My final writing about Minimal Responses as the aid strategy to develop listening comprehension in a beginning level.

INTRODUCTION

This research shows the use of  minimal responses as the aid strategy in a conversation to the  students of  the English language in a beginning level.This strategy helps them to understand better what is said in a conversation.It is  supported by Zimmerman and West in 1975.

In another hand, this strategy claims that minimal responses increase immediacy, signals that the listener comprehends the speaker´s message and reinforces the speaker´s role in a conversation. (Andersen, 1999-2001).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Learners of English language in a beginning level who  lack listening comprehension in a conversation because most of the time they do not listen to Music, Radio, T.V., or someone  without an idea about the content such as pronunciation and meaning of certain words or phrases.For that reason, they do not understand the message that the speaker tries to convey to the listener in a conversation taking into account that the speaker must speak accurately in a conversation.Such ideas are based on what J.C. Richard calls “Script Competence” that is the knowledge we possess in advance about the subject-matter or context of the discourse.For instance, it is necessary to implement minimal responses as the aid  strategy to develop their listening comprehension in a conversation.(Richards,1983).

Moreover, there are some characteristics that listener faces to get an effective listening comprehension as the followings according to Richards in 1983:

Hearing the sounds 

when the listeners do not perceive certain English sounds with any accuracy because these do not exist(at all, or separate phonemes) in their own language.For example the sound    as in think, it does not exist in French so it depends in which country comes from.

Understanding intonation and stress.

The English systems of stress, intonation and rhythm, though perhaps less obviously difficult than problems of the actual sounds, can interfere with the foreign learner's proper understanding of spoken English.It is, therefore, worth drawing our students 'attention to the existence of certain general patterns.

Predicting.

If the listener can make a guess as to the sort of thing that is going to be said next, he will be much likely to perceive it and understand it well.

Understanding colloquial vocabulary.

Much of the vocabulary used in colloquial speech may already be known to the  foreign listener: but this does not mean that he is familiar with it.

Fatigue.

Anyone who has learned a foreign language knows how tiring it is listening to and interpreting unfamiliar sounds, lexis, and syntax for long stretches of time.

Understanding different accents.

Many foreign-language learners who are used to the accent of their own teacher are surprised and dismayed when they find they have difficulty understanding someone else.

For instance, they need a strategy that  help them to  understand what is said in a conversation so I am going to use the minimal responses as  an aid which is going to be useful to develop their  listening comprehension in a conversation because this strategy presents them different communicative situations that listeners can face in a conversation.For example, compliments, greetings, apologies, compliments. invitations, etc.

Moreover, their expectations may often be linked to their purpose in listening so if they want to know the answer of a question, they are will  ask and expect to hear a relevant response.This leads to their ´listening out´for certain phrases or words.It depends from their  questions.For example, where are you going to be? Then they are going to listen carefully for the expression of a place.

This strategy has different kind of minimal responses that the listener can make a conversation.These could be non-verbal as gestures, positions and so on or verbal  as single words (yes, no, ok), phrasal utterances(oh really, oh my god), short clauses(that´s right, that´s true and I agree) and large utterances(what? For clarification).These are very short and easy to learn, so in this way they are going to be able to make a prediction about what is going to be said in a conversation. (Reid, J.,2008)

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

To identify the use of minimal responses a conversation in which the listener uses this strategy as an aid to develop listening comprehension  in a beginning level.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

How do minimal responses help to beginners to develop listening comprehension in a conversation?

What kind of activities does the teacher implement using minimal responses in a classroom?

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Strategy.- Procedures used in learning thinking which serve as a way of reaching a goal.These are procedures which learners make use learning and using a language (Richards,1992).

Listening.The process of listening is often contrasted with hearing.Lundsteen considered hearing a physical act and listening as a mental act.Hearing is concerned with our physiological capacity to receive and process sounds (Lundsteen, 1979)

Moreover, it can be learned as an active process involving mind and body (verbal and non-verbal  processes working together).Furthermore, listening allows them to be receptive to the needs, concerns and information of others as well as the environment around us.

Listening is comprised of seven essential components:

     a)   Volition (encourage to listen another human being)

     b)   Focused attention

     c)   Perception

     d)   Interpretation

     e)   Remembering

       f )    Response

     g)   Human element

Listeners need to adapt to social members of our social group and good listening requires focused attention.(Gilbert and Barker,1970-71)

HYPOTHESIS

If beginners of the English language use minimal responses as the aid strategy in a conversation,they will be able to develop their listening comprehension when they listen to anything because this strategy “increases immediacy, signals that the listener comprehends the speaker’s message, and reinforces the speaker’s role in a conversation” (Andersen, 1999:201).

Bibliografía

Andersen, P. A. (1999). Nonverbal communication: Forms and Functions. CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Cohen, A. (1996). Developing the ability to perform speech acts:in second language acquisition.

Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. A. (1997). Nonverbal communication in Human.

Reid, J. (2008). Gender Differences in minimal Responses. La Trobe papers in LIinguistic.

Zimmerman, D., & West, C. (1975). Sex Roles,interruptions and silences in conversation.

Lundsteen, S. (1979). Listening: it is an  impact on reading and the other language arts (2nd ed.). Urbana: IL:NCTE/ERIC.

Barker, L. (1980). An investigation of prepositional time spent in various communication activities by college students. Journal of applied communications Researches.

MY SELF-EVALUATION

I would like to mention some important aspects that I took into account to  justify my grade.

Responsibility: Every writing that you ask me.I uploaded in time and I made my better effort to write  an appropriate and inadequate writing.

Punctuality: I  was in time. to the classes 

Participation: At the beginning was a little difficult to me to participate because  I felt a little insecure about my pronunciation and the order of the sentences but little by Little I was getting confident to talk.

Achievements during the course: This course helps me to develop a little more my ability to talk in public and I realized that I can speak very well if I can control my nervous, but the most important  is to practice the language with someone who can help me to improve.I really enjoy to be in this course but sometimes I felt it difficult because  I did not have the habit to read and research a lot of information and spend time to listen to myself if I really can control the language and it serves to me to develop a little more my speaking skills and also to get self-confident.

Taking into account  the previous points I considered that i deserve to get 9 in this course so you can tell me if i really deserve it or not.It is just my point of view.