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EFS 693B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Advanced Listening and Vocabulary Development

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EFS 693B
Week 9 Notes
 

CLASS OBJECTIVES

I. Understanding accents: Indian: http://www.ted.com/talks/nirmalya_kumar_india_s_invisible_entrepreneurs. Understanding accents is largely a matter of processing--focus on the accent of an individual or group over a period of several days, trying to understand as much as possible. Use a combination of linking to transcript or subtitle, dictation, and slowed speed to improve accuracy. Also, analyze the patterns you notice so that you can pay close to attention to them.

Some tips for adapting to accents

    1) Listen till you hear something you don't understand. Rewind, turn on the captions, and make the connection. Try to isolate what made it difficult.

    2) Listen straight through while reading the captions or transcript, but focus on the sound. Then, close your eyes and listen again with no distractions

    3) Become aware of patterns in sound substitution, like v for w or z for th in words like this and that.

    4) Notice the rhythm and intonation. Notice also how words are connected to each other: Are they separate or linked? Does a sound disappear? Is an extra sound added?

    5) Try to speak along with it for a minute or two, imitating the speaker.

II. TED Talk Followup: discuss your experience and explore the parts of Lingorank, https://lingorank.com/, that don't require a signup. BR

III. Listening to dramas.

Dramas are a very popular form of entertainment on television (which these days means not only broadcast and cable TV but also watching new episodes or even reruns online and older ones on DVDs).  As a means of being exposed to language, particularly conversational language, dramas are often better than comedies. This is because the language in general is more real, since the goal is to tell a story and develop characters, rather than to tell jokes. Note, however, that each type of drama has its own specialized vocabulary that you will need to become familiar with. 

Contemporary dramas can offer some insight into American culture, particularly urban culture. However, they tend to distort everyday life by focusing on the sensational, and some have a high degree of violence. If you want to watch dramas for listening practice, they are a good source of conversational English patterns, slang, and idioms. As noted above, in many ways the language is more realistic than in comedies, where the characters’ speech is often full of double meanings for the sake of humor. It is best to find a show and watch it consistently so that you get used to the characters, recurring vocabulary, and locations.

Although dramas can still be found on broadcast television, most people watch them with streaming services, and these often offer the freedom of watching anytime anywhere. Here are several dramas from recent years that are available free at this time on the NBC website:

https://www.nbc.com/heroes: a series devoted to a group of "superheroes" and their everyday lives.
 
https://www.nbc.com/voyagers: a series based on time travel into the past to key events and characters in world and US history
 
https://www.nbc.com/friday-night-lights: a serious portrayal of the central role high school football plays in US culture in many towns and rural areas around the country. Situated in Texas, it offers good practice with accents from this region.

IV. Connecting comedy and work with accents: Outsourced -  https://www.nbc.com/outsourced/video/pilot/n1727.

Description: Mid America Novelties is an all-American company that sells novelty items such as whoopee cushions and foam fingers. When the company outsources its call center to India and sends Todd Dempsy there to run the operation, he discovers that his staff needs a crash course in all things American. But the culture shock isn't one-sided -- life in India is its own challenge for Todd. This show ran for one season on NBC, 2010-2011, and is available for free streaming at https://www.nbc.com/outsourced.

Here's another mix of comedy and accent practice, this one based on the lives of immigrants in New York City: https://www.nbc.com/sunnyside  

V. Small group discussion: prep for your final report. Additional questions to consider: BR

    1. What specific strategies and techniques (parts of procedures) have you found most useful this quarter?
        What types of online materials have you personally found most useful?

    2. Has your use of online sources for learning English changed as a result of this course? How?

    3. What will you do to continue improving listening and vocabulary over the next month?

Note that this discussion should help you decide what to offer us for your final presentation next week.

VI. Looking ahead: final project, final tests, and presentations next week: besides a quick overview of your favorite materials and procedure, make a plan for a four-week independent English study program, starting June 15.

Objective(s):  (for example, learn 200 new vocabulary items, watch a movie semi-intensively each week, improve processing accuracy through daily dictation...)

Time: Determine the time per week you will need to devote. Be realistic! Include a proposed distribution of your learning periods (e.g., 5 mornings/week for 30-45 minutes, or 3 afternoons/week for 30 minutes, or every day for 30 minutes...)

Materials: Identify some online materials and tools you will use.

VII. Continue Outsourced -  https://www.nbc.com/outsourced/video/pilot/n1727

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Homework: Note--this is your last assignment: do the best you can.

1) This is your final independent project, for just 90 minutes total and just 12 new words/phrases required.  It's due Monday June 8 at 11:59 pm. Take the time to experiment!

2) Prepare a 3 to 5-minute presentation in which you introduce your classmates to 1) your favorite materials and 2) your favorite procedure, providing an explanation in both cases of how they have helped you in developing your listening and/or vocabulary, and 3) a brief description of your plans for the next month to continue improving your English. You can use either PowerPoint or just a Word document on. I recommend bringing your own laptop to present. Otherwise, please send me whatever you need for presenting before class.

3) We will have our final required individual meetings this week. I will go over your most recent report, and you are responsible for knowing all the words on your word lists, so be sure to practice.

Last modified June 2, 2020 by Phil Hubbard