking notes in outline form
Underline one of two choices.
Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, underline one of the words
in parentheses. The first one is done for you.
Part 6: People don’t realize they’re (in sleep debt / sleepy)
--no clue of (how much sleep they get / how sleepy they are)
--scientf. study: measure people’s (sleep debt / tasks )
-- > 1k people said not (drowsy / alert) during day
-- but rsrchrs found (13.4% / 34% / 44%) dangrsly sleepy
--(Drowsiness / Sleep debt) : meaning
-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented
-- drowsiness (first / last step) b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy
-- story of Stanfrdprof., ssw/ red (cards / hats), “Drwsnss is red alert!”
-- lesson = be ( aware / drowsy) + Ok to say you’re drwsy
--gotta stop doing sthg dangerous + start (repaying / removing) sleep debt
-- ( 1/3 / ½ ) US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep debt

14. C) Taking notes in outline form
Fill in the blanks.
Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, fill in each blank with a
word or phrase.
Part 6: People don’t __________________ they’re sleepy
--no clue of how _________________ they are
--scientf. ________________: measure tasks
-- > 1k people said not _________________ during day
-- but rsrchrs found 34% dangrsly _________________________
--Drowsiness: meaning
-- maybe we’re drowsy now but concentrating, so drwsness prevented
-- drowsiness last _____________ b/4 falling asleep, so consider it emrgncy
-- story of Stanfrdprof., ssw/ red cards, “Drwsnss is red ______________!”
-- lesson = be __________________ + Ok to say you’re drwsy
--gotta stop doing sthg __________________________ + start repaying sleep debt
-- _____________ US adults + more college-age pop. have sleep _________

15. D) Taking notes in outline form
Complete the missing information.
Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. In the following notes, fill in the missing information.
Part 6: People don’t realize they’re sleepy
--no clue of __________________________________________
--scientf. study: ____________________________________
-- > 1k _______________________________________
-- but rsrchrs _________________________________________________________
--Drowsiness: meaning
-- maybe we’re drowsy now but ___________________________________________
-- drowsiness______________________________________________________________
-- story of Stanfrdprof. __________________________________________________
-- lesson = _________________________________________________________
--gotta ____________________________________________________________________
-- ½ _______________________________________________________________

16. E) Taking notes in outline form
Listen to Part 6 of the lecture again. Using the following outline, take notes. Remember to use symbols
and abbreviations.
Part 6:
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
The lecture and some exercises were taken from:
Chan, M. J. (2006). College Oral Communication 1. English for Academic Success series.

17. Speaking Outcome:
Ask questions about academic topics

18. Academic Speaking Objectives
Develop vocabulary to discuss sleep.
Pronounce key vocabulary with proper syllables and word stress.
Learn themeanings and pronunciation of common phrasal verbs.
 Understand and practice using question patterns
 What does X mean?
 What’s the difference between X and Y?
Ask and answer questions about sleep.

19. Identify syllables and stress in AWLwords.
Listen and write the syllable-stress code. Ex: concentratehas 3
syllables and is stressed on the 1st syllable: [3-1]
• •
[1-1 ]
task conduct [2-2 ]
• •
[2-2 ]
percent occur [2-2 ]
• •
aware [ 2-2
] researchers [3-1 ]
• •
experts [2-1 ] specific [3-2 ]
• •
emphasize [3-1 ] adults [2-1 ]
• •
finally [3-1 ] authority [4-2 ]
After you mark the syllable-stress code, take turns saying the words to a
partner. Pronounce each word with the correct number of syllables. Make the
stressed syllable long, strong, and high. Help your partner pronounce the
words with correct syllables and stress.

20. Questions about meaning
Sentence patterns
Use these sentence patterns to ask about the
meaning of a word or a concept:
• What doesX mean?
• What is the meaning ofX?
• What does it mean toX?
• What is (a/an/the)X?

21. Questions about meaning
Examples
Q: What doesalert mean?
A:Alert means quick to notice what’s going on, able to think clearly.
Q: What is the meaning of nod off?
A: It means to let your head fall forward and you fall asleep, like this.
(Show how)
Q: What does it mean toemphasize something?
A: Emphasize means to place importance on it, or stress it. You can
emphasize something by saying it loudly or repeating it.
Q: What is a debt?
A: A debt is something that you owe when you borrow it. You borrow
$1,000 from the bank; you have a debt of $1,000. You don’t sleep
enough, you have a sleep debt.

22. Ask questions about meaning
Make different questions about these words.
paysthg. back expert enormous recommend
What does specific mean?
Q: ___________________________________________________
A: It means exact or particular. My dad told me to wait in a specific
place in front of the cafeteria.
What does it mean to pay something back?
Q: ___________________________________________________
A: It means to repay. Suppose you borrow $20 from your friend. When
you get your paycheck, you pay the money back.
What is the meaning of recommend?
Q: ___________________________________________________
A: Another way to say it is advise or suggest. If you like something or
think it’s good, you recommendit, like a restaurant, or a movie, or a
class.
What is an expert?
Q: ___________________________________________________
A: That’s a person who knows a lot about something. An expert has a
high degree of skill or knowledge of a certain subject.

23. Questions about differences
Sentence patterns
Use these sentence patterns to ask about the
difference between two words, things or ideas:
• What’s the difference betweenX and Y?
• How areX and Y different?

24. Questions about differences
Examples
Q: What’s the difference between objective and subjective?
A: Objective is based on fact and not on someone’s opinion.
Subjectiveis based on someone’s opinion or feelings.
Q: What’s the difference betweensleepy and drowsy?
A: Sleepy is needing or ready for sleep. Drowsyis sleepy, dull and slow;
half-asleep.
Q: How are sleepy and asleep different?
A: Asleep means already in a state of sleep, and sleepy means wanting
to sleep.
Q: What’s the difference between small and little?
A: Nothing. There’s no difference between those two words. They’re
synonyms. They mean the same thing.

25. Ask questions about differences
With a partner, create dialogs about differences using the following pairs of words.
What’s the difference between blind and deaf?
Q: (blind - deaf) _________________________________________________
Blind means you can’t see. Deaf means you can’t hear.
A: ____________________________________________________________
How are take away and go away
Q: (take away - go away)__________________________________________
different?
Take away means to remove something, but go away
means to leave someplace.
A: _____________________________________________________________
What’s the difference between wake up and awake?
Q: (wake up - awaken) ____________________________________________
There’s no difference between wake up and awaken. They
A: both mean to stop sleeping.
____________________________________________________________
_

27. Q & A / Contact Info
 Marsha Chan
marsha_chan@wvm.edu
Mission College
Santa Clara, California
Marsha also wears
• Ann Roemer another hat, at
Sunburst Media
ann.roemer@usu.edu Booth 833
in the Exhibit Hall
Utah State University
Logan, Utah
Examples excerpted fromChan, M. J. (2006). College Oral Communication 1.
English for Academic Success series.Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (now HeinleCengage
Learning)