Transcript correction is an example of a language-focused listening activity.  This version asks students to listen for differences between an audio text and the corresponding written transcript.  The target differences in this short excerpt from “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry’s classic short story, all relate to irregular past tense verbs.  This activity is a quick way to review and reinforce grammar concepts with a listening text during lessons related to the short story. 

This activity also reflects listening fluency-building principles because students perform supported listening through simultaneous use of audio and written texts, students listen to the text more than once, and the text itself has been graded for EFL learners. 

Teachers can create similar transcript correction activities using any listening text in the curriculum that contains the target language feature (e.g., comparatives and superlatives, irregular forms, verb tenses, or a combination of language features).

Intermediate and above

Listening and grammar

Students will listen to a short audio text while reviewing the associated written transcript.  The transcript contains grammatical errors that are not found in the audio text: 

• While listening the first time, students will identify the differences between the two texts by marking them on the transcript. 
• Students will listen again and correct the errors. 
• Finally, students will analyze and classify the grammatical errors.

• Teacher:
  • Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
  • Markers or chalk
  •  “The Gift of the Magi” looped audio clip (.mp3 – 1:59; the text will play twice)
  • Audio player (computer, tablet, mobile phone with speakers)
  • Transcript Correction Worksheet - Answers (.pdf)
• Students:
  • Pencils or pens, blank writing paper
  •  Transcript Correction Worksheet (.pdf) 

• Download, test, and preview the audio clip on your audio playing device.  Confirm the volume will be loud enough for the entire class to hear.
• Copy or print out the Transcription Correction Worksheet, ideally making enough copies for each student to have his/her own copy.  To save paper, you can have students work in pairs and share a copy.

• Tell students they are going to listen to a clip (an excerpt; a short, incomplete piece of a text) from O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.”  If using this activity after students have read the entire story, you can prompt students to provide a summary or details from the story to activate their prior knowledge before listening.  The activity can also be used before students read the story to preview characters, encourage predictions, or create interest in the plot.
• Ask student volunteers to pass out the Transcript Correction Worksheets facedown.  Tell students to leave the paper facedown while you provide the instructions.
• Explain that students will listen to the audio clip two times.  The first time they will listen to the audio while following along with the written transcript on their worksheets.  Tell students to underline any differences they hear between the audio and written versions. 
• Tell students the audio clip will automatically play for a second time after a pause.  During their second time listening, students should correct the differences they observed in the transcript by writing the proper forms they hear on their worksheets.  If needed, write the two steps in the listening phase on the board as you explain the instructions.
• Ask students to turn over their worksheets and play the audio clip (the clip will automatically play twice).
• After the audio clip is done playing, tell students to examine the list of words they underlined in the written transcript.  Ask students to determine what the words have in common and to check their answer with a neighbor.  Ask a volunteer to share their answer with the class.  (Answer: they are all irregular simple past tense verbs that were incorrectly “regularized” in the transcript). 
• Ask students to provide a few additional examples of base form verbs and their irregular simple past tense forms (e.g, go – went, sing – sang, swim – swam).  Write student examples on the board if desired.  If you have noticed any previous patterns in student errors (spoken or written) with simple irregular past tense verbs, be sure to provide the base forms of the problematic verbs and elicit the irregular past tense forms from the class. 

Note:  If students are sharing worksheets, put students in pairs before the worksheets are passed out in Step 2.  Ask student pairs to point to the differences they observe on the transcript as they listen the first time.  Students can write down the correct forms on their own blank paper as they listen for the second time, and then they can discuss with their partner the answer to the final “analyze and classify” question.  This approach also allows you to reuse the worksheets if you remind students not to write on them. 

This listening activity uses an audio clip from Zach Ladin’s “Into the Garden,” a song from Sing Out Loud: American Rhythms.  The language-focused activity asks students to listen for and record discreet vocabulary items in the song and to then analyze the pronunciation qualities of the target words as they hear them.  This activity assumes students have some prior basic knowledge of pronunciation concepts such as counting syllables in a word and identifying primary word stress.   

This activity also reflects listening fluency-building principles.  Students perform supported listening, simultaneously using audio and written texts.  Students are also exposed to the listening text more than once.

Ladin’s song “Into the Garden” celebrates the joys of growing and eating fresh vegetables and fruits. It also emphasizes being grateful for the things a healthy earth can provide for us.  These themes make this listening activity a good fit in lessons related to food, health, agriculture, or the environment.  Teachers can create similar activities using listening texts related to topics in their curriculum that contain the essential vocabulary items.

