Understanding a new language can be a huge challenge, especially for those whose sense of self-esteem is fragile. This is why we need to help our learners get into a focused yet relaxed state of mind, and one in which they feel ready to understand the gist of a text, whether fact or fiction, without an inner voice telling them they can't do it. Listening with a partner, interactive listening activities and listening games are just some of the scenarios we can provide to develop a range of strategies that help with listening tasks.

• 34 Teach learners to listen out for keywords

• 35 Use storyboards with narrative texts

• 36 Use various ways of dictating texts

• 37 The super statement challenge

• 38 Motivate learners to listen attentively to each other

• 39 Try Rogerian listening to improve communication in class

• 40 Use collective listening to raise learners’ level of attention

• 41 Encourage learners to record their voice

• 42 Ways of supporting intensive listening

34 Teach learners to listen out for keywords

I have used the following strategies to help learners become focused yet relaxed while listening:

• • Give learners a handout with a word cloud of, say, 10 to 12 keywords from the listening text, including two or three words that are not. Give them a few minutes to create sentences using the words.

• • Tell learners you’re going to play an audio text or a video. Ask them to listen/watch and circle the words they hear. Ask learners to work in pairs and create a short summary of the audio/video, drawing on the keywords and their memory.

• • Then, ask the pairs to list some questions they have about the content. Ask them to call them out. Write the questions on the board and play the audio/video again.

• • Ask learners for any specific comprehension problems. If there are any words, phrases or sentences they don't understand, play the relevant parts of the audio several times so they get a chance to understand without stress. Praise them for their effort in listening several times.

I have successfully used another variation of the keywords technique when revising stories.