The document outlines challenges faced by GCSE and A-Level English pupils in language listening and speaking tasks, highlighting specific vocabulary areas and common difficulties. It suggests designing engaging listening tasks using visual support and various media tools, recommending practical examples like interviews, video tours, and quizzes. Resources and tips for creating effective listening materials are provided, along with common question types for assessments.

1. PRODUCING LISTENING MATERIALS FOR
KS4 & 5
WORKSHOP
JON MEIER

2. 3 minutes – think about your
experience with GCSE and A-Level
pupils so far
What are the main areas of
difficulty that English pupils
encounter when trying to speak the
language?
What would they find difficult when
listening to the language?

3. house, home, daily travel, transport,
routine, bedroom, holidays, weather, local
helping at home customs, abroad vs UK,
school trips
accommodation
family and pets
town, local area,
GCSE Topic Areas environment,
famous people Specific vocabulary
shops &
– my hero transferable grammar and phrases
shopping,
+ visual support
pocket money
school, education,
part time jobs, future
training and jobs leisure &hobbies (non
sport): media
interests: music,
leisure: sports, gaming, reading, film,
healthy lifestyles, TV, cinema, mobile
fitness, food and drink phones, Facebook

4. The world around us:
Youth culture and Media & Technology
travel, tourism,
concerns Music
environmental issues
Relationships blogs/mobile
and the (French)-
(family/friendships and phones/internet/gam
speaking world
peer pressure) es)
Tourist information,
Drink, smoking & drugs Cinema &TV
travel and transport
Fashion Advertising
Weather (eg natural
Marriage & the family
Generation gap Typical A-Level disasters, climate
change)
Topic Areas Pollution and
Specific vocabulary recycling
transferable grammar and Education and
phrases employment
Education (schooling
Lifestyle: health and Cultural comparisons with UK and higher education)
fitness
Education policy and
Sport and exercise
student issues
Food and diet + visual support The world of work (eg
Health issues (eg
the changing work
smoking, skin cancer,
scene,
health services)
job opportunities
and unemployment)

5. Social issues
Wealth & poverty,
Environment law and order,
Pollution, energy, technology and
ecology innovation
Typical A2-Level
Topic Areas
Develop the previous ones in
more depth
PLUS……
Multicultural issues
Immigration,
integration, racism World events Cultural topic
Europe Region/
Human rights, community
Equality (gender, race) Period of 20thC history
Author, poet,
dramatist, Director,
musician, artist

6. GCSE Listening Common Question types
Vocab match
Information gap
Who says what
Notes on Advantages & disadvantages
Inference of meaning (synonyms & gist comprehension)
Comprehension answers in English

7. Example of a GCSE Listening Task

8. A2 French Listening Sample
(AQA 2010)
Transcript is on next slide

9. Sample A2 Listening (AQA)

10. Resources to look at
Euronews
Yahoo- France - insolite
Ashcombeschool – video clips:
http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/curriculum/modlang/index_students.htm
Youtubelearning
The power of video – look at this Chinese lesson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeCWK6yy914&feature=related
Handouts –
useful tips

11. 3 minutes – think about your
experience with GCSE and A-Level
pupils so far
How could you design listening
tasks to help them?

12. The best PRACTICE material has visual support – so you could use Powerpoint+ commentary
AUDIO
Audacity – audio recording and conversion to mp3
Aviary – online audio recording tool – needs sign-up (you can sign up via existing gmail,
Facebook or Twitter account)
Fotobabble –upload a photo and add your own audio e.g:
http://verulamvle.typepad.com/y8german/2011/01/fotobabbles.html
Zshare offers audio file hosting
VIDEO
Upload your videos to Youtube, vimeo etc
Windows Movie Maker
i-Movie
The following also let you use Greenscreen (Chroma Key) :
Final Cut/ Premiere Pro
Pinnacle Studio (PC)
I Can Present (Mac)
SMARTPHONE & MOBILE DEVICES
e.g. I-pad voice recorder
Also have a look at I-pad AUTOCUE teleprompt+ ispeech TTS

13. CHOICE OF 3 TASKS
aim at either KS4 or
EITHER KS5
A) Record a lively, entertaining interview full of relevant
language (add visuals / use greenscreen if you feel brave)
OR
B) Find a website of a school/town (maybe one you know)
Write a video tour or interview with quiz questions based
on the webpage
OR
C) Write & record your own text + questions – make it fun
challenging and relevant. The questions should also be
recorded & should help comprehension