[senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary pupils

Good stuff Eddie,  As you rightly show, the biggest barrier to learning is fear - whatever the learning difficulty might be - and this cuts down on the fear factor whilst improving essential skills.  

Ally

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk on behalf of Eddie Carron 
	Sent: Fri 18/08/2006 21:29 
	To: Eddie Carron; clare north; Senco-Forum 
	Cc: 
	Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary pupils

	This approach is aimed specifically at Year 7 children whose reading is 'on
	the cusp' ie about 9.5 but whose general listening and other literacy skills
	are still about Level 2/3 . It has not been tried with any other groups.

	Pupils use the approach at a computer wearing a headset and with an exercise
	book and pen at the ready. Adult intervention is not required.

	1. The opening page offers a range of 60 different transcription topics of
	about 200 words. The teacher directs the pupil to select a particular topic.
	The range of topics is appropriate to the target age-group.

	2. The piece to be transcribed appears on screen in soft focus with only the
	leading word emphasized.

	3. By tapping the spacebar, word focus moves across the page at the reader's
	individual pace. By touching any letter key, the computer will voice any
	unfamiliar words. This means that the pupil has some prior experience and
	familiarity with every word in the dictation exercise.

	4. When this is complete, the page disappears and the computer clearly and
	succintly recites the entire passage which the pupil has just read. This
	provides pupils with a prior additional and complete auditory familiarity
	with the dictation piece. Pupil can opt to have a second listening to this
	recital.

	5. When this is complete, the computer displays on screen, six of the most
	complex words in the passage. The computer ennunicates each word in a random
	sequence and invites the pupil to click on that word - a simple but relevant
	word recognition exercise using only the more challenging words that appear
	in the passage. These words remain on screen throughout the actual dictation
	session as a supportive mechanism to limit potential frustrations in this
	fragile target group.

	6. The computer instructs the pupil to write down the title of the piece and
	then to press the 'start dictation' when they are ready.

	.

	7. The computer dictates the first phrase (average about 4 words) and says
	'comma' or 'full stop' where appropriate. There is an on-screen 'say again'
	option which will always repeat the phrase at the pupils request. There is
	also a 'Next phrase' option which the pupil selects only when they are ready
	to transcribe the next phrase. And so on. A number of pupils can therefore
	work on these exercises simulataneously, each on different dictation pieces
	and each at their own individual pace.

	The level of support for the dictation piece is therefore very high in
	recognition of the fragility of the targer user group The course can be
	offered as a once-weekly experience over a year or alternatively, two or
	three times a week for one term at the teacher's discretion. There are also
	appropriately constructed Dictation programmes in the pipeline for 'average'
	and 'above average pupils' which have attracted a great deal of interest
	among English teachers in a number of countries though not yet in the UK.

	One strength of the approach is that it can be used as a homework assignment
	resource. Pupils carry out the preparation and dictation at home and bring
	their exercise books into school to be marked. This is particularly useful
	in schools which decide to used the course as a one-term I.E.P. component.
	The pupils can easily complete three sessions a week - perhaps two at home
	and one in school or vice versa. I have no idea how those with APD would
	respond to this approach.

	That should answer all the questions I hope.

	Eddie C.

	----- Original Message -----
	From: "Eddie Carron" <eddiecarron at btconnect.com>
	To: "clare north" <clare at clarenorth.co.uk>; "Senco-Forum"
	<senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
	Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 5:46 PM
	Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary pupils

