Chapter 4

Reading, Listening, Viewing

Pre-test
ading this chapter, indicate whether the following statements are
Before relse based on what you k now or b e 1·ieve ... f or now!
true or f a '
• Comprehension involves the construction of a single meaning.
• Understanding every word within a text is not enough to conclude that
learners will be able to interpret it adequately.
• Top-down processing s~rategies a~e more valuable to novice learners
than bottom-up processmg strateg,es.
• Guessing words from context is one of the most effective word-level
strategies.
• Pre-reading activities should not only help learners actívate prior knowl-
edge, but also anticípate and preview the language they will encounter
in the text.
Once you have finished or while you are reading this chapter, verify your
answers.

WHAT Do I NEEDTo KNow?

The lmportance of lnterpretive Proficiency

Many textbooks treat reading and listening/viewing as skills to be addressed

in supplementary sections, usually at the end of a chapter. However, interpre-
tive communication should not be a corollary to vocab and grammar. As Sparks
(2019) notes, "Programs of study and individual course curricula that continue to
be organized around a systematic presentatíon of grammatlcal patterns and excep-
tions may not provide a solid foundation on which strong interpretive proficiency

103
lUL

Observation and Application Activities

1) Observe an introductory- or interrnediate-level class of the lang\ta

g,
you teach. Take notes on the following:
a) Out of all of the questions the teacher asked, how many were dis
play questions (the teacher knows the answer to them)?
b} \~Tere students able and compclled to understand the input th
teacher providcd? What strategies did the tcacher use to make th
Ianguage comprehensible to the students?
e) Did the teacher use any authentic resourccs? If so, how \\rer
they made comprehensible, and what did students do with th,
information?
d) Could you tell what the goal of the lesson was, other than practic
inga particular vocabulary set or grammar structure?
e) How often did the teacher use the shared language, and for wh¡
functions (e.g., announcements, instructions, humor, buildin
rapport with students, explanations, clarification of meanin¡
etc.)? Considering the level of the students in that class, do yo
think the instructor could have used the target language for ar
of those functions instead?
2) Observe an introductory-level class of a language different from the or
you teach and preferably not closely related to any other languages ye
know. Reflect on the experience of being a "learner." Were you able 1
understand most of what the teacher was saying? If so, what do ye
think helped you understand thc input? If you felt lost at any point, wh
do you think the teacher could have done to help you understand?
3) Create a structured input acriviry that would help learners process
particular form in the language you teach, within onc of the themat
units in your courses. For examplc, when talking about travel exper
ences, you could help learners process past tense through a strucru«
input activity. Remember the guidelines we discussed in this chapt1
and don't forget to creare a follow-up step that ties it all together ar
gives students a reason to understand the meaning of the sentences (a1
not just process the form).
 Chapter 4
Reading, Listening, Viewing

Pre-test
dlng this chapter, indicate whether the following statements are
B fore re a
e f lse based on what you know or believe ... for now!
true or a ,
• Comprehension involves the construction of a single meaning.
• Understanding every w_ord withi~ a text is not enough to conclude that
learners will be able to interpret it adequately.
• Top-down processing s~rategies a~e more valuable to novice learners
than bottom-up processinq strateg,es.
• Guessing words from context is one of the most effective word-level
strategies.
• Pre-reading activities should not only help learners actívate prior knowl-
edge, but also anticípate and preview the language they will encounter
in the text.
Once you have finished or while you are reading this chapter, verify your
answers.

WHATDo I NEED To KNow?

TheImportan ce of lnterpretive Proficiency

Many textbooks treat reading and listening/viewing as skills to be addressed

in supplementary sections, usually at the end of a chapter. However, inrerpre-
tive communication should not be a corollary to vocab and grammar. As Sparks
(2019) notes, "Programs of study and individual course curricula that continue to
be organized around a systematic presentation of grammatical pattems and excep-
tions may not provide a solid foundation on which strong interpretive proficiency

103
J
104 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

(reading and listening comprehension) can develop" (p. 738). Without interpretiv
proficiency, there is no proficiency in the target language. e
One thing you may have noticed in the previous quote is that "interpretiv,
proficiency" seems to be equated with "reading and listening cornprehensj¿ ,
As we briefiy discussed in Chapter 1, ACTFL proposed distinguishing "ca~.
prehension" from "interpretation" primarily to emphasize that engaging \Vitl
a text goes beyond literal understanding. While we agree 100% with that las·
part, the need for two different terms is debatable. Comprehension is alway
much more than the construction of a single meaning (i.e., everyone under·
stands the same thing). It involves understanding not only the meaning O
words and sentences, but also the ability to "interpret meaning in relation te
background knowledge, interpret and evaluate texts in line with reader goal
and purposes" (Grabe, 2014, p. 8). So, whenever we talk about "comprehen
sion" in this chapter, remember that we are using it as synonymous with "inter
pretive communication" and not limiting it to simple retrieval of informatioi
from a text.
Speaking of texts, we should also clarify that "texts" can be any written, ora]
or audiovisual material, and they may be authentic or made/modified for learn
ers. For the purposes of acquisition, the authenticity of a text does not rnatra
Whether or not engaging with authentíc texts is important to your curriculun
is another story.
Among the benefits of interpretive reading for language development, th
expansion of vocabulary is perhaps the most frequently cited and researched. O
course, students won't learn and remember every new word they encounter in
text. Let's not forget how complex language acquisition is! Sorne studies hav
suggested that it might take learners more than 10 encounters of that same won
to know what it rneans, know how to spell it, know in what contexts to use i
etc. (Webb, 2007). It is also important to remember that the benefits of readin
are not just about neui vocabulary. As Horst et al. (1998) summarized it, readin
can "enrich their knowledge of the words they already know, increase lexici
access speeds, build network linkages between words, and . . . a few words wi
be acquired" (p. 221).
Interpretive-listening activities have many of the same benefits of intei
pretive reading, but instead of becoming familiar with spelling convention:
learners can hone their phonological perception skills: identifying worc
sentence boundaries, recognizing intonation and stress patterns (i.e., prosod}'
appreciating pronunciation variants, etc. This so-called ear training can hel
increase listening comprehensión, which could in turn contribute to langua~
development.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
105

Engagingwith Oral versus WrittenTexts

As much overlap as there is in terms of the benefits of reading and listening for
acquisition, we must acknowledge sorne important differences between the two.
First, the fleeting nature of oral texts makes us process language in a faster, less
meticulous way, whereas we have more time to engage with written texts: We can
read and re-read; we can focus on one word and dissect it for as long as we want,
When we get tripped up by an unknown word within a written text, we can take
time to figure it out and then continue when we're ready. Although it is possible to
"pause" sorne oral texts (e.g., interrupt your interlocutor!), we often miss the rest of the
utterance because our brain was busy trying to make sense of what was said earlier.
On a similar note, another difference is that written texts tend to be static
less fluid, and more carefully crafted or edited than oral texts, although that's not'
always the case. Contrast, for example, a social media post responding to sorne-
one in a very casual way and a commercial on TV, which tends to be scripted,
rehearsed, and polished.

