TEFL Language Skills: Listening and Speaking 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are 'minimal pairs' and how are they used in listening/pronunciation teaching?
- Two sentences with the same meaning
- Pairs of words that differ by only one phoneme, used to train discrimination of similar sounds (Correct answer)
- Synonym pairs used in vocabulary teaching
- Paired speaking drills with minimal teacher input
Correct answer: Pairs of words that differ by only one phoneme, used to train discrimination of similar sounds
Minimal pairs (e.g., 'ship/sheep', 'bit/beat') isolate and contrast single phoneme differences to sharpen learner perception and production.
Question 2: What is 'intensive listening'?
- Listening to very fast native speech
- Listening carefully to every detail, word, and structure in a short audio segment (Correct answer)
- Listening to long recordings over 30 minutes
- Listening as homework only
Correct answer: Listening carefully to every detail, word, and structure in a short audio segment
Intensive listening focuses on accuracy — students attend to precise language, often transcribing or analysing a short, carefully selected segment.
Question 3: What is 'extensive listening' in TEFL?
- Listening to a recording three or more times
- Listening to large amounts of audio at an appropriate level primarily for pleasure and general comprehension (Correct answer)
- Listening without any comprehension tasks
- Listening in formal exam conditions
Correct answer: Listening to large amounts of audio at an appropriate level primarily for pleasure and general comprehension
Extensive listening builds fluency, vocabulary, and exposure to natural speech patterns through regular, enjoyable listening outside the classroom.
Question 4: In a TEFL speaking lesson, what is 'drilling'?
- A task where students debate controversial topics
- Controlled repetition of a language form by the class individually or chorally to develop accuracy (Correct answer)
- A fluency activity with no teacher correction
- Writing sentences on the board
Correct answer: Controlled repetition of a language form by the class individually or chorally to develop accuracy
Drilling provides focused, repeated practice of target language forms to build accurate pronunciation and internalization of structure.
Question 5: Which speaking task type requires students to reach an agreed outcome together?
- Individual presentation
- Consensus or decision-making task (Correct answer)
- Controlled dialogue drill
- Reading aloud in pairs
Correct answer: Consensus or decision-making task
Consensus tasks (e.g., ranking activities, survival scenarios) require genuine negotiation and meaningful communication to reach a shared decision.
Question 6: What does 'connected speech' refer to in TEFL pronunciation teaching?
- Speaking without notes
- Natural speech features like linking, assimilation, and elision that occur when words are spoken together in a stream (Correct answer)
- A speaking activity where sentences are connected
- Grammar patterns that connect ideas
Correct answer: Natural speech features like linking, assimilation, and elision that occur when words are spoken together in a stream
Connected speech phenomena (e.g., linking 'turn_off', elision in 'next_door') are key to listening comprehension and natural-sounding speech.
TEFL Language Skills: Listening and Speaking 2
What are 'minimal pairs' and how are they used in listening/pronunciation teaching?