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DEVELOPING ORAL LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE THROUGH AUTHENTIC
MATERIALS
Ziyodullayev Jamshid Azamat ugli
A teacher of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy
Abstract:
The article addresses one of the most crucial issues related to authentic materials and
highlights how to organize meaningful activities for use in ESP lessons in the fields of biology
and chemistry. The author proposes methods for organizing various pre-, while-, and post-
speaking activities based on two listening tracks and explains how to implement them in actual
teaching practice.
Key words:
language performance, English for Specific Purposes, authentic materials, speaking
and listening skills, teaching materials
Аннотация:
Статья рассматривает одну из наиболее важных проблем, связанных с
использованием аутентичных материалов, и освещает способы организации
содержательных заданий для занятий по английскому языку для специальных целей (ESP)
в области биологии и химии. Автор предлагает методы организации различных этапов
речевой деятельности — до, во время и после прослушивания — на основе двух
аудиотреков и объясняет, как внедрить их в реальную педагогическую практику.
Ключевые слова:
речевая деятельность, английский для специальных целей,
аутентичные материалы, навыки говорения и аудирования, учебные материалы
Annotatsiya:
Maqolada autentik materiallar bilan bog‘liq eng dolzarb muammolardan biri ko‘rib
chiqilib, biologiya va kimyo sohalarida ESP (aniq maqsadlarga yo’naltirilgan ingliz tili)
darslarida mazmunli faoliyat turlarini qanday tashkil etish mumkinligi yoritib beriladi. Muallif
ikkita audioyozuv asosida tinglashdan oldin, tinglash jarayonida va tinglagandan keyingi turli
gapirish faoliyatlarini tashkil etish usullarini taklif etadi hamda ularni amaliy o‘qitish jarayonida
qanday qo‘llash mumkinligini tushuntiradi.
Kalit so‘zlar:
til kompetensiyasi, aniq maqsadlarg ayo’naltirilgan ingliz tili, autentik materiallar,
tinglash va gapirish ko‘nikmalari, o‘quv materiallari
One of the most pressing challenges methodologists have faced over the years is how to select
authentic materials to improve learners’ listening skills, which are defined as “the ability to
understand spoken language” (Rankin, p. 847). The concept of authentic materials and their
selection—based on learners’ needs, proficiency levels, course objectives, and other factors—
have been proposed by a number of language experts, who are adamant that these sources are
indispensible part of our teaching if applied into teaching process with discretion. Virtually,
authentic listening sources are considered essential in developing speaking skills, as they provide
students with opportunities to build their lexical repertoire and learn vocabulary commonly
encountered in everyday conversation. Furthermore, authentic texts often include not only a
valuable range of vocabulary in the target language but also its grammatical structures and, most
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importantly, pronunciation as produced by native speakers. These features make authentic
materials vital tools for improving spoken English skills.
A thorough analysis of authentic materials and conclusions regarding their selection can enable
language instructors to design a number of activities based on listening texts. It should be noted
that the criteria for selecting authentic materials to enhance language performance, which include
some important factors ranging from learners’ needs to skill-oriented aspects, serve as the
foundation for choosing listening sources. In other words, when selecting authentic listening
materials, a few factors must be considered: whether the content was relevant to learners’ needs
and levels; whether it aligned with course objectives; whether it was skill-oriented (in our case,
aimed at developing listening skills); whether it was engaging for learners (i.e., capable of
capturing their attention); and whether the information provided in the material was informative.
As the burgeoning technological era offers a variety of opportunities for teachers to access a
wide range of teaching resources, numerous authentic listening materials can now be found on
the web and selected to tailor instructional content to learners’ individual needs. However,
simply having access to these sources is not enough to ensure successful lessons unless activities
are also designed to assess learning outcomes. This raises an important question: what kinds of
activities can be created, and how can they be organized to enhance learners’ language
performance? To explore this, we will examine two sample listening tracks from a radio podcast
series—Amazing Facts and Advice for Exams—and analyze how to create different types of
activities for potential students at a vocational college specializing in agriculture.
