Speaker
Description
This presentation investigates how to support first-year university students prepare for TOEIC exam. These students often report they "know the words but cannot hear them," suggesting a gap between lexical knowledge and spoken-word recognition (Field, 2008). This presentation introduces a weekly shadowing cycle in which students identify difficult TOEIC audio segments, practise shadowing, and submit recordings via an LMS. Attendees will examine practical examples of how to implement this and learn to set up this cycle in their own classes.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
This presentation demonstrates a practical and easy-to-use shadowing cycle that helps students connect pronunciation features to their TOEIC listening questions. Drawing on shadowing research (Hamada, 2016) and text-to-speech pronunciation tools (Molenda & Grabarczyk, 2022), the presenter outlines some easy to use classroom activities and shows how teachers can integrate these short, focused shadowing activities within their existing Learner Management System (LMS) to help students identify and practise connected speech patterns that cause listening breakdowns.
Abstract section 5: References
Field, J. (2008). Listening in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Hamada, Y. (2016). Shadowing: Who benefits and how? Uncovering a booming EFL teaching technique for listening comprehension. Language Teaching Research, 20(1), 35–52.
Molenda, M., & Grabarczyk, I. (2022). Microsoft reading progress as CAPT tool. Research in Language, 20(2), 197-214.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The presenter will walk participants through a shadowing cycle: (1) finding difficult TOEIC audio segments, (2) identifying the phonological issues (e.g., reduction, linking, weak forms), (3) practising shadowing with the target feature, and (4) creating assignments in an LMS such as Microsoft Teams. During the presentation, the presenter will explain how to set up the cycle, explore the phonological features likely to cause issues, and demonstrate how to use the LMS.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Many first-year university students preparing for TOEIC report they "know the words but cannot hear them," suggesting a gap between lexical knowledge and spoken-word recognition (Field, 2008). This presentation describes how technology can be used in the classroom to help learners connect pronunciation features to listening performance. This approach builds upon previous uses of shadowing (Hamada, 2016) by leveraging pronunciation tools integrated into LMSs, such as Microsoft Teams Reading Progress (Molenda & Grabarczyk, 2022), offering a practical and replicable cycle for TOEIC preparation.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to adapt this shadowing cycle to their own TOEIC or listening courses. They will learn how to help students diagnose phonological features that may be causing listening breakdowns, set up shadowing practice tasks in an LMS, and integrate the cycle into lessons without reducing the time students have in the classroom to prepare for the TOEIC. The presenter will also share preliminary classroom observations suggesting that this method can help students identify connected speech features, increase their confidence in listening tasks, and improve their TOEIC scores.
| Title | Connecting Pronunciation Practice to TOEIC Listening |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |