Topic: Option A - Exploring the teaching of listening for academic purposes

Write an evaluative report on the teaching of listening for academic purposes. This report will need to discuss features of the language of lectures and challenges this may present for students. You will need to locate, report and comment on some programs that aim to support the teaching of academic listening skills. These may be face-to-face programs, they may be located in coursebooks or online. (Please provide full references) You may also draw on interviews with practitioners in the field. Throughout your paper you will be expected to make references to some relevant theoretical literature on this topic.

Introduction
In university contexts successfully comprehending lectures is often critical to academic success and can be particularly challenging for L2 learners. While some teaching of academic listening for L2 learners occurs face-to-face with EAP support staff, other learning methods are available. EAP coursebooks and online courses are two such approaches on offer, due in part to the increasing numbers of L2 students accessing higher education in English, growing involvement in online learning contexts and a changing higher education business model with the student as customer. Consequently it is important to identify the benefits, limitations and potential of various approaches in order to optimise student outcomes across a range of contexts.

This paper is concerned with the relative effectiveness of coursebook and online approaches to teaching academic listening to assist L2 students in university settings with the comprehension and recall of academic lecture material. The paper commences with a section outlining the key factors of interest against which two EAP coursebooks and two EAP online programs are reviewed. The paper then reports on the research methods used in sourcing and interrogating the data that informs the review. The report then provides a comparative analysis of the programs in terms of the key factors and closes with a discussion on the implications of the findings for coursebook and online approaches and TEAP practice more generally.

The following section briefly outlines several key factors identified in some of the research literature that impact on L2 learners comprehension of academic lectures against which the programs are reviewed and compared in the later sections of the report.

Key factors for review

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Research findings indicate that listening is a complex multidimensional phenomenon (Buck & Tatsuoka, 1998) and that lecture comprehension involves the interaction of a range of factors including language, pedagogy, lecture materials, lecturer behaviour and student behaviour (Miller 2002, Taylor and Geranpayeh, 2011, Jordan 2009). While other researchers cite a range of other factors as well, due to the limited scope of this report, the focus will be on the factors outlined in the following four sections.

Range of lecture styles, structures and purposes Learners undertaking university studies are confronted with significant variability in lecturer, lecture structure, content and intent. For maximum utility, programs assisting students with comprehension should therefore expose learners to varying styles such as the reading, conversational or rhetorical styles proposed by Dudley-Evans and Johns (1981). Olsen and Huckins (1990) work would also suggest academic listening learners need to be exposed to and be able to distinguish between lectures that present information and those that develop an argument and be assisted to develop information driven and point driven listening strategies.

Multimodality Taylor and Geranpayeh (2011, p. 91) make the point that academic listening places a high level of demandfor the L2 studentneeding to cope with the demands ofacademic lectures. Learners are challenged to simultaneously manage the information and meanings of multiple modes present in lectures. Modes can include written language and other visual information contained in powerpoint presentations, handouts, on boards; spoken language, including listening cues such as Yorkeys vocal underlining (Jordan, 2009, p.185) and Tyler et al.s lexical discourse markers (Jordan , 2009, p. 183); and non-verbal cues such as macro and micro markers (Chaudron & Richards, 1986) and body language (Hood, 2010).

There is strong evidence in the literature that lectures including micro and macro markers (Chaudron and Richards, 1986; Chiang and Dunkel, 1992) or macro-organisers (DeCarrico & Nattinger, 1988) lead to better recall of main ideas and details comprehension. Empirical research also strongly suggests that students having access to visual cues improves the comprehension of lectures (Sueyoshi & Hardison, 2005). Current interest focuses on whether the programs reviewed provide the learner with access to authentic multimodal lectures and scaffolded lessons that develop an awareness of and strategies to integrate information from the various modes.

Note taking
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The lecture context is further complicated by the need for students to write down notes while processing information from these different modes. Flowerdew cites the work of Chaudron, Loschky and Cook which points to the quality of notes and training in note-taking being linked to successful recall of lecture material (Jordan, 2009, p. 187). Students themselves identify a range of reasons why note-taking is important including to prepare for exams and to mediate between the lecture and readings (Dunkel & Davy, 1989). Clerehan has shown that L2 students have been shown to experience difficulty in identifying the hierarchical structures present in lectures (Jordan, 2009). Even L1 learners find note-taking difficult so it is reasonable to assume that L2 learners will require considerable assistance in order to succeed (Jordan, 2009).

