Writing project with Richard Cauldwell of Speech in Action  
 

In January 2013 I joined forces with another listening enthusiast, my good friend Richard Cauldwell. We began writing sets of materials to accompany authentic recordings of native and non-native English speakers.

The format is loosely based on the approach I developed for my Real Lives, Real Listening books, but with some extra unique features.

For example each pack is designed for use with students at Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced levels. We also include something we call 'Natural Listening Comprehension', where students simply listen to the recording and try to make sense of it – a more realistic task than conventional Listening Comprehension exercises.

Teachers can then go on to a more traditional Listening Comprehension section, with exercises at Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced levels.

In the Interesting Language Points section, where we cover areas such as colloquial language, and the grammar of spoken English, there is additional emphasis on the phonology of spoken English – an area in which Richard excels. This emphasis continues in the Listening Training section.

The final section before the transcript contains exercises which recycle the lexis found in the recording.

Our eventual aim is either to get these materials published conventionally, or for us to turn them into Apps or eBooks.

To look at sample teaching packs (one featuring a native English speaker and the other featuring a non-native English speaker), please go back to the Samples section on the Home Page.

Meanwhile If you would be interested in helping to pilot these materials, please contact Sheila by email: sthorn@thelisteningbusiness.com

 
     
  Richard Cauldwell of SpeechInAction shares my enthusiasm for using recordings of authentic speech:
www.speechinaction.com
   
  Meanwhile my good friends
Mark Hancock and Annie McDonald specialise in training students to analyse short segments of authentic speech:

www.hancockmcdonald.com