In case you're wondering ...

Should we focus more on reading or listening with novice learners? The saf-
est answer would be to strike a balance, but there are several factors to con-
sider in your decision: the students' age, your course or program goals, the
students' literacy skills, the level of correspondence between the written and
spoken forms of a language, whether the students' native language(s) and the
target language use similar scripts or alphabets, etc. We know that people can
and do acquire a language entirely aurally, withoutever reading orwriting any-
thing; at the same time, reading can facilitate acquisition and language devel-
opment, even if your goals are mainly about oral communication. One thing
you should consider incorporating at all levels is bimodal input, which consists
of reading and listening at the same time. Bimodal input may help learners in
terms of "ear training," and it may also help heritage speakers in terms of mak-
ing the right phoneme-grapheme connections (i.e., how it sounds and what
it looks like written down). There is one caveat about bimodal input that can't
be ignored: For sorne learners, reading and listening at the same time might
be too taxing on their attentional resources. In other words, it may be distract-
ing and too much to process. Therefore, if you are going to use bimodal input
for texts longer than a couple of sentences, it may be best to use a video as
opposed to reading and listening "live" in class. Put learners in control of the
speed at which they play the video, allow them to rewind and watch as many
times as they need, and give them the option to mute and just read, or clase
their eyes and just listen.
 Section11: lnterpretive Communication
106

When it comes to comprehension, word and sentcnce boundarics tend to be

clearer in written texts. For example, if someone says, "your new phonc," a lcarner
might divide that utrerance into rwo words: "your" and "nufone," inevitably leading
to confusion (í.e., 11\Vhat is my nufone?). In sorne cases, cognates might be more
easily recognizable in written f?rm, though not always. Furthermore, comprchcn-
. n of oral rexts might be aflected by the way the speaker pronounces a word
sw '
how loud rhey ralk, and whether there is background noise, music, or overlapping
speech, none of which are fact~rs in read~ng comprehension. Of course, in many
cases, we use top-clown processmg strategíes to deduce what we are hcaring, based
on what we know and expect in that particular context or situation. However
we need to keep in mind that novice and intermediatc learners are more likely to
relyon bottom-up processes (i.e., rhey'll want to understand every word to extract
meaning) than advanced learners. What do we mean by top-clown and bottom-up
processes? Funny you should ask! That's what we discuss in the next section.

Selecting Texts
Understanding the processes and factors involved in comprchension of written and
oral texts is important for selecting the right texts, which is arguably thc hardest part
about creating interpretive communication activities. E ven though there is sorne truth
to the adage "change the task, not the texr," that doesn't mean that any text will do.
Both the text and task should be appropriate for the proficiency level of the students.
Let's start with the two processes involved when we encounter a text and try
to make sen se of it:

• Top-down processcs: \"le apply our background knowledge, per-

spectives, expectations, and experiences to anticipate, understand,
and infer ideas.
• Bottom-up proccsscs: \Ve extract meaning from the language we
encounter by recognizing letters, characters, sounds, words, as well
as determining the relationship betwcen the words (e.g., which one
is the subject and which one is the object).

Both of these processes play a role in our interpretation of texts. They are not
rneanr to happen in a particular ordcr, and one is not more important than the
other. They are equally relevant when it comes to selecting the right text because
we should consider these three main factors:

• Linguistic knowledge: To what extent are lcarners able to under-

stand the language of the text (e.g., meaning of words, syntactic
relationships, etc.)? Are there cognates and recognizable proper
names that may aid comprehension?
 4. ~l:!Jl11~9, l,stening, Viewing
107

• Background knowledge: How familiar are learners with the topic,

rhe context, and the purpose of the text? The more we know, the
more we can anticipate and deduce.
• Tcxt featurcs: Does the text type (e.g., lists vs. paragraph) seern
appropriate for the proficiency level of the students? Are there orga-
nizational features (e.g., headings and subheadings) or nonlinguis-
tic elements (e.g., pictures, graphs, icons, nurnbers, gestures, etc.)
rhat may help students understand? In the case of oral texts, speech
rate, articulation, and sound quality are also important to consider.

The goal should not be to select texts that will be 100% comprehensible to
rhe learners. It is inevitable (and preferable, actually!) for texts to contain sorne
unknown words. At the same time, if learners are unfamiliar with most of
the words in a text, comprehension will be almost impossible, and the whole
endeavor won't con tribute much, if at all, toward language development. Where's
rhe sweet spot? That depends on what we want students to do with the texr, For
example, iflearners are asked to identify the topic and main idea of a short movie
review, they might be able to do so even if they are unfamiliar with severa! of
the words in it. On the other hand, if they are asked to identify in detail which
aspects of the movie were positive and negative according to the author of the
review, they will need to understand a greater number of words.

In case you're wondering ...

When watching a video, is it better to use captions (i.e., the transcription) or
subtitles (i.e., the translation) to help learners develop listening skills? Research
studies on this issue haven't been entirely conclusive, and ali of them have lirn-
itations, but they seem to indicate that captions are more helpful far listening
skills (Birulés-Muntané & Soto-Faraco, 2016), while also facilitating compre-
hension (Hayati & Mohmedi, 2011 ). Either way, the learners' proficiency level is
a key factor to consider. Captions won't be very helpful if the audiovisual text
is too complex far them, and it might actually lead to more confusion dueto
cognitive overload: too many things to process ali at once (Taylor, 2005). This
last point underscores the importance of text selection, scaffolding activities,
and strategy training. Captioning is not a replacement far any of those; it is
simply one more tool.