The listening material “Amazing facts” can particularly be suitable for students at a Vocational
Technological College, whose major involves working with oil and grain products and
investigating their components. As part of their studies, they focus on subjects such as biology
and chemistry. Notably, the Amazing Facts listening task includes conversations about bacteria,
which are directly relevant to these subjects. The dialogue features two individuals (presumably
friends), with the first speaker sharing recently discovered facts about bacteria with the other.
This listening task can be structured using a three-stage approach: pre-listening, while-listening,
and post-listening activities. In the pre-listening stage, students are asked to answer the following
two questions:
1.
What percentage of the human div consists of bacteria?
2.
Is human life better without bacteria?
These questions help students form initial opinions about the topic before listening. At this stage,
they are expected to submit written responses.
During the while-listening stage, students complete multiple-choice or gap-fill tasks. For
example, they may be asked to choose the correct option from three choices to complete a
sentence from the listening task. A sample sentence might be: “Only about one tenth of the cells
in your div are…” with the options “alive,” “really you,” and “bacteria.” Students complete the
task while listening to the text. Alternatively, questions may be posed without multiple-choice
options, requiring students to supply the correct answer after listening. For instance, they might
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be given the sentence “Only one tenth of the cells in your div are really you. The rest are…”
and asked to complete it using two or three words.
Post-listening activities primarily focus on speaking. These can take the form of opinion-sharing
sessions, where students discuss the data presented in the listening material.
It should be acknowledged that meaningful speaking activities can be effectively developed
using this authentic material. A key point is to ensure that students remain focused on the main
topic throughout. One effective method for generating speaking practice from this listening task
is to organize a debate among participants. A debate requires spoken interaction, during which
students must respond to one another in real-time communication.
As a preliminary requirement for conducting a debate, participants should be divided into two
groups. The first group presents arguments in support of the topic, while the second group
counters these claims by presenting opposing views. It is important that both sides work toward
reaching a conclusion at the end of the discussion. Although a definitive solution may not always
be reached, a compromise or mutual understanding should be the goal. In line with these
fundamental aspects of debating, a class debate based on the Amazing Facts listening activity
can be arranged. A possible debate topic might be:
“Bacteria are beneficial to living
organisms.”
Students are divided into two teams—one supporting the idea that bacteria are
helpful, and the other arguing that they are harmful to health. Students support their arguments
using both the information from the listening material and additional sources, including personal
experiences or prior knowledge.
In this context, the role of the listening extract is vital, as it serves as a foundation for students’
oral presentations and discussions. Prior to engaging in the debate, students take notes on the key
facts presented in the audio. For example, they might record statements such as: “Only about one
tenth of the cells in our div are actually human—the rest are bacteria,” “People also host
millions, or even trillions, of bacteria,” “Certain mites live in human eyelashes and eyebrows,”
and “An experiment showed that animals without bacteria often died or needed special diets.”
These examples help students build awareness of field-specific vocabulary, including useful
collocations (e.g., “do an experiment,” “have a special diet”) and grammar structures (e.g., “I
really would have preferred not to know that”). These expressions can be presented in clusters or
tables to help learners visualize and internalize the data more effectively. Students are
encouraged to refer to these expressions while giving their oral responses. As a result, they gain
exposure to professional terminology relevant to their field through authentic listening materials.
Furthermore, they are motivated to apply these terms and grammar patterns actively during the
debate.
Ultimately, the students’ communicative competence in their target field is enhanced through the
integration of authentic listening materials and structured speaking activities.
As mentioned earlier, the second authentic listening material is titled Advice for Exams, in which
a teacher offers important tips on how to prepare effectively for exams. Like the previous
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listening activity, it is structured around three stages: pre-listening, while-listening, and post-
listening.
In the pre-listening stage, students can be encouraged to discuss a series of questions before
listening to the audio. These may include: “How often do you take exams?”, “How do you
prepare for them?”, and “What are the most effective ways to study?” Such questions help guide
students’ attention toward the main topic of the listening task.