Upper intermediate and above

Listening, vocabulary, and pronunciation

Students will:

• Listen for and record fruit- and vegetable-related vocabulary items in a short audio text
• Listen to the target vocabulary words again to identify the number of syllables and the primary stressed syllable in each word
• Sort the target words using a stress pattern chart for pronunciation awareness and oral practice

• Teacher:
  • Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
  • Markers or chalk
  • “Into the Garden” audio clip (.mp3 – 0:55)
  • Audio player (computer, tablet, mobile phone with speakers)
  • Vocabulary Listening Cloze and Word Stress Chart – Answers (.pdf)
• Students:
  • Pencils or pens, blank writing paper
  •  Vocabulary Listening Cloze and Word Stress Chart (.pdf)

• Download, test, and preview the audio clip on your audio playing device.  Confirm the volume will be loud enough for the entire class to hear.
• Review the fruit and vegetable vocabulary in the Listening Cloze.  Determine which words, if any, will need to be pre-taught or reviewed before the activity.
• Review the stress and pronunciation of the target words in the Word Stress Chart; if needed, practice reading them aloud to ensure you are comfortable with their pronunciation.
• Copy or print out the Listening Vocabulary Cloze and Word Stress Charts, ideally making enough copies for each student to have his/her own copy of each.  To save paper, use two-sided printing and/or have students share one copy of each page per pair.

• Tell students they are going to listen to a clip (a short, incomplete piece) from Zach Ladin’s song “Into the Garden.”  Explain that they will need to listen carefully to identify and write down missing vocabulary words in a printed copy of the song’s lyrics.  (Note:  it is helpful, but not required, to complete this activity after the class has listened to the entire song and identified its key themes and main ideas.)
• Pre-teach or review any target fruit and vegetable vocabulary items that you identified during the activity preparation stage.
• Ask student volunteers to pass out the Vocabulary Listening Cloze.  (If you used two-sided copies with both handouts on one piece of paper, ask students to only look at the Listening Cloze side during the first part of the activity; the Word Stress Chart lists the missing words in the cloze.)
• Tell students that as they listen to the audio clip, they should try to fill in the missing fruit and vegetable vocabulary words indicated by blank spaces in the lyrics on the Listening Cloze.  Explain that the song’s pace is relatively fast; tell students not to worry because they will listen to the audio clip two or three times.  (Note: there are 16 missing items in the cloze. To make this part of the activity easier, put students in pairs and have one student fill in the even-numbered items, while the other fills in the odd-number items.  To provide even more support, provide a “word bank” by writing a scrambled list of the missing words on the board.)
• Tell students to get their pencils or pens ready and then play the audio clip two or three times depending on the needs of the class.  Pause for a bit each time the audio ends to allow students to quickly review their answers.
• Ask students to compare their answers with a neighbor.  Play the audio one more time or ask student volunteers to provide the missing words so everyone can check his or her work.
• Ask student volunteers to pass out the Word Stress Charts.  (If you used two-sided copies, tell students to turn their handouts over to the Word Stress Chart.)
• Explain that students are going to use the chart to sort the vocabulary words from the listening cloze according to their pronunciation features, in this case, the number of syllables in the word and the location of the stressed syllable.  Remind students that the primary stress in each word is found the syllable with the vowel that is longest, loudest, and strongest. 
• If this is the first time students have used a word stress chart, explain the symbols used in the chart to represent syllables and stress.  (each “o” represents a syllable; O = primary stressed syllable   o = unstressed syllable).
• Complete an example of how to place a word in the chart by using the word “carrots.” Say the word once and then say it aloud a couple of times while you clap your hands, snap your fingers, or stomp feet in time with the two syllables.  Ask the class to tell you how many syllables the word has (Answer: 2). Next, ask the class to identify the stressed syllable (the longer, louder, stronger syllable) in “carrots.”  You can help students to identify the stress by pronouncing the words with both stress patterns (CARRots and carrOTs) and asking them to choose the correct version.  You can also use “empty syllables” to help students distinguish the stress, asking “Does CARRots sound like DAH-dah or dah-DAH?  CARRots…DAH-dah…DAH-dah…CARRots.  The stress is on the first syllable, right?”)  Based on the number of the syllables and the stress location, ask students to place “carrots” in the chart (Answer: under Oo, top row, center box).  If needed, do one or two more examples with the students.  You can use words in the list or other fruit and vegetable words students know.
• Read the remaining words in the list aloud several times.  The first couple of times you say the word, tell students to determine the number of syllables in the word and to write their answer next to the word in the list on the Word Stress Chart.  Encourage students to quietly clap out or tap out the number of syllables in the word as they listen.  As they continue to listen to you read the word aloud, students should try to identify and underline the stressed syllable in each word.
• Next, put students into pairs or small groups.  Ask them to compare the information they collected while listening and to use that data to chart the words according to their stress patterns.  Again, encourage students to say the words out loud, to listen to each other, and to clap, snap, or stomp while saying the words as they try to chart them.  Monitor students’ progress while they work and provide pronunciation models for the words, as needed.
• Once most of the class is done charting the words, review the answers in each column in a whole class setting. Ask a student volunteers to read aloud all of the words in each box, demonstrating the common pattern among the words. 
• If possible, over the course of a themed unit, ask students to chart newly encountered vocabulary words.  As a listening and pronunciation strategy, encourage students to independently chart new vocabulary words or words that they find difficult to pronounce.

