LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:12 December 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Copyright © 2015
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English for Engineering Students in Tamilnadu -
Self-assessment and Self-learning of Listening Skills

G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
D. Nagarathinam, Ph.D.
M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Abstract

This paper suggests that the English teachers in engineering colleges should periodically test their own listening skills in English. The paper focuses on self-assessment and self-learning of their listening skills in English, by the teachers as well as the students. This call for self-assessment of our own listening skills in English may be applied both to English as well as other subject teachers, since both the categories employ English to teach their subjects. Our position is that when teachers have great listening skills, they will be able to impart quality instruction and also quality listening skills to their students. It is important that the non-English subject teachers also take some interest in improving their own as well as their students’ English language skills.

Keywords: Listening skills, self-assessment, English teachers, non-English subject teachers, student self-assessment, variety of listening materials.

Introduction

Listening is a basic language skill. This is one among the four basic language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing. There are many ways to approach and describe listening skill. For example, it is widely accepted that these four skills may be classified into two broad categories: Productive or active (speaking and writing) and Receptive or passive (listening and reading) skills. Yet listening cannot be correctly and fully characterized only as a passive skill. Thirumalai (2002) points out that all language skills are interdependent “even though they can be taught independently to some extent,” and so both teachers and students may aim at exploiting all language skills in an integrated manner. Our classroom instruction and activities within and outside the classroom should include “interactive (listening to a message and doing something as a consequence) and one-way communication or non-interactive (just listening and retaining the message, in activities such as conversations overheard, public address announcements, recorded messages, and so on) and self-talk.”

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
Faculty of English & Foreign Languages
Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed University)
Gandhigram
Dindigul 624 302
Tamilnadu
India
rgbaskaran@gmail.com

D. Nagarathinam, Ph.D.
Principal
Theni Kammavar Sangam College of Technology
(Via) Veerapandi
Theni-625 534
Tamilnadu
India
Dnagarathinam1960@gmail.com

M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Faculty Member
University of Phoenix, AZ
USA
thirumalai12@email.phoenix.edu
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