Dear Student,

         Your mission today is to listen to a tape recording of a conversation between Kathy and Norma, who are tired of studying.  So they decide to go and see a movie.

         Now, fill in the missing information in the movie advertisements.  Then, complete the note to Liza.

---

Teaching Tips

         Some listening comprehension activities do more testing than teaching.  In teaching, rather than testing, listening comprehension, it is important to have pre-listening activities that prepare the students for the actual listening task.

         For this listening task, there are three pre-listening activities to get the students ready for the actual listening task, which is to fill in the missing information in a note after listening to a tape recording of a conversation.

         First, tell the class something about what they will be listening to and something about what their task will be.  Tell them that they will be listening to a conversation between two friends—Kathy and Norma—who are tired of studying so they decide to go see a movie. These friends talk about the movies that are now playing before picking the one they want to see. 

         Tell them that the task involves a note.  Before leaving, Kathy and Norma leave a note for their friend Liza so that she can meet them at the movie.  The note is incomplete.  The students’ task will be to fill in the missing information from the note after listening to the tape recording of the conversation.

         The second activity helps them with the language that will be used in the listening task.  Put the following idioms and phrases on the board one at a time, discussing their meanings and giving examples of how they are used.

Let’s take a break. What shall we do? How about…? Let’s see… Why don’t we…? I’d rather see… No way.  That’s too scary. What is showing at the…? What is on at the…? When does it start? It starts at 7:30. How much does it cost to get in? It’s really cheap. That sounds good. The State The Odeon The Ruby They are showing Home Alone  at the Cathay.

         After this list is on the board, have the students copy them down.

         The final activity gives them some practice with the language. Use the movie section of the paper to practice these phrases further, by asking questions such as:

What’s on at the Coliseum?  At the Pawagam Plaza?  What time does it start?  What’s showing at the …? Which film would you rather see?  Would you rather see…?

         Now that the students know something about the setting and are familiar with the words and phrases, they are ready to do the actual listening task.  Pass out the Student Worksheet, giving the students a minute or so to look it, and then play the tape.  (You need, of course, to record the tapescript for “What’s on at the movies?” before class.)

         Let the students listen to tape at least twice, and then put them into pairs to compare answers.  Once the students have discovered where their answers differ, they want to know what the right answer is.  Instead of telling them, play the tape for them again (and again, and again?, and again?) so that they can find the right answer for themselves. 

         While the tape is being played, walk around the class helping out and correcting where needed.

Tapescript for “What’s on at the movies?”

Kathy:         I’m tired of studying.  Let's take a break.
Norma:       Okay, what shall we do?
Kathy:         How about a movie?
Norma:       Good idea.  What’s showing?
Kathy:         Let’s look in the movie section of the paper. It says that they’re showing White Sands
                      at the Odeon at 8:00 tonight.
Norma:       No way!  That’s too scary for me!
Kathy:         Okay, they’re also showing Rocky  at the Ruby at midnight. And, it’s only $3.00 to get in!
Norma:       That’s really cheap, but I’ve seen it already.  What’s on at State?
Kathy:         They're showing City Hunter  at State.  It starts at 7:30.
Norma:       That might be good.  How much does it cost to get in?
Kathy:         It’s not cheap.  It costs $7.00.
Norma:       That’s too expensive for me.  Anyway, I’d rather see Home Alone.  They're showing it at the Cathay.
                       It starts at 7:00.
Kathy:         That sounds good.  How much does it cost to get in?
Norma:       Only $5.00.
Kathy:         Okay, we’ll go see Home Alone.  Let’s leave a note for Liza.