Although linguistic knowledge has been found to be the strongest predictor of

L2 rcading comprchension success (jeon & Yamashita, 2014), it is also important
to note that understanding every word within a text is not enough to conclude
thar learners will be able to adequately interpret it. How much we know about
108 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

a topic also plays an important role in facilitating comprehension. Toe way YO\!
are reading this chapter is ínfluenccd by your expericnces, prior knowledge, and
expectations: Depending on whether you are an experienced educator or just
starting out, you will interpret our ideas and suggestions differently, and }'ou
might even retain a different amount of information.
Even though our students differ in their familiarity with various topics, class
discussions and activities are shared experiences. Therefore, the texts we choose
should be intrinsically connected to and integrated within the corresponding
thematic units. If they are, learners will be more likely to understand the lan,
guage and engage with the content in a deeper, more meaningful way. Further,
more, the tapie should be relevant to our students. Is it something they would
choose to explore on their own in their native language(s)? Are they learning
something that has direct implications for, or connections with, sorne aspect of
their lives? Is the purpose of the text to inspire action on the part of the reader?
Are there clear practica} applications that might compel learners to wanr to
understand the text? For exarnple, asking learners to create a newscast based on
an article they read can be more compelling than merely answering sorne true/
false statements about it.

Reading and Listening Strategies

Can you teach someone how to listen? And if our learners are already literate in
at least one language, do we have to teach them how to read in the target lan-
guage? The answer to both questions is: yes! In fact, research has suggested that
training students in how to apply various reading and listening strategies might
help increase comprehension (Graham & Macaro, 2008; Kern, 1989; Vandergrift
& Tafaghodtari, 2010). However, these strategies don't circumvent all the factors
mentioned above when it comes to selecting texts that will be comprehensible to
students.
By teaching students various reading and listening strategies, we are giving
them tools they can apply on their own later. While it is beneficial to guide thelll
as they put these strategies into action, students shouldn't be forced to approach
a text in one particular way. Every reader/listener and every text is different,
Plus, we know that readers and listeners don't apply a single strategy when the)'
approach a text: These strategies work in conjunction with one another. Finall)',
as with everything else involving language teaching, it is not enough to tell sto'
dents about these strategies; we should have learners put these strategies int0
action.
We can classify strategies into two large categories: local or micro-strategie5
•s
(i.e., more closely related to bottom-up processes) and global or macro-strareñ''
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 109

(í.e., focusing on top-clown processes). Striking a balance between these two cat-
egories is not easy, and it will depend on the level of the students. Even though
our ultimate goal is to focus on understanding main ideas, students at the novice
level will need sorne word-level strategies. After all, you can't understand main
ideas lf you are not understanding any words!

Local ( or micro) stratcgies:

• Using context to deduce the meaning of words

• Determining when to skip unknown words or phrases
• Previewing or skimming (written texts) based on keywords
• Identifying cognates and other nonlinguistic cues
• Highlighting phrases or words learners understand
• Anticipating language through brainstorming (e.g., mind maps,
word clouds)

Global (or macro) strategies:

• Informing yourself about the context of the text and topic

• Diagramming or outlining: identifying main ideas and text
organization
• Discussing the topic based on what we already know
• Making predictions based on headings or visual cues
• Anticipating content or organizational features based on prior
experiences with similar texts

We will expand on how to put these strategies into action in the next section,
but befare we do that, let's talk about the first word-level strategy listed above,
which tends to be easier said than done: guessing words from context. Without
sufficient linguistic knowledge, this strategy may prove to be inadequate, and
it can be demotivating for students to guess wrong more often than not. Fur-
thermore, it is not uncommon for context to be insufficient to guess the exact
meaning of a word.
What could be a better approach than merely telling students to use con-
text clues? For starters, we can guide learners in the problem-solving process of
deducing the meaning of an unknown word. Debriefing and confirming their
guesses is an important part of teaching this strategy. If they arrived at the wrong
guess, how did that happen? And what could have prevented that? Furthermore,
we may want to focus our energy on helping them realize that being able to
deduce whether it's an object, a person, or an animal is sometimes good enough
to keep reading. In other cases, determining the part of speech (noun, adjective,
110 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

verb, etc.) is probably sufficient. Of course, as we all know and do when we read
in any language, it's perfectly OK to skip sorne words altogether. For exarnple,
do you rcally nced to know what "anfractuous" rneans in this sentence: "1hey
miraculously managed to cross the anfractuous river"? We are not denying the
importance of understanding the rneaning of words. After all, we want students
to learn new words! However, becorning obsessed with understanding the exaq
translation of each and every word is sornething we rnay want to discourage,
especially with novice learners.

\"fCHY Fttí
Th111~ you'ra rao.dy to rc11d Hu
ncw!.po.pcr 111 o. 11,.., lc.11gu11g1?

\',,, got o. d1diono.ry. H

"''ght b1 4 bit 1.low,
but l'll 11111110.ge!
\
\

So v.1ho. t' !> in thc n,...,!o?

I Obo.l'lo., 1 think.

Components of lnterpretive Communication Lessons

Given what we now understand about the processes and factors involved in com-
prehension, and assuming we have found a text that is relevant and appropriate for
the proficiency level of the students, it's time to plan what to do during each of the
major phases in an interpretive cornrnunication activity: before, during, and afrer.
But before we get into the specifics of each phase, we should address the ques;
tion of whether to keep it ali in the target language orto use the shared language,
In the case of pre·reading/listening activlties, the shared language might be nec;
essary when it comes to developing sorne of the global strategies we discussed
above. Most learners might struggle to understand necessary background infor--
mation in the target language. However, pre-reading/listening activities shot1ld
also help learners anticipate what they will encounter in the text, and for that, the
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 111

rarget language is necessary. In the case of comprehension questions, the main

arguments in favor of using the shared language over the target language are the
following:

• Being better able to determine the learners' understanding of the

text, as opposed to the questions themselves.
• Ensuring that learners are not merely doing "text matching,"
where learners sean the text searching for specific words from the
questions.
• Engaging in important discussions related to the ideas within the
text. As we said in Chapter 2, sorne topics should not be treated
superficially just because learners are unable to discuss them in the
target language.