Jordan (2009) provides examples of note-taking strategies (Lynch, 1983; Williams,1982) including providing assistance in locating an overall lecture structure, recognising and practising discourse markers, moving from less difficult to more difficult and exposing students to relevant abbreviations. Other approaches focus on organisation (Heaton & Dunmore, 1992), use branching notes (Wallace, 1980) and build up length and complexity over the course of the program (Lynch, 1983). The strategies included in each program for the development of note-taking skills will be compared as part of the discussion.

Scaffolding As pointed out by Gibbons (2009, p. 154) the integration of content and language and the selection of appropriate scaffolding activities are central to a well-designed program. Gibbons scaffolding framework distinguishes between designed scaffolding which is planned and incorporated into course/lesson structure and interactional scaffolding which is not planned and arises spontaneously in the interaction between teacher and student. Many educators have acknowledged the centrality of interactional scaffolding for learning (Gibbons 2009, p.158), and others such as Morell recommend strategies for increasing two way interaction in the lecture context and facilitating comprehension (Lynch, 2011, p.84). The four programs under review will be compared in terms of the scaffolding used based on Gibbons framework.

The following section describes the sources of data used to review the four programs followed by a description of the processes used to gather and organise information from the sources in terms of each of the factors of interest.

Research methods
Sources of information
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Data informing the report on the programs was sourced by reviewing two coursebooks and two online courses.

The first coursebook reviewed entitled EAP Now! English for Academic Purposes (Cox & Hill, 2004) is an Australian package comprising a teachers book, a students book and a series of audio cds with short spoken texts and two semi-scripted, 15 minute lectures. The course which consists of 10 activity based units based on topics of general interest such as Education, the News and Language covers the range of EAP skills with Listening forming one part of the overall focus. The course is aimed at preparing both L2 learners and native speakers who wish to attend college or university and is targeted at students with Upper Intermediate or Advanced level skills. The course is designed for both teacher-led instruction and self-study.

The second coursebook-based program is Oxford Lecture Ready 3 (Frazier & Leeming, 2007) a US course consisting of a student book, an answer key, audio cds and dvds of actual lectures. It is focussed on academic listening, note-taking and discussion skills and is intended for students at the high intermediate to advanced level with a stated focus on preparing students to enter college or university. The course comprises five topic based units each with two chapters that follow a similar staging (topic knowledge building, vocabulary development, preparing to listen and take notes, listen and take notes, discuss issues). The course appears to be targeted at self-study or as a resource for teacher-led instruction.

The first online resource reviewed is the academic listening component of the web-based program Language and Learning Online provided by Monash University (http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/listening/index.xml). The program consists of a small number of linked web pages that include text-based online tutorials and interactive exercises on listening and note-taking in the lecture context for students currently attending lectures. There are no auditory or visual resources and no access to face-to-face support. The course appears limited to self-study. The second online program reviewed is a UK offering from the University of Warwicks Centre for Applied Linguistics Academic Listening/Speaking web pages that link to its Essential Academic Skills in English EASE Listening to Lectures resources (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/learning_english/leap/listeningandspeaking/l2l/). The resource is targeted at L2 students who who intend to study in an English speaking country...have to listen to lectures in Englishwho wish to improve their academic listening
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skills. The program consists of 6 units each focussing on a structural or functional aspect of lectures (e.g. Openings, Argumentation), each comprising around eight parts (some repeated such as vocabulary and note taking), with activities focussed around the 85 video recordings of actual lectures across 25 faculties. There is no accompanying coursebook, with all activities being completed online. The site includes links to tutors, however, access rules are unclear.

Information collection As an initial stage information from each program was reviewed by skimming though the each courses written materials and listening to and viewing excerpts from audio and video recordings from the whole program. Impressions of the content and pedagogical practices of interest were recorded at this point and course components suitable for closer investigation of the key factors identified.

The second stage involved simulating the student role and completing a sample of units of self-study in each program. The entire Monash program was reviewed due to its relative brevity. Multimodal materials (e.g. audio and video recordings) were played as prompted in each course.

The final stage of information collection involved reviewing each program from a whole-ofprogram perspective and refining the points of similarity and difference. To assist with recording and organising information a grid was developed with the factors of interest on one axis and the four programs along the other. Information and impressions were recorded at each stage.