	> Clare - I would not and never have suggested or implied that dictation
	> exercises are a useful strategy for the general resolution of literacy
	> difficulties. On the contrary, I have tried to emphasize that the teachers
	> primary aim should be to marry the particular child to the appropriate
	> strategy. The resource I have mentioned is only useful for a specific
	> subset of pupils and for these children, it will only enhance a specific
	> subset of skills.  Even where targetting is precise, it  will not enhance
	> comprehension and it will not enhance intelligence.
	>
	> It will however, enable this subset of pupils to transcribe into longhand,
	> particular pieces of prose, fed to them through a headset. The completion
	> of any of the exercises necessarily implies that the target children
	> listened - otherwise, there is no way they could have completed the
	> exercises. Any SENCo for whom that is an insufficient objective, will not
	> find this strategy appropriate.
	>
	> Again, to the constant stream of off-list enquirers - I simply cannot
	> answer your queries individually. Later on this evening, I will prepare an
	> outline description of the  strategy unless the list moderator advises me
	> that this would an inappropriate use of the forum.
	>
	> Eddie C.
	> ----- Original Message -----
	> From: "clare north" <clare at clarenorth.co.uk>
	> To: "Senco-Forum" <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
	> Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 4:39 PM
	> Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary pupils
	>
	>
	>> Hi Eddie
	>>
	>> I think my worry is that while a successful transcription may suggest
	>> good listening ( on a certain level - although I think it could be done
	>> without particularly actively engaging with the task intellectually) any
	>> 'difficulty' with transcription cannot be necessarily attributed to poor
	>> listening as there are so many other processes involved in the
	>> transcription process. I think that improving listening through literacy
	>> is going to disadvantage those whose literacy is  already poor as a
	>> result of poor listening. Although some pupils will respond, many will
	>> not. Listening has to be meaningful and dictation can be fairly
	>> meaningless. It is simply writing down a representation of what we hear
	>> without necessarily understanding it. Listening involves extracting some
	>> sort of meaning from what is 'heard'. Conjugating verbs does have some
	>> relevance for Language students as maths theory does for maths students.
	>> You could argue that perhaps no-one needs to learn French and no-one
	>> needs to learn mathematical formulae etc. but I think that's a different
	>> point to the one I am trying to make which is that Dictation is a
	>> high-level skill which is too complex to address very poor listening
	>> skills. How can a pupil who struggles with literacy ever improve their
	>> listening if you are only offering a written task? I quite accept that
	>> it could be useful but there are other approaches and techniques which
	>> could prove more accessible for some students.
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>> Clare
	>>
	>>
	>> ---
	>> This email and any attachments have been scanned by AVG AntiVirus 7.0.
	>>
	>> -----Original Message-----
	>> From: Eddie Carron [mailto:eddiecarron at btconnect.com]
	>> Sent: 18 August 2006 15:38
	>> To: clare north
	>> Cc: Senco-Forum
	>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary
	>> pupils
	>>
	>> Of course, dictation is not a 'life skill' but then neither is
	>> conjugating
	>> French verbs. I dont think my maths teacher thought he was teaching me a
	>>
	>> 'life skill' when he taught me that the square on the hypotenuse of a
	>> right-angled triangle was equal to the sum of the squares on the
	>> opposite
	>> two sides - he probably believed that he was exercising the muscles of
	>> my
	>> intellect. which is of course, the point of Education.
	>>
	>> If a child is able to transcribe in longhand, a passage that has only
	>> entered his consciousness through his or her ears, I would have thought
	>> that
	>> that constituted proof positive of focused listening - how else could
	>> the
	>> transcription have been achieved? Since listening is a skill, what
	>> better
	>> way could there be of enhancing listening skills that routinely and
