ELT365 · D163 — Note-taking strategies while listening
Idea — Effective note-taking captures key ideas and numbers using symbols and abbreviations — not whole sentences. Transcribing causes learners to miss the next idea. Example…
ReadEverything, by pillar.
ELT365 · D159 — Setting gist tasks that work
Idea — A gist task must be answerable from one listen or read, simple enough to capture overall meaning, and specific enough to require real processing.…
ReadELT365 · D158 — The lead-in — context before the text
Idea — A lead-in activates prior knowledge, builds interest, and prepares students for the topic. It comes before any task and never reveals the text content.…
ReadELT365 · D156 — Predicting content before listening or reading
Idea — Prediction activates background knowledge and creates a purpose for engaging with the text. It primes the brain to recognise incoming information faster. Example —…
ReadELT365 · D155 — Scanning for specific information
Idea — Scanning means moving through a text at speed to locate one specific piece of data, then stopping. The learner does not process the whole…
ReadELT365 · D153 — Top-down vs bottom-up processing
Idea — Top-down processing uses background knowledge and context to predict meaning. Bottom-up processing builds meaning from individual sounds or words. Example — Hearing ‘gate 7…
ReadELT365 · D152 — What receptive skills are
Idea — Receptive skills — reading and listening — involve decoding meaning from input. The learner receives language; they do not need to produce it. Example…
ReadELT365 · Day 210 — Pronunciation in Production: The Intelligibility Principle
Idea — The goal of pronunciation in production is intelligibility — being understood by the intended listener — not native-speaker accuracy. Many native-speaker features are unnecessary…
ReadELT365 · Day 208 — Dictation as a Productive Task: A Reappraisal
Idea — Dictation is often dismissed as old-fashioned, but it activates listening, spelling, punctuation, and grammatical knowledge simultaneously. Dictogloss makes it genuinely productive. Example — In…
ReadELT365 · Day 198 — Peer Editing: What to Train Learners to Notice
Idea — Untrained peer editors either praise everything or correct spelling. Trained peer editors follow a checklist: Is the aim clear? Does each paragraph develop one…
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