During the while-listening phase, students may complete activities such as column sorting and
multiple-choice exercises. For example, they are given two columns labeled “Do” and “Don’t”,
into which they must categorize various pieces of advice from the audio (e.g., “Get very
comfortable,” “Focus on the details,” “Take regular breaks”). In the multiple-choice tasks,
students select the correct option to complete sentences based on the listening content. For
instance, they may be asked to complete the sentence “The teacher suggests eating…” with one
of the following options: “sugary snacks,” “only apples,” or “fruit and cereals.”
Following this, post-listening activities encourage students to share their thoughts on what new
information or perspectives they gained about exam preparation.
One highly effective post-listening strategy involves organizing role-plays based on the listening
task. Role-playing is widely recognized as an excellent method for promoting language
competence in the classroom. It encourages learners to engage in action-based performance,
where they practice communication with peers in the target language. In such activities, learners
assume the roles of various members of society, simulating real-life interactions.
Role-plays typically involve meaningful communicative exchanges, where students express
opinions, offer advice, provide explanations, or give instructions in the target language.
Moreover, incorporating role-plays into EFL classrooms has been shown to have a motivational
effect. Both younger and adult learners are often more engaged when involved in hands-on,
dynamic language practice. Participation in role-play activities gives students the opportunity to
use the target language in a realistic context.
After listening to the text, students can engage in a role-play activity where one student acts as
the teacher, and the others assume the role of students preparing for an exam in a few days. The
student-teacher will explain how to prepare for the exam using information from the listening.
After the explanation, the students are given the opportunity to ask questions about the topic. If
no questions are asked, the student-teacher can check for understanding by asking the students a
few questions themselves. This process encourages active student involvement and helps them
apply new vocabulary in practice.
The role-play enables students to use specific vocabulary related to the topic and practice it in
context. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to experience the real-world use of various
grammar constructions. For example, students may use the imperative mood (e.g., “Find a
comfortable place,” “Don’t try to learn everything”), various tenses (e.g., “I’m sure you will all
do your best”), and uncountable nouns (e.g., “some advice”).
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Students also practice important collocations, which are a key feature of natural speech.
Examples include expressions like “make notes,” “keep a positive mind,” “questions come up,”
and “get some fresh air.” Moreover, when the listening material provides useful phrases such as
“last but not least” or “A five-minute break every half hour is usually enough,” students can
learn how to use these expressions authentically through the role-play.
In conclusion, both speaking activities—the debate and role-play—can be designed to improve
students’ communicative competence in the target language. Authentic listening materials
provide learners with exposure to English spoken by native speakers, and speaking activities,
such as debates and role-plays, give students the opportunity to practice and produce similar
speech in context.
References:
1.
M. Hancock and Annie McDonald (2015) Authentic Listening Resource Pack (Bridging
the gap to real-world listening) Delta Publishing: Hoe Lane, PeaslakeSurrey GU5 9SW 2015
2.
M. Spelleri From Lesson to Life: Authentic Materials Bridge the Gap.// ESL Magazine.
2002, V. 5/4. pp. 16-18.
3.
Ozverir, I., & Herrington, J. (2011). Authentic activities in language learning: Bringing
real world relevance to classroom activities. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of
EdMedia 2011 (pp. 1423-1428). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
4.
Pinner, R. (2012). Examining Authenticity and Motivation from an International
Perspective. The JACET-SIG on ESP Annual Report, 14, 26-3
5.
Rashidova Feruza, Tillayeva Nilufar, Karimova Zilola, Tursunboyeva Surayyo “English
B1” for the 2nd year students of Academic Lyceums and Vocational Colleges; (Tashkent:
“O’zbekiston”, 2015. – 104 b).
6.
Zorica Antic. (vol.14, No 3. 2007. 141-147 pp). Forward in teaching English for ESP.
The Journal of ESP. Cambridge University Press.