As valid as those reasons are, over-relying on the shared language when learn-
ers engage in interpretive activities could also have unintended negative conse-
quences: We might give the wrong impression that understanding a text involves
translating it, and it might be difficult to motívate learners to communicate in the
target language during other parts of the lesson. However, it doesn't have to be an
all-or-nothing choice. Students could answer partly in the shared language and
partly in the target language (e.g., using words and phrases from the text).

Pre-Reading/Listening
The overarching goal of pre-reading/listening activities is to facilitate comprehen-
sion, and therefore, the pre-reading/listening phase should be as important and
elaborate as the post-reading/listening phase. Learners should engage in several
activities that help them not only actívate prior knowledge, but also anticipate and
preview the language they will encounter in the text. Therefore, the pre-reading/
llstening activities should be specific to the text and not just the topic.
Below are sorne suggestions and tips for creating effective pre-reading/
listening activities. Sorne work better for informational texts, while others are
more appropriate for narratives. Teacher discretion is advised.

• Ask questions focused on making connections with content you

have been discussing in class, or possibly information students have
learned in other classes. You could also have learners inform thern-
selves more about the topic. For instance, if the socio-historical
background is necessary to understand a story, the instructor could
provide the information, or learners could do sorne research online
(in any language they feel comfortable using).

~-----
 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication
112

• Ask questions that establish personal connections with the stu-

dents' lives, but make sure they are directly related to the text, and
not the topic in general. For instance, if the text is about a music
festival, it might not be very helpful to ask learners about their
favorite artists (i.e., will they mention any of the artists discussed in
the text?). And be careful with yes/no questions that might lead to a
dead-end. If you ask, "Have you ever been to a mu sic festival?" and
sorne learners say no, you'll need a different strategy!
• Address biases and preconceived notions that may affect the stu-
dents' interpretation of the text through a "truth or myth" activity.
• Preview and anticípate content by having learners describe images
that are directly relevant to the text. In the case of a video, lcarners
could watch part of it with no sound or make predictions based on
strategically selected thumbnails of it.
• Have srudenrs create drawings based on key sentences or phrases
taken from the text,
• Provide the title, topic, and purpose of the text, and ask learners
to brainstorm subheadings or subsections they would expect to be
included.
• Have learners discuss sorne of the post-reading/listening ques-
tions before they engage with the text. For instance, learners could
answer true/false questions prior to reading or listening, based on
what they think or know, as we have done at the beginning of each
of our chapters. Wording the items in a way that ignites the learn-
ers' curiosity to confirm their answers can serve as extra motivation
to understand the text.
• Create word-association activities targeting keywords taken from
the text to reduce the learners' reliance on dictionary use while they
read or listen (e.g., match synonyms and antonyms, spot the odd
one out, create word clouds, etc.).
• Prepare activities where learners engage with content that is similar
but not identical to that of the text (and modified to their level, if
needed). For instance, in the case of narratives, 'students could put
in order a series of events that resemble what happens in the story.
• In the case of oral texts, at least sorne of the pre-listening activities
should focus on phonological-perception skills. For example, the
instructor can play a segment of the audio several times, with and
without the transcript.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 113

While Reading/Listening
Traditional approaches tend to portray interpretive communicationas a passive
and individual endeavor. However, having learners engage in activities whi!e
reading/listening will help them become more active listeners and readers, and
thus, get more out of the text. Of course, it's important to make sure the activity
doesn't end up being more distracting than helpful (i.e., are we askinglearners to
do too much at once?). Here are sorne ideas:

• Break up the text into smaller chunks and have learnerspause to

summarize, question, reflect, or react. Depending on the type of
text, learners could also draw or select a picture that wouldbest
illustrate each chunk, make predictions about what will happen
next, or offer advice about what the character(s)shoulddo next.
• Have learners complete a graphic organizer wherethey identifykey
components of the text (e.g., the characters, the setting, the prob-
lem, the sequence of events, and the resolution).In the case of a
written text, learners could also highlight informationin different
colors to indicate the "who," "what," "when," and "why" of the text.
• Reorder scrambled sentences to reassemble a paragraph within a
written text.
• Match missing sentences with their corresponding spots within a
written text.
• Iflearners are listening to or watching an interview,have themlis-
ten to the responses and deduce what the questionwas.
• Have learners listen or read once, just to understand keywords,
and listen or read again to write main ideas. In groups, learners
could share with each other what they understood. Lastly, they
should read or listen to the text one more time to confirmthe main
ideas and add sorne supporting information.
• Have learners engage in collaborative annotated reading in small
groups. This approach will not only help learners appreciate differ-
ent perspectives on the same text, but also motívate them to come
back to it and re-read it.
• After reading a few sentences, have learners write comments (in
the shared language) explaining what they think the main idea is,
which words they can deduce from context, and which ones they
don't think they really need to know. This information can be valu-
able for the instructor to know what strategies to work on or how to
improve the pre-reading/listening activities.
114 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

Post-Reading/Listening
Effective post-reading/listening activities should go beyond understanding the
main ideas or details. Randi et al. (2005) emphasize the need for a componential
approach to comprehension that integrates analytical, practical, and creative abil,
ities. Considering this approach, we offer severa! suggestions of text-depends-;
comprehension activities:

• Put events in order or create a timeline.