Notes: 
(1)  If students are sharing worksheets, put students in pairs before the worksheets are passed out in Step 3.  Ask student pairs to write down the missing words in the listening cloze on a blank sheet of paper.  During the Word Stress Chart portion, students can copy down the word list and stress pattern chart on their own paper.  This approach also allows you to reuse the worksheets if you remind students not to write on them.
(2)  The pronunciation models shown in the “Vocabulary Listening Cloze and Word Stress Chart – Answers” represent American English pronunciation.  It is fine to make adjustments to the answers based on the variety of English used by you and your students.

This meaning-focused listening activity uses the song “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" from Sing Out Loud -  Children’s Songs.  Total Physical Response (TPR) involves students listening and actively carrying out movements related to what they hear.  Incorporating TPR and miming are excellent ways to reinforce meaning while young learners listen.  In this activity, repeated opportunities to listen and move in response to what they hear should help students connect the words they hear to their meanings.  Repeated listening also builds listening fluency and confidence.  Overall, this approach appeals to auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners, and it also allows active children to use up some energy and enjoy the fun of uninhibited movement and mimicry. 

Beginner and above

Listening, vocabulary

Students will:

• Listen for and perform movements related to specific lyrics in a song to establish and reinforce their meaning

Materials

• Teacher:
  
  • “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” song audio (.mp3 – 0:59; the song plays twice on this recording)
  • Audio player (computer, tablet, mobile phone with speakers)
  • “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” posters (optional; available under “Downloads” on the song’s resource page) 
  • Projection device (optional if using posters)

​Preparation

• Download, test, and preview the audio clip on your audio playing device.  Confirm the volume will be loud enough for the entire class to hear. 
• If desired, prepare the “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” posters; either plan to display the posters via a projection device (overhead projector, digital projector), print a copy large enough for the class to see, or print several copies for groups of students to share.

Procedures

1. Tell students they are going to listen to and act out a song called “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.”
2. Pre-teach the movements that go along with each line in the song by demonstrating them as you say them.  You can also use the “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” posters as a visual prop to help establish meaning for each line while you teach the movements.  Feel free to choose any representative movements that you like to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics; example movements could include:

• One, two, buckle my shoe.  (Mime fastening your shoe.)
• Three, four, shut the door.  (Shut the door and then mime the movement you want students to use in during the song)
• Five, six, pick up sticks.  (Pick up some pencils or sticks off the floor and then mime the movement to students to use in during the song  
• Seven, eight, lay them straight. (Arrange the pencils or sticks on a desk and then mime the movement you want students to use during the song)
• Nine, ten, a big fat hen. (Tuck your hands up to your shoulders and “flap” them like  chicken wings) 
• Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, All done!  (Clap during the numbers and then sit down on “done!”)

Note: If students’ developmental level allows them to handle more information and movement, you can have them hold up the appropriate number of fingers to represent the numbers in the first five lines of the song.

 3.  As you demonstrate the movements, direct students to stand up and complete the movements with you as you say the lyrics aloud.
 4.  Once the students seem comfortable with the movements, play the song a few times, and act out the lyrics with the students. 
 5.  After the students get used to the movements while listening, you can encourage them to sing along with the recording while completing the motions. Even though students are learning, this activity should be a lot fun:  some the movements are a bit silly, so expect some laughs and giggles! 

This listening activity uses an audio clip from “The Fall of the House of Usher,” part of a short story collection called Edgar Allan Poe: Storyteller.

The activity is designed to develop students’ listening strategies and also includes meaning-focused aspects.  Before listening, students use critical thinking skills to make predictions about the story’s tone based on information in the title and their prior knowledge, if any, of the author.  They also predict vocabulary words they might hear and then test those predictions while they listen. 

