This course aims to give you an opportunity to focus on developing your fluent listening skills. Toward this goal, class time will be allocated to self-directed individual listening, with time remaining for small group discussions and other monitored activities designed to improve your aural/oral interaction skills. A secondary goal will be to single out and focus on the characteristics of spoken language that make listening difficult (e.g., vocabulary, colloquial language).

You will be encouraged to listen as widely as possible to a range of Web-based and traditional English language media (e.g., podcasts, Web-based audio/video news, film, TV). The instructor will assist you in locating level appropriate material and in creating a self-directed study plan so that together we can monitor your progress. You should, though, be prepared to work largely independently and autonomously during each class.

LEARNING AIMS

Participants undertaking this unit of study will
• learn how to direct and manage their listening practice to improve fluency;
• explore a wide range of English listening material, both Web-based and traditional; and
• have an opportunity to share their ideas and opinions on a wide range of topics through English.

• Teacher: Christopher Douloff