• Identify inaccurate portíons of a summary created by the instructor
or other learners (with inaccurate details on purpose!).
• Have leamers write a summary with missing keywords, which
other learners should complete.
• Selecta sentence that would be the best addition to each paragraph.
More advanced learners could be tasked with writing one addi-
tional sentence for each paragraph.
• Have learners do a free-writing exercise, where they help a class-
mate who was absent understand what students watched/read in
class. Then, have learners compare which ideas and details they
included and excluded.
• Create a social media profile for one of the characters based on
information disclosed in the text, as well as inferences that can be
made about them.
• Other alternatives to explore characters are: writing a text-message
exchange between rwo of them, writing a social media post as one
of the characters, or writing an acrostic poem (i.e., the first letter of
each line spells out the character's name, and the words describe or
are somehow connected to key aspects of the character).
• Making connections within the text and across texts. In addi-
tion to the classic prompt about comparing and contrasting ideas
expressed by the author, learners could find additional resources
and create a thematic collection of texts that reflect a similar point
of view as the original text or that share the same communicative
purpose and audience (e.g., ads targeting the Latinx market in the
United States).
• Establish personal relevance by asking learners to compare the
characters to someone they know or make connections berween
the information presented in the text and their own cultural prod-
ucts, practices, and perspectíves.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 115

• Make decisions and suggestions based on the text; for instance,

if learners read product reviews, they can indicate which one
rhey would purchase or what other products they would suggest
to the authors of the reviews. Similarly, if learners read various
[ob ads, and then listen to different candidates describe their
experience and qualifications, they could select the person they
would hire and why.
• Write an email to the author or one of the characters; if watching a
video, write a comment to post on YouTube.
• Expand the text: come up with an alternative ending, a spin-off
story, an additional paragraph or scene, etc. Sorne leamers might
find it especially motivating if they can integrate thernselves or
someone they know (like their teacher!) in the story.
• Have learners speculate how the text would change under different
conditions: di.fferent narrator, setting, publication year, etc.
• Synthesize and present the information in an alternative format: a
brochure, an infographic, a video, a comic strip, or graphic novel,
etc. For instance, students could create a poster for the rnovie adap-
tation of a story they read.
• Create a board game or video game based on the text.
• Speculate information about the author and the context of rhe text,
• Ask learners to rewrite or paraphrase certain parts of the text,
Doing so will not only help you determine the extent to which
they have understood, but it will also prove very useful as a writ-
ing skill.
• Complete a modified K-W-L chart, indicating what they
already knew (K), what new information they learned (L), and
what else they want to know (W) based on the inforrnation in
the text.

You may have noticed that many of the ideas we listed focus on compre-
hension at a rather global level, using the text as a springboard for other tasks.
This approach doesn't mean that a few true/false iterns or simple questions
aimed at keyword recognition are necessarily bad. In sorne cases, retrieval of
specific information or details is indeed important (or perhaps all the learners
can handle!), but we should strive to go beyond that level whenever possible.
Otherwise, if ali of our questions are about specific details frorn the texr, we
rnight be inadvertently encouraging learners to focus on understanding each
and every word.
116 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

In a nutshell
Before we move on to classroom examples, summarize five main points frorn
this chapter. What are your own takeaways?

Would you like to learn more?

Go to www.hackettpublishing.com/ cornmon-ground-resources
for a list of suggested readings, webinars, and other resources.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 117

WHAT Dozs IT Loox LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

Example 1: Short lnformational Texts (lnterpretive Reading)

'Ihis example shows the progression of activities that revolve around a short text
that summarizes how Christmas and New Year's Day are celebrated in different
countries where the target language is spoken. We suggest doing all the activities
listed for each section (pre-reading, while reading, and post-reading), but sorne of
rhe activities could be skipped.
Proficiency level: N ovice-high

Pre-Reading
• Activity 1: Students match words taken from the text with the cor-
responding pictures or symbols. Alternatively, the teacher could use
a game-based learning platform to ask questions that help students
anticipa te the vocabulary in the text (e.g., matching words and pie-
tures, spot the odd one out, select the synonym/antonym, etc.).
• Activity 2: The teacher provides students with a new list of words or
phrases (many of them taken from the text, along with distractors).
Students indicate if each one most likely refers to Christmas, New
Year's Day, both, or neither. As the teacher reviews their answers,
students are reminded that their own cultural practices are influ-
encing their responses, and that for other cultures, the associations
might be different.
• Activity 3: The teacher asks questions to establish personal connec-
tions, while still referencing the content of the text, such as:
o Are these items used in any celebration in your family?
o What other symbols, objects, foods, or practices do we asso-
ciate with these two holidays in our country?

While Reading
• Activity 1: Students are told to skim the text and highlight any
word from the pre-reading activities.
• Activity 2: Students find in the text other possible keywords related
to each holiday, even if they are unsure of what the words mean.
The teacher writes them on the board and helps students deduce
meaning, if possible, or provides them with the translation, a simple
 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication
118

definition in the rarget language, ora visual representation of it. Thc

class can then decide if it's an important keyword or not.
• Acthity 3: Students complete a graphic organizer, where they have
to write information about foods, practices, colors, etc. by coun-
try for each holiday. Not all of the information is provided in the
reading, so sorne of the spots within the graphic organizcr are lcft
blank.

Christmas
Food Colors Objects Practices
Country 1
Country2
Countty3

NewYear's Day
Food Colors Objects
. Practíces
Countryl
Country2
Country3

Post-Reading
• Activity 1: Students work in pairs to review and compare their
graphic organizers, and they add information if they missed any-
thing; they can also refer to the text if there are any discrepancies.
• Activity 2: Students compare their answers to activities #2 and #3
of the pre-reading phase with what the text describes. For example:
Are the same objects, foods, or practices associated with those two
holidays across cultures?
' Activity 3: The teacher displays severa! images of celebrations
around the world; sorne were described in the text, and others were
not. Students select the best images to accompany the text and
write the caption for each one.
' Activity4: The teacher provides learners with a series of sentences,
each of which could be added to different parts of the original text.
Students place the sentences in the corresponding part of the text.
' Activity 5: Students use the new information in the supplementary
sentences to add to their graphic organizers (e.g., if they didn't have
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
119

anything for "food" under "New Year's Day" in a particular coun-

try, they can now add it).
• Activity 6: Students watch a short video of a person from each of
the countries mentioned in the text describing how their family
celebrates one of the holidays. The teacher plays the video twice,
and the students take notes with respect to similarities and dif-
ferences between what the person is sharing and the informa-
tion in the text. The third time the video is played, the teacher
stops every so often to confirm whether what was mentioned was
similar or different from the written text. As a conclusion, the
teacher leads a brief discussion in the shared language about the
drawbacks of cultural generalizations and associating a country
with a culture.
• Activity 7 (extension into presentational tasks}: To further
demonstrate that culture is not monolithic, but rather, it involves
collective and individual layers, students choose a holiday they are
familiar with, and they describe how they celebrare it versus how it
is typically celebrated. To organize their ideas, they can complete
a table like the one below. First, students brainstorm ideas for the
first column (i.e., how most people think the holiday is celebrated).
Then, individually, students work on the answers for the other
two columns. Lastly, the teacher can provide srudenrs with sorne
phrases and transition words to help them write a few complete
sentences linking their ideas together.

