Listening Focus VI

Preparation/Planning
ESL Course: ESOL 32
Topic/Theme:
Unit: Tradition & Progress
Listening: Student
presentation on Bhutan &
Gross National Happiness
Listening
Objectives

Level

Beginning

Intermediate

Advanced

Multilevel

Students will complete a pedagogical cycle (page 3), or task sequence,

providing an opportunity to engage in metacognitive processes: planning,
directed attention, selective attention, monitoring, evaluation, problem
solving, and planning.
Students will be able to use context support to make predictions about
the listening content. (Planning, directed attention)
Students will be able to verify and adjust their predictions after
listening to the text. (Selective attention, monitoring, evaluation)
Students will be able to reflect on their listening process and how they
were able to decipher meaning. (Evaluation, problem solving)
Students will be able to write goals for the next listening activity.
(Evaluation, planning)

Speaking

Students will be able to practice word stress and pronunciation of key

vocabulary terms.
Students will be able to discuss the listening content.
Students will be able to discuss their listening process and talk with a partner
about goals for the next listening.

Reading

Students will be able to read pre-listening materials and use them to make
predictions about the listening content.

Writing

Students will be able to take notes on the listening content using their own
goals and strategies (developed over the course of previous lessons).

Bridging
What background knowledge do
the students already have?

Students will already have completed several vocabulary exercises focusing

on key unit vocabulary, including practicing spelling, pronunciation, and
word stress. They will also have completed a Meaning from Context
exercise (Appendix A) in which they read a short text while listening to a
listening track as an additional support for comprehending key terms. And

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students will have watched a short YouTube video on Bhutan and another on
Gross National Happiness (See Appendix A).
What will you do to activate or
Pair Share discussion of what students remembered from watching the
link students prior knowledge or YouTube videos. T will write key ideas on the whiteboard.
experience to upcoming
Review homework vocabulary in preparation for listening to the video.
content?
Prediction stage students will use the texts support materials to review
what they have learned while considering what content the listening may
have.
Engagement with New Material
What will you do to engage
students in the active learning of
the new material?

Students will complete listening notes with specific sections for each part of
the pedagogical cycle (PC). They will engage prediction, adjustment, and
reflection as part of the PC. (See outline handout Appendix B, listening
transcript Appendix C)

What will you do to ensure that

all students are engaged?

T will model each stage of the PC to support students (Ss) clear

understanding of each task. The structuring of the listening journal entry (to
be turned in at the end of the session), partner/group accountability, and
supportive monitoring from the Teacher (T) will also support student
engagement. During the listening and discussions, T will monitor students
and facilitate interaction and field questions as needed.

Application
What opportunities will you
provide students to practice and
apply their knowledge/skill to
meet the objectives for this
lesson? To apply to other
contexts?

As part of the PC stages, students will be applying the listening skills in the
lesson objectives. During each of the adjustment stages and the final
reflective discussion, students will have the opportunity to plan ahead for
the next listening and consider how they can apply new ideas for strategies
they may have heard in the discussion.

Assessment
How will you assess their
learning of the objectives?

Informal ongoing assessment during the discussions and PC, and by

collecting and reviewing the notes students have made at each stage of the
process.

Closing
How will you help students
recap the learning and link it
back to the original purpose of
the lesson?

During the final reflection phase, students will consider how the listening
went, how each step was useful, where they want to improve.

Pedagogical Cycle Phase II

Prediction: (MC processes: planning, directed attention)
Students review the unit vocabulary, textbook discussion and pre-listening
questions, and make short notes on what content they predict they may hear (possible
main ideas and vocabulary). Then students share their predictions with their partner and
discuss their ideas, adding or modifying notes based on the discussion as desired.
Listening 1: (MC processes: selective attention, monitoring and evaluation)
Students take notes on main ideas, words or phrases they have comprehended.
Adjustment 1: (MC processes: monitoring, evaluation, planning and selective
attention)
Students use their memory to fill in their notes, then review them and identify
areas where they still need to add information.
Then working together with a partner, students compare notes and share what
they heard. Together students check their predictions with what they heard, consider
how accurately they anticipated the content, and discuss what information they need to
listen for next.
Listening 2: (MC processes: selective attention, monitoring and evaluation)
Students add details and additional or missing information to their notes (resolve
discrepancies, confirm hypotheses, increase comprehension, adapt strategies).
Adjustment 2: (MC processes: problem solving, evaluation)
Students work together to resolve areas of confusion, new vocabulary, and
compare interpretations of meaning.
Class discussion: (MC processes: monitoring, evaluation, and problem solving)
Teacher leads a review of the content briefly by asking students recap main
points. Students also ask questions about aspects of the listening that are still unclear
(points, vocabulary, etc.).
Reflection/Planning: (evaluation, planning, problem solving)
Briefly, students write what was successful, what was challenging, if they noticed
any particular issues they were having. Then students write down a goal/plan to
compensate for or overcome the issue in the next listening.
Students share their reflection and plan, providing additional ideas for partner's
plans when possible.

Adapted from: Vandergrift, L. (2003). Orchestrating strategy use: Toward a model of the skilled
second language listener. Language Learning 53(3), pp. 463-496.

Lesson PowerPoint
Appendix A
I. Meaning from Context

II. YouTube Video Links & Homework Assignment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKDOnazkwhk
1. Watch this video, Bhutan - The Happiest Place on Earth, about Bhutan at least once
(it is only 5 minutes long!). DO NOT USE SUBTITLES because they are not accurate for
this video. Listen carefully, but do not worry about trying to understand everything.
Watching this video will help you become more familiar with Bhutan, its people, and the
topic of happiness. Bhutan has a reputation as one of the happiest countries in the
world. As a result, many people travel to Bhutan looking for the secret to happiness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zqdqa4YNvI
2. Watch this video, What is Gross National Happiness?, at least once (it is 3 minutes
long). The subtitles are mostly accurate so you can use them if you want to. Listen
carefully, but do not worry about trying to understand everything.
Watching this video will help you become more familiar with this unique concept in
Bhutan.

