Listening week nine
Digressions
Adapted from Campbell, C. and Smith, J. (2012) English for Academic Study: Listening – Course Book. Reading: Garnet Education
Embedded Files
Preparation work for live session
Preparation work for live session
Today we're going to be working again with micro-skills, and listening to a series of short, simple texts in order to hear how speakers deal with digressions (see below). Most of the material below is self-study practice, so after spending a short section of the live session checking your notes, the remainder of the time is yours to use for the your student-led listenings.
On the module so far we've looked at the importance of organising information. However, even where lecturers organise their information well, and explicitly, they often move away from the main topic for a short time before returning to it. These are called digressions. There are a number of reasons why lecturers might digress during their lectures.
to give a short definition of a new technical term
to give a reference to a book on the topic
to comment on events happening outside the lecture
to comment on the point they are making
to give general information about the course
to give a personal anecdote to illustrate a point
For copyright reasons, access to the materials from Campbell and Smith can only be made available for limited windows of time. Please email phil.martin@york.ac.uk.
Live session discussion
Live session discussion
Share your notes form page 4 of the preparation materials. The first part asks some comprehension questions about the lecture on questionnaire design. You were then asked to note down how the lecturer marked the digression and the subsequent return to the main topic.
When you turn to the student-led listening, take the opportunity to practise critically responding to the text in addition to the general comprehension questions. Here's a reminder of the kinds of questions to ask:
What type of text is it and what's its purpose? Who is the author?
What's the main argument or message?
Is the text supported by evidence, and are the claims made more fact or opinion?
Do you disagree with anything in the text?
Report abuse