The relative merits and limitations of each program on each of the factors of interest is described below. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of the findings for the specific programs reviewed, the coursebook and online approaches in general and on TEAP practice more generally.

Program comparison
Range of lecture styles, structures and purposes Three of the four programs provided direct exposure to at least one of the Dudley-Evans and Johns (1994) lecture styles through audio and or video recordings. The Monash program included neither of these modes and so was deficient in this area. In terms of the lecture styles EAP Now! was largely limited to short audio recordings in a largely scripted or semiscripted reading style while Lecture Ready 3 and Listen to Lectures both presented multiple
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examples of the reading, conversational and rhetorical styles likely to be experienced in the real situation. The same is the case on the point of providing exposure to Olsen and Huckins (1990) information and argumentation lectures. Both the Oxford coursebook and the University of Warwick online course deliver in this area with each providing strategy development activities for each lecture type. While EAP Now! provides activities that encourage an awareness of these different lecture purposes, there is no listening practice.

Multimodality In terms of providing comprehensive simultaneous access to the multiple modes present in academic lectures the wide array of audio and video materials provided as part of Lecture Ready 3 and the Listen to Lectures deliver impressively. Due to the widespread use of good quality video footage from a wide range of authentic lectures, students are presented with the challenge of processing multiple modes simultaneously, with the capacity to replay and practice core skills such as identifying and interpreting discourse markers which indicate to the listeners the relative importance of the ideas and information contained in the talk (Jordan, 2009, p. 183) and body language which functions in collaboration with spoken languageto shift student attention to particular kinds of information (Hood, 2005, p. 31). The EAP Now! coursebooks use of scripted audio only has the dual disadvantage of neither providing students with access to critical prosodic cues displayed by real lecturers in real lectures (Thompson, 2003) nor the visual cues that improve comprehension (Sueyoshi & Hardison, 2005). The compete lack of audio or visual material means the Monash program performs poorly in this area.

One area of multimodality that none of the programs directly addresses is the integration of Powerpoint materials, visual imagery and lecture handouts. Given the ubiquitous nature of such materials in modern lecture theatres, this is a considerable oversight.

Note-taking In apparent acknowledgment of the inherent complexities and central importance of good note-taking, all four programs provide guided note-taking activities to some extent. The Monash online resource singles out this activity for more detailed attention than any other, albeit limited compared to the other programs. All programs provide exposure to and assistance with a range of note-taking options such as those outlined by Jordan (2009) including Heaton and Dunmores emphasis on setting out and organisation, James et al.s use
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of abbreviations and symbols, the use of headings or section numbering in linear note taking and branching systems (Jordan 2009). All programs provide varying levels of note taking imagery to scaffold support.

The most comprehensive approach is adopted by the two programs with a dedicated focus on listening, the Lecture Ready 3 coursebook and the Listen to Lectures online course. Both link different note-taking approaches to different contexts and incorporate note-taking activities into audio and video activities in each lesson throughout the course. These programs also assist students through guided activity to locate overall lecture structure and provide a more integrated approach by linking note-taking to listening for markers.

Scaffolding In terms of Gibbons (2009) notion of designed scaffolding, the dedicated listening/speaking courses are significantly more successful than those programs that form part of a broader EAP focus. Skill and activity selection and sequencing in the Monash online course and the EAP Now! coursebook are less structured than the other two courses, appearing more as a collection of isolated listening exercises rather than the well-planned and progressively developed approach of the other two courses. Listening to Lectures takes a clear top down approach in which broader structural elements are discussed prior to focussing on individual elements in more detail. Lecture Ready 3 uses predictable lesson structures to scaffold listening as a staged process. In the online course, however, the depth and breadth of the activities are somewhat limited by the requirement that all be completed on an online form. In terms of Gibbons (2009) emphasis on the importance of interactional scaffolding in good program design, all programs in self-study format suffer due to the very nature of selfstudy. In this format these programs forego the valuable opportunities to facilitate academic listening competence afforded by face-to-face or the online virtual classroom. These hands off approaches to instruction operate on the assumption that learners are capable of independent learning, however, there is evidence to suggest that this approach may not be suited to students of all cultural backgrounds such as Chinese students (Chen et al., 2011).

The next section takes the comparative findings just described and highlights some of the implications for the four programs, for coursebook and online academic listening programs generally and for EAP practitioners.