How it is typically Sarne as how you Explaín dífferences here:

celebrated: celebrate it?
Yes/No
Yes/No

Example 2: Back-to-School Commercial (Interpretive Listening)

In this exarnple, the text consists of a commercial for a back-to-school sale in the
target language. The ad features a group of children showing sorne of the items
mentioned in the voiceover, but not ali of them. This way, the ad offers sorne visual
support, but students still need to understand spoken language to complete the
activities.
120 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

Proficiency level: Novíce-high

1,

Pre-TVatching
• Activity 1: Students watch part of the video without any sound,
and then they make sorne predictions about the ad. The teacher
can facilitare this discussion in the target language by providing
choices (e.g., "This ad is probably about ... (a) a restaurant, (b) a
department store, (e) a toy store"), The teacher confirms that the
ad is about a back-to-school sale and then asks students to predict
what information they think will appear on the ad.
• Activity 2: The teacher shows students a printed ad in the target
language of back-to-school deals. Students indicate which items in
the ad they have in their backpacks that day. The teacher asks stu-
dents to share their answers and see which items are the most and
least popular (i.e., everyone has, or nobody has). '
• Activity 3: The teacher explains that not everything we have
in our backpacks is essential, so to discover the item that stu-
dents consider to be the most important or essential, the teacher
leads students inro an input-bracketing activity (see Example 5
of Chapter 3), using items that are mentioned in the commercial
students will be viewing.

While Watcbing
• Activity 1: Students are told to listen and try to recognize as many
words as they can. After playing the video once, students put a
check mark next to the words from the printed ad they heard in the
commercial. The teacher plays the video again, and students can
add or revise the check marks. In pairs, they compare and confirm
what they heard.
Activity 2: Students watch the video again with a listening guide
who checks their comprehensión of information mentioned in the
commercial. The time stamps can be included to help students
understand where to listen. For example, sorne iterns could be:
0:30 True or false? The pencils cost Sl for a pack.
Correct this sentence: Toe backpack costs S30.
0:45 When and where is the sale?
1:00 What are two more details about the sale that you just
heard?
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
121

Post-Watcbing
• Activity 1: The teacher asks students whether their predictions in
the pre-listening activities were correct (e.g., they thought prices
would be mentioned, but the ad didn't include any prices), as well as
whether the most and least popular items discussed before watch-
ing the commercial appeared in ir or not.
• Activity 2: The teacher provides students with a series of pictures of
various items, and students indicate which ones the ad mentioned
(í.e., as part of the voiceover). Then, the teacher reads out loud a
series ofitems, and students indicate which ones appeared in the ad
(í.e., were shown but not mentioned). The teacher plays the ad one
more time so students can confirm their responses.
• Activity 3: Students complete a table where they list the supplies
that were highlighted in the commercial and add details that they
heard about each one (e.g., brand names, colors, etc.). Srudents then
classify the items into the following categories: "I have," "I want,"
"I don't have or want," Then, the teacher asks a student toread one
of their lists without saying which category it is, and the rest of the
class guesses if they're referring to items they have, want, or neither.
• Activity 4: The teacher reads out loud a series of prices (e.g., "five
dollars and fifty cents"), as mentioned in the ad, and the students
write each one next to the ítem (from activity #3) it corresponds to.
Once the teacher has confirmed the right prices, students calculate
the total cost of the items they wrote in each of the three categories
of the previous activity. If appropriate, the teacher can also help sru-
dents convert the total amount to the currency of the country they
live in. The teacher can wrap up the activity by briefly comparing the
totals with how much families spend on average on school supplies.
• Activity 5: The teacher asks students questions in the shared lan-
guage about cultural products, practices, and perspectives that are
reflected in the commercial (e.g., the images featured on backpacks
or folders, the look of the people who appear in the commercial,
etc.). Students could also reflect on whether a commercial like that
would appear in their own country, and if so, what changes an
advertisement agency would make, for instance.
• Activity 6: The teacher leads a small discussion about the effectíve-
ness of the commercial in the target language. The students first
rate the various parts of the commercial in a chart on a scale of 1
(not effective) to 5 (extremely effective):
O
Images
O
Music/sounds
 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication
122

o :Message/words
o Action

Srudenrs share their responses, and the class as a whole comes to a

consensus on the most effective and least effective aspects. The teachs-
guides the srudents to explain why they liked or did not like certain parts
of the commercial. Sorne guiding questions could be:

e Who is the intended audience? Who buys these products?

º What are sorne important words, actions, and images of the
commcrcial thatyou saw? Why do you think theywere included?
o Whar is the tone of the commercial: funny, serious, sarcastic,

upbeat? \Vhat makcs you say that?

º Whar are sorne things you think the commercial should have
included?
o What is the most important phrase from the script?

• Activity 7 (extensión into presentational tasks): Students work in

groups to come up with their own back-to-school commercial, and
they act it out using the items in their backpacks. After seeing each
"comrnercial," the audience says which item(s) they would buy. An
alternative to the skit can be drawing a storyboard of a commer-
cial. In a storyboard, the students sketch the action within each
vignette (as rhe illustration below) and write the speech bubbles
or voiceover script corresponding to each scene. Students could
then do a gallery walk and rate the effectiveness of the commercial
depicted in one of their classmates' storyboards.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
123

Ex:ample 3: Asynchronous lnterview (lnterpretive Listening)

In this multistep activity, students will be posing questions for a speaker from
a country where the target language is spoken, with the goal of guessing which
country (and possibly what city) the person is from. Alternatively, the class can be
divided up into three or four groups, each of which will be posing questions for a
different person. Although it is an "interview," the focus is on interpretive corn-
munication since students need to understand the responses of the interviewee to
accomplish the task, as opposed to interacting with the person. The students are
producing very little or no language on their own.
Proficiency level: Novice-high/intennediate-low

Step 1: Toe teacher provides students with several choices of questions. Students
indica te how helpful each one would be for the task at hand: determining where
someone is from. Here are sorne examples; out of these questions, the last one
would not be helpful:

• How big is your city?

