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Why can a natural conversation sometimes be easier for language learners to understand than carefully scripted audio?

In this episode of ELLLO Teacher, Todd talks about the importance of extemporaneous speech — language that is spoken naturally rather than written, scripted, and read aloud.

Todd explains how natural speech includes rhythms, pauses, repetition, and backchanneling that can give learners valuable time to process what they hear. He compares talking to walking and reading aloud to running: natural conversation tends to move in short bursts with small pauses, while narrated text can be much denser.
You'll also hear why simple reactions such as “Oh, that's interesting,” “I didn't know that,” and “That's cool” are more important than they might seem. These little bits of backchanneling create pauses, help listeners process language, and often cause speakers to naturally repeat or restate what they have said.
Finally, Todd encourages teachers to create their own natural listening materials. With simple tools such as a phone, laptop, Zoom, or Audacity, teachers can record real conversations and turn them into useful listening lessons for their students.

🎧 In this episode:

• Why scripted listening can sound unnatural
• Natural speech vs. narrated speech
• How pauses help with processing speed
• Why backchanneling helps comprehension
• How natural conversation creates useful repetition
• Why teachers should record their own listening materials
• Simple ways to start creating audio lessons

Learn more:
ELLLO Teacher offers more episodes, transcripts, and free downloadable materials for ESL professionals at elllo.org/teacher.

Naheen Mardarbukus-Ring is an expert in teaching listening. She joins the podcast to talk about different listening skills in tasks for EFL and ESL learners. She discusses bottom-up listening, top-down listening, intensive listening, extensive listening and note-taking. 

In this episode of ELLLO Teacher, Todd talks with Dr. Chris Haswell, an expert in World English(es) and the cohost of the podcast Lost in Citation.

In this episode, Jose Domingo Cruz returns to discuss his website, Goldfish365, which features authentic listening lessons similar to ELLLO, the site created by the podcast host, Todd Beuckens.

They discuss the importance of authentic listening materials for ESL students and talk about their difference in discussing controversial topics on their websites.

For transcripts of the podcast and links to the content mentioned, visit the webpage below.

https://elllo.org/teacher/

 

 

 

In this episode, Todd welcomes the first guest on the show, Jose Domingo Cruz, a long time friend and recent author of the book, Teaching with Zoom - An Advanced User's Guide.

They discuss various topics related to teaching with Zoom such as having students use their cameras, dealing with cheating, and why teaching online is better in come cases, compared to classroom instruction.

About the Book
Teaching with Zoom - An Advanced User's Guide by Jose Domingo Cruz

For the transcript and links to content mentioned on the show visit the podcast webpage below:

https://elllo.org/teacher/

Welcome to the ELLLO Teacher Podcast.

In the first episode, the host of the show, Todd Beuckens, explains what the podcast will be about and what listeners can expect to hear on the show.

Visit https://elllo.org/teacher/ for the transcripts and links to the content mentioned in the show.