Discussion
Overall usefulness of programs reviewed
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Based on the review of the four programs, two of the programs (in self-study mode) appear to have significant potential across the factors identified in aiding the teaching of listening in the academic lecture context . The Lecture Ready 3 coursebook provides a balanced and comprehensive program in terms of content, materials and scaffolding. The Listening to Lectures program covers much of the relevant content and utilises an impressive range of authentic materials, however, has a more limited range of activities and less structured scaffolding. Nonetheless, the authentic video materials form the basis of a potentially excellent teaching resource. In the EAP Now! coursebook, the listening component is overwhelmed and overshadowed by the other macro-skills and does not match the breadth and depth nor quality of multimodal materials and scaffolding of the aforementioned programs. The Monash web based information could not be considered a serious program, rather a collection of basic resources providing limited assistance.

Implications for coursebook and online courses in general Based on the current review, some coursebooks and online programs do have the potential to deliver a good range of content, good pedagogical practices and quality materials. As such these modes of delivery should not be entirely discounted by EAP support staff. Given the resource limitations in many EAP contexts and the wide range of student learning situations, such materials may provide valuable learning resources for students in situations where faceto-face contact is not possible. However, caution should be exercised in their use.

Desirable features of such programs include providing students with access to a range of lecture contexts that incorporate well-scaffolded instruction using authentic lecture materials of good technical quality. However, the review further suggests that even good quality coursebook and online programs when used in a self-study context are limited by not providing the interactional scaffolding opportunities that are considered to be central to listening comprehension (Gibbons, 2009).

This would suggest that such programs are best considered as resources in either the classroom context or in a virtual classroom online context where there is in real time access to support staff. These programs in self-study mode also limit a range of other important factors not currently considered such as tailoring instruction to student needs, further suggesting their greatest utility lies in providing supplementary materials to more needs based approaches. In determining a programs utility each should be considered in terms of the benefits and limitations it brings to a given learning context. If possible steps may be taken to adapt or
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work around particular limitations in a given situation (e.g. scaffolding where face to face support is not viable). In other situations, selective use may be considered within legal constraints and as part of a well designed program. For instance, the quality video resources of two of the programs under review could support face-to-face or blended teaching approaches. At least one of these is available on a site licence basis at a minimal cost for such use.

Implications for EAP professional practice The variability in student and EAP practice contexts as well as the plethora of EAP programs available suggests that EAP professionals more than ever need to remain abreast of developments in the research literature and the evolution and development of EAP programs available to the market. This further suggests that EAP teams or individual practitioners need an evidence base and a sound review framework for their own program, syllabus and curriculum development so that practice remains contemporary, informed by the literature and contributes to the field of educational practice. Commitment to professional development, either institutional or self sought, together with reflective practice are of critical importance to ensure practice matches progress.

Conclusion
The challenges of academic listening and EAP generally posed by rapidly evolving student contexts and needs together with considerable variability in the programmatic responses to these needs mean that EAP professionals confront considerable challenges in determining what is the most appropriate support to any given group of L2 students, often with limited time and resources. This challenge may be addressed at least in part by an appropriate blend of commitment to student needs, evidence-based practice and creativity on the part of the EAP professional.

The commitment to individuals acknowledges that no two students are the same or in the same circumstance and that individual needs should drive support. Evidence-based practice ensures that support aligns with what is known to be effective in a given circumstance. And creativity is needed to see the opportunities and possibilities in a situation, to not discount any given approach and to adapt and extend what is known and already available for the benefit of the students requiring support to succeed in academia.

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Reference List
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Listening to Lectures Retrieved November 8, 2011 from University of Warwick Website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/learning_english/leap/listeningandspeaking/l2l/ Lynch, T. (2011). Academic listening in the 21st century: Reviewing a decade of research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 79-88. Miller, L. (2002). Toward a model of lecturing in a second language. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1, 145-162. Morell, T. (2007). What enhances EFL students participation in lecture discourse? Student, lecturer and discourse perspectives. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6, 222-237. Olsen, L. A., & Huckin, T. N. (1990). Point-driven understanding in engineering lecture comprehension. English for Specific Purposes, 9, 33-47. Sueyoshi, A., & Hardison D. (2005). The role of gestures and facial cues in second language listening comprehension. Language Learning, 55(4), 661699 Taylor, L & Geranpayeh, A. (2011). Assessing listening for academic purposes: Defining and operationalizing the test construct. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 89-101. Wallace, M. (1980). Study Skills in English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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