Creating Bottom Up and Top Down Academic ESL Listening Materials

Intermediate English learners (CEFR B1-B2) understand far less linguistic input than teachers usually assume (Field, 2008). While most academic listening textbooks use a comprehension approach which typically only measures a student's top-down language processing, a focused and intensive bottom-up listening skills approach is often missing from classes. In other words, English teachers may not know why or how to create in-class activities and games for improving students' the automaticity of students perceptual listening processes. Field (2008) affirms that multiple approaches for teaching listening are needed in the classroom, including bottom-up and top-down instruction. This presentation gives specific digital technologies that can be used in the classroom and for self-study that build students' bottom-up listening skills. In addition, strategies for creating academic lecture for assessing top-down listening comprehension are also included.

This presentation is based on a general session that I gave at TESOL 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. I got such positive feedback from the audience that I felt compelled to turn it into a video for other English language instructors.

Please also feel free to read my related article on this presentation in TESOL's Speaking, Pronunciation, and Listening Interest Section newsletter: http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/t....