ELT365 · Day 161 — Scanning — reading for specific detail
Idea — Scanning moves the eye rapidly over a text in search of one specific item — a name, a date, a price. The reader ignores everything else. It is purposeful, efficient, and a core…
Category: Teaching Methodology
ELT365 · Day 160 — Skimming — reading for the main idea
Idea — Skimming means reading quickly to get the overall meaning — without reading every word. The eyes move fast across headlines, first lines, and concluding sentences to build a mental map. Example — A…
ELT365 · Day 159 — Graded vs authentic texts — choosing wisely
Idea — Graded texts are written to match a CEFR level: controlled vocabulary, short sentences. Authentic texts are real-world material at natural complexity. Neither is better; the choice depends on lesson aim and learner readiness.…
ELT365 · Day 158 — Why teachers use authentic texts
Idea — Authentic texts — unaltered real-world material — expose learners to natural speech rate, discourse patterns, and register. The challenge is choosing texts whose difficulty is appropriate to the task, not the text itself.…
ELT365 · Day 157 — Pre-listening activities
Idea — Pre-listening sets context, activates schema, and pre-teaches any vocabulary that would block comprehension. Done well, it means learners arrive at the audio ready to process meaning, not decode words. Example — Before a…
ELT365 · Day 156 — Listening for specific information
Idea — Listening for specific information means scanning the audio stream much as eyes scan a page. Learners know what they want before they hear it and filter everything else out. Example — Flight arrivals…
ELT365 · Day 155 — Detail listening — targeted information
Idea — After gist, a detail task focuses on specific information: a number, a name, a reason. Learners listen again with a narrow purpose. Processing is easier when the general meaning is already clear. Example…
ELT365 · Day 154 — Gist listening — the first question
Idea — A gist task asks one broad question answered by listening once through. It gives listening a purpose and stops learners trying to catch every word before they’re ready. Example — ‘Is this conversation…
ELT365 · Day 153 — Top-down vs bottom-up processing
Idea — Top-down: learners use context, topic knowledge, and prediction to build meaning. Bottom-up: they decode individual sounds or words first. Skilled listeners and readers do both simultaneously. Example — Hearing ‘delayed flight’ triggers top-down…
ELT365 · Day 152 — What receptive skills are
Idea — Receptive skills are listening and reading — skills where meaning flows in. You decode; you don’t produce. Both are active, not passive: the brain selects, predicts, and infers throughout. Example — A student…