Appendix B

1. Predicting Content
Title __________________________________

Topic ___________________________________________

Type of listening (conversation, interview, lecture, etc.) __________________________________________

What do you think you might hear? Use the textbook, vocabulary, and what we have learned in the Unit to help you
write short notes.

2. First Listening
A. Recall your plan from the last listening lesson that you wrote in your notes (check
your notes if you need to).
B. Follow your plan for listening. Take notes on a separate paper (you will turn them in
at the end).

3. Evaluate & Make Adjustments

A. If you took notes:
i. Review your notes. Is there important information missing?
ii. Plan what you will be listening for next. Identify areas in the listening that are still unclear.
This could be vocabulary, details, data, etc. Write a few notes, words, etc., to help you.
B. If you only listened:
i. Review your predictions. Were they accurate? Change or add information as needed.
ii. Plan what you will be listening for next. Identify areas in the listening that you will include in
your notes. This can be main points, vocabulary words, data, etc. Write notes, words, or
phrases to help you take notes.

4. Second Listening
A. Follow your plan (for how you will listen and for what information you will be
listening for).

5. Reflect & Plan

Individually: Write answers for every number below.

1. Take a few moments to reflect on the listening process. What was difficult? What was easy? How did you
recognize main points? How did you add details?

2. What was your plan from the last listening?

3. Did you follow your plan?

Yes

No

4. If you followed your plan, how did you follow it? If you did not follow your plan, why?

5. Plan for your next listening. Write down at least one thing that you would like to do it could be the
same as last time, or it could be something new. What do you plan to do and how will you prepare to do it?

Extra time: Share your plan with your partner. Can you make any suggestions for each other?

Appendix C

Listening: A Student Presentation (p. 106)

Teacher: OK, class, lets get started with the first presentation. Sompel has
prepared a short presentation about his home country of Bhutan. Go ahead,
Sompel.
Sompel: Thanks. Um, hi, everybody! You know that my name is Sompel, but you
may not know that Im from Bhutan. Bhutan is a small country high in the
Himalaya Mountains between India and China. In our language, Bhutan is
known as Druk Yul, which in English island, land of the thunder dragon. The
dragon is even displayed on our flag.
For many years, my country was isolated from the world, partly due to its
geography it is surrounded by high mountains by also because of government
policies. Our government had always been a, an absolute monarchy, I mean, a
government headed by a king with unlimited power. Anyway, until very recently,
Bhutan had no electricity, no cars or trucks, no telephones, and no postal service.
You may be surprised to learn that in Bhutan people have only had television since
1999. It was the last country on Earth to get it.
You may be wondering: Why did Bhutan reject the modern world for so
long?
Wellthe government was trying to protect the people from negative
influences such as high crime rates, youth violence, and pollution. But the king
admitted that the policy of isolation had many negative consequences. For
example, the education system definitely fell behind. Some people never learned to
read and write. Then, one of our kings began opening up Bhutan to the outside
world, and our current king has continued the process. There are new roads,
schools, and health clinics. The king doesnt want to open up the country all at
once to the outside world and risk ruining it. He wants our countrys development
to be guided bynow let me thinkoh, yes, Gross National Happiness.
Teacher: Sompel, sorry to interruptbefore you continue, could you define
Gross National Happiness for the class, please?
Sompel: Um, sure. How should I put it? Well, youve probably heard of gross
national product, which is a phrase that refers to the dollar value of all the goods
and services produced by a country over a period of time. Its one way of

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measuring a countrys success. But Gross National Happiness is different.

Actually, one of our kings invented the phrase Gross National Happiness. Its the
approach the country takes to the domestic development of Bhutan to help make
sure that the people are always happy with their lives and with the country. There
are four parts, um four pillars, to this approach: good government, sustainable
development, environmental protection, and cultural preservation.
So, for good government, the king puts the needs of the country first. In fact,
even though the people love him, he gave away most of his power to the people in
2006. Thats when the country transitioned to democracy. The king still has an
important role, but he no longer has absolute power. Real power belongs to the
people and the officials that we elect.
Sustainable development means that we help our country grow without
damaging the environment. And the pillar of environmental protection is closely
related to sustainable development, too. Agriculture is very important in Bhutan,
and we are trying to find new ways to farm without hurting the environment. Also,
the government wants to keep 68 percent of the land covered in forests.
Cultural preservation the last pillar is a challenge, though. Half of
Bhutans population is in their twenties or younger, and the government anticipates
that some young people will get involved with gangs, crime, or drugs, for example.
The government has banned television channels that they think are harmful. Even
so, youth gangs are growing. Theft, which was not very common before, is also
rising.
On the other hand, there is a positive side to all of the changes. In a
mountainous country such as Bhutan, communication technologies for instance,
mobile phones and the Internet allow people to communicate more easily than
ever before. And it seems that the arts are really moving ahead. Twenty years ago,
Bhutan had never produced a movie, but these days we produce over 20 a year.
And some movies have even displayed the difficulties that Bhutan has had with the
challenges of the modern world. These types of movies are important. They can
help us explore the contradictions that have come with our changing culture.
Teacher: Sompel, how do you view Bhutans future?
Sompel: Well, Im hopeful about Bhutans future. And Im glad that the approach
of Gross National Happiness is helping to make sure that we dont lose our
beautiful environment and the best parts of our ancient culture.