• What color is your country's flag?
• How many people live in your city?
• What is a popular sport?
• What is the weather like?
• What are sorne popular foods?
• When is your birthday?

Step 2 (optional): Students can brainstorm additional questions themselves, with

the help of the teacher.

Step 3: Students record short videos reading their questions, and they post thern
in an online forum that the interviewee can access.

Step 4: The interviewee records a video responding to each of the questions.

Step 5: Students watch the video responses and take notes. Then, each student
writes clown where they think the person is from by completing these sentences.
I think our guest speaker is from _
One reason is ------
Another reason is ------
And a third reason is ------
124 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

Step 6: Students compare their answcrs in srnall groups and reach a conscnsus.

Step 7: Groups rcveal their guesses, and the reacher confirms if they're right. lf
possible, students could post additional questions for the interviewee(s) now that
they know where theyrc from.

Stcp 8 [optional): Students start a K-W-L chart with information that they now
know about the country in the first colurnn, which could then be u sed as part of a
pre-reading or pre-listening activity. Alternatively, students can list sorne miscon-
ceptions that they had prior to the conversation and what they learned during the
conversation into two columns: before and after the conversation.

Examplc 4: Animated Legend (Interpretive Listening/Viewing)

The teacher uses an animated video of a legend narrated in the target language. To
help students gain a deeper understanding of the legend, the teacher first provides
students with pertinent background knowledge. The pre-watching activities also
include anticiparion of the text structure, language, and con ten t.
Proficiency level: Intermediate-mid/high

Pre-Watching
• Activity 1: The teacher explains the background of the community
where the legend originated by showing an informational video or
providing the students with a short article describing the comrnu-
níty, Students answer comprehension questions that focus on infor-
mation that will be important for students to know so they can have
a better understanding of the legend (e.g., what are important crops
in the region?).
• Activity 2: Students name sorne legends they are familiar with.
Students individually select one of them and complete 'a graphic
organizer indicating the rnain characters, the setting, the problern,
the resolution, and what the legend is meant to explain. Then, the
students work in small groups to find elernents in common arnong
the legends they selected (e.g., the presence of animals or nature).
• Activity 3: The teacher gives students a series of words or short
phrases mentioned in the video, written on srnall strips of paper.
Students work in pairs to group rhe words into one of these catego-
'ries: person, place, object, description, action.
• Activity 4: The teacher shows students thurnbnails of various parts
of the video and reads out loud a series of sentences from the video.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
125

Students need to match each phrase with the corresponding screen-

shot. Afrer the teacher confirms their answers, students guess the
order in which the screenshots appear in the video.

While Watching
• Activity 1: As students watch the video, they confirm whetherthe
order of the thumbnails predicted in the pre-watching activitywas
correct. If needed, students can make changes so they have them in
rhe correct order.
• Activity 2: The teacher pauses the video halfway through, and the
students write a few predictions about how it will end. After they
have watched the rest of the video, the teacher briefly asks thern
how close their predictions were to what actually happened.

Post-Watching
• Activity 1: The students creare a list of elements that they noticed in
both the legend and the video or article from the first pre-watching
activity. Toen, the class is divided into two or three teams, and
each team creates one big list of elements that they ali agree on.
Each team then reads their list, and if the other teams have the
same idea, they scratch it off. The team with the largest number of
original examples wins.
• Activity 2: Students write sentences that refer to one of the charac-
ters (e.g., what they look like, what they do, how they feel, etc.), as
well as descriptions of places and objects relevant to the story, They
read the statements, and the rest of the class indicates who/what
each one describes.
• Activity 3: Students write their own summaries of the legend, but
sorne details of it are inaccurate or different from the video. They
take turns reading their summaries out loud in small groups, and
the other group members need to indicate what parts are different.
• Activity 4: Students work in pairs to write five events from the legend
onto sticky notes, and another pair of students has to put the sticky
notes in the right order on the classroom walls. Then, the class as a
whole can organize a larger, more complete timeline on the board
combining sticky notes from ali of the groups or adding new stick.y
notes to reflect events none of the groups may have mentioned. Toe
teacher facilitates this process by asking questions such as: "Whar
happens between these two events? What can we add here?"
 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication
126

• Activíty 5 (extensión into presenratíonal tasks): Students work in

small groups to come up with a movie or TV series version of the
legend. They need to decide what will be adapted and how, as well as
which actors would play the roles of the various characters. They also
need to write part of the script (e.g., the dialogue within an import-
ant scene in their movie) and create the movie postcr or trailer.

Example 5: Newspaper Arride (Interpretive Reading)

Toe text for this exarnple is a newspaper article describing a series of protests in
a country where the target language is spoken. The topic is connectcd to infor-
mation srudents have been discussing in previous classes. Pre-reading activities
help not only to activate and review prior knowledge, but also to anticipate key
vocabulary and ideas through discourse scramble.
Proficiency level; lntermediate-high/advanced-low

Pre-Reading
• Actívity 1: Students complete the "K" and "W" part of a K-W-L
chart (know, want to know, learned) individually first and then in
pairs to supplement the information they wrote clown. Toe instruc-
tor can also help students by prompting them to refer to what was
discussed in other units. Students could list any information they
know about the country or the protests.
• Actívíty 2: The instructor provides students with a list of word
pairs, ali of which appear in the article. Students indicate if the
pairs are synonyms, antonyms, or neither. In the case of "neither,"
students can discuss if any other type of relationship exists between
the two words.
• Activity3: The instructor provides students with the sentences that
make up the first paragraph of the article, but not in the right order.
Students reconstruct the paragraph and then write sorne predic-
tions of what the rest of the article will cover.

