ELT365 · Day 158 — Pre-listening: activating schemata

Idea — Before listening, learners should switch on what they already know about the topic — their schemata. Activated background knowledge fuels top-down prediction and makes the audio far easier.

Example — Before a clip about job interviews, two minutes brainstorming "interview questions" primes the very vocabulary that will appear.

Try — Design a 90-second lead-in for your next listening: one image or question that wakes up the topic before any audio plays.

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