Listening Activities

Listening Activities Home

Listening Strategies:
   Unfamiliar Words
   Give a Focus
   Context Clues
   TQLR

Planning Effective Listening Activities

Pre-Listening Activities

During Listening Activities:
   Card Activities
   Categorize Words
Charts
   Cloze Activities
   Commands
   Commercials
   Dictations
   Illustrations
   Interviews
   Listening Games
   Movies
   Native Speakers
   Newscasts
   Pictures
   Puzzles
   Questions
   Radio
   Songs
   Sounds
   Statements
   Stories
   Textbooks
   TV shows
   Video Clips

Post Listening Activities

Listening Assessment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE

I love to include charts, diagrams, time lines, and graphic organizers because they are so visual and they help students organize and retain information from the listening passage.  If you plan on implementing charts or graphic organizers in the classroom, it is important that you teach students how to use them by first conducting the activity on the board and explaining how to effectively use them.  It is also important to allow students to practice with different graphic organizers so they will understand the different functions of each one. Later on, once students are more comfortable with graphic organizers, encourage them to select which one they would like to use for the activity based on the learning objectives and their learning styles. For example, after practicing with several different organizers, students may listen to a passage and take notes in a format of their choice. Then, they can compare notes and discuss their reasons for selecting a particular format, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of different organizers for that text.  

 

Chart Activities

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Arguments
1. Create two columns.  One is for and one is against an issue. 
2. Students listen to comments and decide which side of an argument it supports. 

Example:    Está de acuerdo Está en contra Bullfighting     Tourism     Indigenous People

Missing Information
1. Give students a chart with blanks.
2. Students read the chart and guess the topic of the passage. 
3. Read or play the listening passage.
4. Students fill in charts with missing information as they listen. 

Example: Students listen to a weather report and fill in a chart.    Bogotá Caracas Santiago Buenos Aires lunes Chubascos _________ Soleado _________ martes _________ Tormentas _________ Nuboso

Checklists
1. Give students a chart with blanks.
2. Students read the chart and guess the topic of the passage. 
3. Read of play the listening passage.
4. Students check off items in a chart while they listen. 

Example: Students check off physical descriptors while classmates describe their ideal dates. Mi novia ideal es…   cómica seria alta baja rubia morena Juan X   X   X   Miguel   X   X   X José X     X X

Chronological order
1. Read of play a listening passage such as a story or directions.
2. Students place items heard in chronological order after listening.


Recipe
1. Read out a recipe.
2. Students put steps in order.


Story
1. Read a story.
2. Students put sentences or events that took place in chronological order.
   
   

   Example: Hay una chica que se llama María.  María es de México.  Un día, María va a Madrid, España.  Visita a su abuela en Madrid.  En Madrid, María come mucha comida.  Come tortilla española, almendras, gazpacho, y paella.  Hay un problema.  A María no le gusta la paella.  María llora porque no quiere comer más paella.      2    María va a Madrid.     4    María llora.     1    La chica se llama María.     3    María come paella.

Grammar and Vocabulary
1. Students take out a sheet of paper and divide their papers into two columns.
2. They label each column.
3. Read sentences containing different grammar structures, vocabulary words, or culture.
4. Students check the column that corresponds with each sentence.
5. Topics to use:
   • Masculine versus Feminine
   • Singular versus Plural
   • Por versus Para
   • Preterite versus Imperfect
   • Seasons (winter versus summer)
   • Clothes (winter versus summer clothes, day versus night)
   • Morning routines versus night routines
   • US Customs versus Spanish Customs 
   • Ser versus estar
   • Tú versus Usted

   Example: Read out the following sentences. Students mark the appropriate column.   Por Para 1   X 2 X   3 X   4   X El regalo es _______ Juan. Julia me llamó _______ teléfono ayer. El libro fue escrito _______ Márquez. Necesito estudiar _______ el exámen.

Truths and Lies
1. Students divide a sheet of paper in half and label one side verdades and the other side mentiras. 
2. Tell students a story in Spanish.  It can be a familiar tale, a personal story, or an occurrence at school.  Part of the story must be truths and the other part lies. 
3. Students listen to the story the first time you tell it without writing anything. 
4. Tell the story again.
5. Meanwhile, students take notes.  They write the truths under the verdades column and the lies under the mentiras column. 
6. Read out the story a third time while students check their answers.
7. Ask students what they think were the truths and what were the lies.   
8. Write the responses on the board in the correct column so students can check their answers.

Example: Me llamo Gabriela López.  Soy de Nueva York.  Soy profesora de español en una escuela privada.  Hace trece años que enseño español.  Tengo un gato, un perro, cinco conejos y dos hijos.  Verdades Mentiras Me llamo Gabriela López. Hace trece años que enseño español. Tengo un gato y dos hijos. Soy de Nueva York. Soy profesora en una escuela privada. Tengo un perro.

Diagram
1. Read a story while students take notes. 
2. Read it again, but with changes to the story.
3. Students take notes and tell changes.
4. Students organize notes in a Venn diagram.

Example: Story 1 Erase una vez había una niña que se llamaba Melina.  Melina vivía en el bosque.  Un día, mientras Melina caminaba a la casa de su abuelita, apareció un lobo que parecía muy grande y feroz.  Melina se fue corriendo y gritando por el bosque hasta que el lobo la agarró.  Después, el lobo se río y le dijo a la niña (look up correct way to add quotes in Spanish) “No tengas miedo.  Sólo quiero ser tu amigo.  Soy nuevo por aquí y no tengo amigos.”  La niña le respondió “Está bien.  Seamos amigos entonces.”  El lobo y la niña caminaron a la casa de su abuelita y se hicieron muy buenos amigos. Story 2 Erase una vez había una niña que se llamaba Melina.  Melina vivía en el desierto.  Un día, mientras Melina caminaba a la casa de su abuelita, apareció un coyote que parecía muy grande y feroz.  Melina se fue corriendo y gritando por el desierto hasta que el coyote la agarró.  Después, el coyote se río y le dijo a la niña (look up correct way to add quotes in Spanish) “No tengas miedo.  Sólo quiero ser tu amigo.  Soy nuevo por aquí y no tengo amigos.”  La niña le respondió “De ninguna manera.  No quiero ser tu amiga.  ¡Vete!”  El coyote se fue llorando y la niña siguió caminando a la casa de su abuelita.  La niña y el coyote no se hicieron amigos.

Summary
1. Students summarize a speaker's presentation orally, in writing, or as an outline.
2. In addition to the traditional outline format, students could use:
   • time lines
   • flow charts
   • ladders
   • circles
   • diagrams
   • webs
   • maps

 

Resources

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Eduplace Graphic Organizers in Spanish - You will find 35 different graphic organizers in Spanish!

Graphic Organizers in Spanish - The Pomperaug Regional School District 15 in Middlebury/Southbury, Connecticut has 39 GREAT graphic organizers in Spanish and in English. They are in both Word and .pdf format.  

Graphic Organizers in Spanish - Region IV Education Service Center in Houston, TX has 14 graphic organizers in Spanish and in English on their website.

Teach-nology Custom Graphic Organizers - Maybe you've searched the internet and books for graphic organizers but you haven't quite found one that suits your activity. Now you're in luck! Teach-nology allows you to create customized graphic organizers.