While Reading
• Activity 1: The instructor provides students with the article
scrambled wirh the paragraphs out of order. Toe students work
to put the paragraphs in arder. The teacher verifies the order as a
whole class.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing
127

• Activity 2: Once the students have the paragraphs in the right

order, they annotate the article, using symbols to indicate what
they already knew (check mark), what parts are new information to
them (star), what parts connect to other events or concepts (arrow),
and what parts generate new questions for them (question mark).
At the end, the students complete these sentences:
o Something new 1 learned is: _
o Toe part about connects to because .
º One question 1 have is: _

Post-Reading
• Activity 1: Students fill out the "L" (learned) section on their
K-W-L chart. They also confirm whether the questions theywrote
under the "W" (want to know) section were answered in the article.
Students can do additional research on any unanswered questions
and report back to the class.
• Activity 2: The instructor provides a series of questions to each
group (e.g., "What is one of the consequences of the legislative
change explained in the article?"). Students work together to ere-
ate three options as possible answers, only one of which is cor-
rect. Then, groups exchange their multiple-choice questions with
another group.
• Activity 3: Students do an individual free-writing exercise for
five minutes to brainstorm possible connections and comparisons
between the protests and other world events or events in their own
community. The teacher can provide sorne questions for students to
generate ideas:
O What are sorne similar events that have happened in our
community or in our country?
O List three facts that you know about these events.
O What elements in common do you notice between sorne of
these events?
Then, in small groups, students discuss their ideas, and then the teacher
leads a whole-class discussion, summarizing connections across events,
particularly in terms of the social causes behind them.
• Activity 4 (extension into a presentational task): Students cre-
ate an artistic collage or mini-mural refiecting their interpretation
of the protests and the social cause behind it. The next dass, the
teacher posts students' artwork around the room with a blank piece
of paper next to each. The students complete a gallery walk, where
128 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

rhey observe theír dassmates' crcations and write notes h

O
paper next to each one indicating a symbol they notice an; t he blank
think it represents, taki ng rnro
· account wh at they learncd wabouatth cy
event. Students move around the room and continue add· t thc
to other pieces or writing a differcnt interpretation c.0 •bng notes
le r sym ol h
other classmates pointed out. At the end of the gal! 5 t at
. . 1 . . n . h
ongma artists wnte a rerrecnon on t e extent to wh · h ery Wa]k
. ' the
.
rnrennons. wir. h eac h sym boI matched the audience' . ic theu 0wn
s tnterpretatio n .

.. ,·'..,.
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 129

NowTHATYou Kxow

Discussion and Expansion Qjrestíons

1) What similarities and differences can you think of between learning

to read in your native language(s) versus an additional language you
learned later in life?
2) Think about all the oral and written texts you encounter in your daily
life. What types and gen res can you list? Which of those are also pres-
ent in your language classes?
3) Let's analyze these two quotes about reading and listening. For each
one, explain what you think the authors meant, and whether the same
can be said about the other modality (e.g., if the quote is about reading,
could it also apply to listening?).
a) "Students need to learn to listen so that they can better listen to
Iearn" (Vandergrift, 2004, p. 3).
b) "The reader drives, the text transports" (Swaffar et al., 1991,
p. 74).
4) How do you approach a text in another language? Do you deduce words
from context? Do you re-read or listen to a passage more than once?
How do you actively engage with the text as you read or listen to it? For
exarnple, do you underline words or phrases? Do you take notes?
5) Krashen (1996) argued in favor of narrow listening and reading (i.e.,
focusing on just one topic, author, or genre), as opposed to exposing
learners to different topics and text types within a course. For example,
students might only read stories within the Harry Potter series, or they
might only read travel blogs. What are sorne pros and cons of narrow
reading and listening, from both practica! and pedagogical standpoints?
Would the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?
6) 1here is no reason to doubt the benefits of "free voluntary reading" far
language acquisition: When students are able to choose what to read,
and they do so voluntarily (i.e., without the obligation of reporting on
whar they read), they are intrinsically compelled to process language far
meaning. Similar programs have also included listening and viewing, so
it is not restricted to written texts. However, making it happen in the
context of language courses is not always easy. What steps would you
need to take to implement "free voluntary reading/listening/viewing" in
your classes? What challenges would you anticipate?
130 Section 11: lnterpretive Communication

7) When we introduced our suggestions and tips for creating effective

pre-reading/listening activities, we said that not all worked well for al¡
genres. Go through the list and identify the best activity types for each
of these scenarios:
a) Students will read a short fictional story.
b) Students will listen to a few people introducing themselves.
e) Students will watch an interview with a celebrity.
8) One thing conspicuously absent in this chapter is choral reading or any
other form of reading aloud. The reason why we excluded it is because
there are more drawbacks than benefits to it. Can you think of a few
reasons why reading aloud in class might be problematic, particularly
when it comes to comprehension? And why do you think choral reading
is still alive and well in sorne language classrooms?

Ohservationand ApplicationActivities

1) Observe a class of the language you teach, where the students are
engaged in an interpretive listening or reading activity. Take notes on
the following:
a) The text: Would you say the text type was appropriate for the
students' proficiency level? And what about students' interest in
the topic: Could it be something they seek to watch/read outside
of class?
h) Pre-reading/listening activities: How many questions or activ-
ities helped students anticípate the language in the text? How
many helped them anticípate content/ideas that students would
encounter in the text? And how many focused on the topic in
general, more broadly?
e) The students' behavior while reading/listening: Did students
approach the text passively or actively?
d) Post-reading/listening: Did students struggle with any of the
comprehension questions? Were there inferencing or cultural
connection questions as well?
e) Use of the target language: Was everything done in the target
language, or was the shared language used at any point?
f) Expansion or connection with other modes: Did students use the
ideas in the text as a springboard for other tasks?
 4. Reading, Listening, Viewing 131

Choose an interpretive activity from a language textbook and answer

2)
the following questions:
a) Are there pre-reading/listening activities?If so, do theyadequately
prepare students in terms of both linguistic and background
knowledge?
b) Are there any activities listed for students to completewhile
reading/listening?
e) Is the text type appropriate for the students' proficiencylevel?
d) Is the topic age-appropriate and interesting to most studentsfor
whom the book is intended? Would it be something they seek to
watch/read outside of class?
e) Is comprehension assessed through a variety of activitiesthat go
beyond understanding main ideas or details from the text?
3) Select a text that you think would be appropriate and interestingto your
students. Crea te all of the activities that would accompanythat lesson:
a) At least two pre-reading/listening/watching activitiesthat prepare
students in terms of both linguistic and backgroundknowledge
b) One activity for students to complete while reading/listening/
watching
e) At least two post-reading/listening/watching activitiesthat focus
not only on comprehension ofinformation and main ideas, but also
go beyond the literal (e.g., inferences, comparisons,connections,
etc.)
d) A possible extension into a presentational task