ELT365 · Day 155 — Top-Down Processing: Using Context to Predict

Idea — Top-down processing means using prior knowledge, context, and expectations to interpret a text. Activate it before learners hear a word and comprehension improves.

Example — Show a photo of two people arguing in an office. Ask: who are they? What might they be saying? Then play the dialogue. Learners already have a frame.

Try — Before your next listening, spend 60 seconds eliciting context: topic, speakers, setting. Notice whether it changes how well learners follow the audio.

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