After listening, students answer comprehension questions that require them to use details and main ideas in the text to make inferences and predictions.  These questions, which require recall and analysis of textual information, are called “of-text” comprehension questions.  Finally, students are asked to relate textual content to their own experiences in “text-to-self” comprehension questions.  An additional type of comprehension question (not featured in this activity) is called “text-to-world.” This type of question requires students to relate textual information to their wider understanding of society and the world.  Combining these types of comprehension questions encourages students to engage deeply with and think critically about a listening or reading text’s content.  See the final 10 minutes of Katie Ryan’s 2014 “Oh, What Fun! Learning English with O. Henry” Shaping the Way We Teach English webinar for more information about this approach to creating comprehension questions.   

This activity also reflects listening fluency-building principles.  Students are exposed to the listening text more than once, and the text complexity has been graded for EFL learners.

Upper intermediate and above

Listening

• Comprehension – main ideas and details
• Strategy development – inferences and prediction; relating to a listening text

Speaking

Students will:

• Make pre-listening predictions about the tone of a story based on inferences about the title and prior knowledge about the author (Note: the author aspect is optional) 
• Make predictions about vocabulary they will hear in a listening text using prior knowledge about aspects of the story’s setting
• Listen for and make notes about details and main ideas in a listening text
• Consider and discuss “of-text” and “text-to-self” meaning-focused questions about a listening text  

• Teacher:
  • Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
  • Markers or chalk
  • “The Fall of the House of Usher” audio clip (.mp3 – 1:59)
  • Audio player (computer, tablet, mobile phone with speakers)
• Students:
  • Pencils or pens, blank writing paper

• Download, test, and preview the audio clip on your audio playing device.  Confirm the volume will be loud enough for the entire class to hear.

• Tell students they are going to listen to a two-minute audio clip from the beginning of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 
• Ask students to analyze the story’s title and make predictions about the story’s tone.  Based on the words in the title, does it seem like this story will be happy/peaceful/calm or tragic/depressing/mysterious?  What word in the title best supports their opinions? 
• If students have read other stories by Poe, either in class or on their own, ask them if what they know about the author confirms their analysis of the title and the story’s tone.  Ask students to give examples of other stories by Poe with tragic, mysterious, or dark themes. (optional).  Note: Edgar Allan Poe is known for writing mysterious and macabre stories.
• Give students a short preview of the audio clip’s setting and action, such as, “In this clip, you will hear the story’s narrator describe the first time he sees the Usher family’s house, which is located in the countryside.”  Then ask students to predict the vocabulary they might hear.  Elicit vocabulary items related to describing a house (e.g., roof, walls, windows, porch, door, etc.) and a rural/countryside setting (trees, flowers, lake, river, etc.).  Write students’ predictions on the board.
• Now that students are primed to hear the listening text, explain they will hear the clip twice, and ask them to get their pencils/pens and paper ready.  Tell them to listen the first time for the main idea and for any details that support their predictions about the story’s tone.  Encourage students to make brief notes about any words they hear that support the class’s hypothesis about the tone being dark or melancholy. 
• Play the clip.  Before playing it again, ask students to listen for and write down any words that describe the house or land around it.
• After playing the audio clip a second time, facilitate a whole discussion in which students share evidence from their notes and compare it to the predictions the class made about the story’s tone and clip’s expected vocabulary.  As the discussion closes, remind students that analyzing the title, thinking about what the already know about an author, and making predictions about a text’s content and expected vocabulary are good strategies to use when they prepare to listen to a text. 
• Next, put students in small groups or pairs.  Ask them to think about and discuss the following questions.  Encourage students to use the notes they made during the listening phase to support their discussions.  The first three “of-text” questions ask for a combination of detail recall, inference making, and prediction.  The final question is “text-to-self,” asking students to relate what they heard to their personal experiences.
• How does the narrator feel about the House of Usher?  How do you know?
• Why do think the narrator is at the house?
• What will happen next?
• Have you ever been to a scary place?  Describe it.  What were the similarities and differences to the House of Usher?  How did you feel?

Notes: (1) If you’d like to add a reading element to this portion of the activity, you can pass out the listening text transcript for students to refer to during their discussions. (2) You can write the questions on the board in advance and cover them during the listening stage, or you can write them while students are listening the second time if you can do so in a non-distracting way. 

• Monitor the student discussions. After most groups have finished addressing the questions, facilitate a whole-class discussion and encourage students to share responses from their pairs or small groups. 
• To create motivation to complete related homework or in-class activities, be sure not to give students the answers to the second and third prediction questions.  Students will likely want to know what will happen next in the story.  Tell them they will have the chance to find out as they read or listen to the next section of the story for homework or in class!