	>> demonstrably successful experiences of focused listening.
	>>
	>> A small number of SENCo with whom I routinely co-operate in the
	>> development
	>> of my materials, initially expressed the view that if they could get
	>> some of
	>> their statemented pupils to take dictation,  that would represent for
	>> them,
	>> an enormous leap in progress.  This was my movitation for developing
	>> this
	>> particular approach which has involved the investment of a little over
	>> two
	>> years of my life. They are now achieving this routinely with the early
	>> versions. I know that two of them atleast are occasional lurkers on this
	>>
	>> forum and although they would never participate, they would speak up in
	>> no
	>> uncertain manner if I was misrepresenting the facts. Teachers from the
	>> US,
	>> Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also contributing to the
	>> development.
	>>
	>> The proof of the pudding etc etc
	>>
	>> Eddie C.
	>>
	>> PS Again, to the off-list enquirers - email me after half term for hard
	>> information.
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>> ----- Original Message -----
	>> From: "clare north" <clare at clarenorth.co.uk>
	>> To: "'Eddie Carron'" <eddiecarron at btconnect.com>
	>> Cc: "Senco-Forum" <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
	>> Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 12:17 PM
	>> Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary
	>> pupils
	>>
	>>
	>>>
	>>>
	>>> ---
	>>> 'Practice' (dictation) will not necessarily guarantee improvement in
	>>> listening skills generally. There are several reasons why effective
	>>> listening may be difficult including environemntal issues such as
	>>> acoustics. I am making a distinction between hearing and listening as
	>>> 'hearing' may be fine but the acoustics of a room, background noise
	>> and
	>>> various other outside influences may make 'effective listening'
	>>> difficult. Listening also involves extracting some meaning from what
	>> is
	>>> heard so there has to be some previous relevant knowledge and an
	>>> appropriate level of comprehension to make listening 'effective'. I
	>>> would argue that dictation is only one(very limited) way of assessing
	>>> listening. The ability to complete a dictation accurately is not a
	>>> life-skill. Dictation may be a teaching 'tool' in some subjects but it
	>>> is should not be used as the main way of teaching children to listen.
	>> In
	>>> fact, Dictation relies on memory, fine-motor skills, speed of
	>>> processing, phoneme detection etc. which are difficult skills  for
	>> many
	>>> children (and adults) so I'm not sure that the ability to complete a
	>>> dictation is necessarily the most useful way to assess or remediate
	>>> general poor listening. It is certainly an extremely stressful
	>> activity
	>>> for many dyslexic and language-impaired individuals and, while it may
	>>> serve a purpose when teaching literacy, I really doubt whether it
	>> would
	>>> improve listening ability in real-life situations - which is what I
	>>> thought the original query was referring to.
	>>>
	>>> Clare
	>>>
	>>>
	>>> This email and any attachments have been scanned by AVG AntiVirus 7.0.
	>>>
	>>> -----Original Message-----
	>>> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
	>>> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Eddie
	>>> Carron
	>>> Sent: 18 August 2006 11:25
	>>> To: The Bodiens; Olanys at aol.com; senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
	>>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary
	>>> pupils
	>>>
	>>>
	>>> .....The only components of a skill that respond to practice are in
	>>> fact, the
	>>> mechanical aspects such as decoding/blending in reading, steering and
	>>> changing gear in driving etc. The listening skill has fewer mechanical
	>>> components and therefore it is the most difficult one to exercise and
	>>> assess. Having said that, there is nothing any teacher can do to
	>> improve
	>>> the
	>>> listening skills of any child, other than to provide opportunities for
	>>> positive practice. The teacher's skill lies in ingenuity of matching
	>> the
	>>>
	>>> child to an appropriate resource., whatever the nature of the child's
	>>> learning difficulties.  Blanket condemnations such as 'dyslexics
	>> should
	>>> never be given dictation' are injurious and destructive!
	>>>
	>>> Dictation, (in the modern sense of the word), is just one of these
	>>> approaches which is not only very practical but also extremely
	>>> productive
	>>> provided the level of challenge it poses is appropriate for the
	>>> particular
	>>> child.  And is does centrally involve listening. When it is a computer
	>>> programme of supported dictation exercises, ten children can be
	>> working
	>>> on
	>>> different but appropriate topics and each at their own speed. Where
	>> the
	>>> child produces an exercise book with a reasonably accurate
	>> transcription
	>>>
	>>> from dictation, that is unassailable evidence that a good quality of
	>>> listening has taken place. If you can get the child to do this
	>>> routinely,
	>>> you are winning the battle of listening skills and in very measurable
	>>> way.
	>>> Where the quality of the transciption improves over time, listening
	>>> skills
	>>> as well as general literacy skills, are inevitably also improving.
	>>>
	>>> This holds true whether the child has a specific or a non-specific
	>>> learning
	>>> difficulty.
	>>>
	>>> Eddie C.
	>>>
	>>> PS To the off-list enquirers, email me again at the end of October.
	>>>
	>>> ----- Original Message -----
	>>> From: "The Bodiens" <bodiens at emirates.net.ae>
	>>> To: <Olanys at aol.com>; <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
	>>> Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 10:18 AM
	>>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary
	>>> pupils
	>>>
	>>>
	>>>> Dictation was the one thing that worked for a severely dyslexic
	>>> student
	>>>> that I taught.  First of all we used Acceleread Accelewrite which
	>>> raised
	>>>> his nonword score from 1st to 24th percentile then we did dictations
	>>> 3x
	>>>> weekly with more from Mum at home, using text to speech software.
	>> The
	>>>
	>>>> previous year we had followed the standard dyslexia intervention but
	>>> come
	>>>> the Septmeber my student had forgotten most of what he had learned.
	>>>> Practise of the connection between speech and print through
	>> dictatiosn
	>>> led
	>>>> to him becoming a reader.
	>>>>
	>>>> Perhaps it depends how you pre-teach basic skills, then use
	>> dictation?
	>>>
	>>>> Dictation for the purpose of learning to read/spell, with the right
	>>> tools,
	>>>> can be very helpful.  Dictation for note-taking and dissemination of
	>>>> information at secondary school is probably another matter.
	>>>>
	>>>> Philippa
	>>>>
	>>>>
	>>>> ----- Original Message -----
	>>>> From: <Olanys at aol.com>
	>>>> To: <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
	>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 8:13 PM
	>>>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in secondary
	>>> pupils
	>>>>
	>>>>
	>>>>> When I worked with severely dyslexic children the dyslexic  resource
	>>> base
	>>>>> teacher informed the staff that these children were not to  take
	>> down
	>>>
	>>>>> dictation
	>>>>> under any circumstances - it is a nightmare for them and a  futile
	>>>>> exercise
	>>>>> when pre-printed information sheets can so easily be provided  with
	>>> very
	>>>>> little
	>>>>> extra effort by teachers.
	>>>>>
	>>>>> Taking down dictation involves a myriad of skills and stages, many
	>> of
	>>>
	>>>>> which
	>>>>> are extemely difficult for pupils with SpLD and for some impossible
	>>> and
	>>>>> very
	>>>>> distressing...not to mention unnecessary. The same applies to the
	>>> awful
	>>>>> time
	>>>>> consuming task of copying from textbooks in these days of scanners
	>>> and
	>>>>> printers.
	>>>>>
	>>>>>
	>>>>> Training  children who struggle to do so is a cruel waste of time
	>> and
	>>>
	>>>>> effort
	>>>>> for all  involved. I also think exercises like this are an
	>>> unnecessary
	>>>>> waste
	>>>>> of time  after a long and arduous day trying to cope at school and
	>>> endure
	>>>>> homework.
	>>>>>
	>>>>>
	>>>>>
	>>>>> Best wishes,
	>>>>> Aly
	>>>>>
	>>>>> Chair Auditory  Processing Disorder in the UK/APDUK
	>>>>> www.lacewingmultimedia.com/APD.htm
	>>>>> www.apduk.org
	>>>>>
	>>>>>
	>>>>> --
	>>>>> No virus found in this incoming message.
	>>>>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
	>>>>> Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.10.9/417 - Release Date:
	>>>>> 11/08/2006
	>>>>>
	>>>>
	>>>
	>>>
	>>>
	>>
	>>
	>>
	>

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