Calling in to Cut back: Settlers learning to listen for a decolonial future

Clearing the gorse, a particularly aggressive invasive plant, so that native plants can flourish has been used as a potent metaphor for decolonization ( Came, 2014 ), and described as labour appropriate for settlers to perform in the interest of just relations with Indigenous peoples. Yet, this labour is not simply one of negation, for it involves learning to bring one’s group difference alongside that of others rather than continuing to mistake that difference for the unmarked context of Indigenous-settler relations. Clearing the gorse is thus also connected to the labour of “gathering at the gate”: the requirement according to Māori protocols of encounter that visitors develop a sense of collective identity and purpose before any meeting can take place. Settler societies, as a rule, operate without a collective sense of the specific identity and history of being a settler people. How would these two forms of labour appropriate for tauiwi Pākehā to perform be connected, and how would performing them together serve broader projects of decolonization and honouring settler commitments in Te Tiriti o Waitangi? I reflect upon this question in light of insights from Tauiwi Tautoko, a recent nationwide anti-racism programme wherein tauiwi (non-Māori settlers) addressed anti-Māori racism online. Core to the programme’s novel anti-racism approach were listening strategies that both invited and modelled acknowledgment of the particular ground from which tauiwi Pākehā see and speak. These strategies have proven effective in creating openings and shifts regarding racist views in otherwise adversarial and toxic spaces. They offer innovative practical resources for the work settlers can and must do with our own people, if we are to contribute to a decolonial future.

Listening Skills: Important but Difficult to Learn

This study of 87 Saudi female university students aimed to discover whether they experience difficulties learning to listen to spoken English. Acknowledging that listening is an important part not just of learning a new language but also of day-to-day communication, data was collected using an online questionnaire. Participants were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to test four constructs relating to their attitudes to learning English language skills in general (a); learning listening skills specifically (b); their attitudes towards listening activities (c); and (d) their attitudes towards improving their listening skills. The results showed that most of participants felt that speaking and listening were the most important skills to learn, but listening was also the most challenging. Reading was felt to be the most effortless skill to learn, as well as the most commonly used, suggesting that frequency of use contributes to students’ perceptions of the ease of learning a skill. Participants’ difficulties with learning to listen to English were associated with speech rate, pronunciation, nervousness, limited vocabulary, and lack of background information. However, students also expressed positive attitudes towards improving their listening skills. Understanding students’ attitudes to listening skills and their problems with listening may help teachers improve the way they teach these skills. This may in turn improve students’ listening comprehension not only in universities but also in schools.

The Roads not Taken: Greater Emphasis Needed on “Sounds”, “Actual Listening”, and “Spoken Input”

Many scholars and teachers in EFL education should agree that compared with reading and writing, listening has received much less attention. This brief article discusses important gaps existing in EFL listening and overall proficiency development. It presents the case for a greater focus on sounds and actual listening in the classroom and spoken input (SI) beyond the classroom. To facilitate the discussion, two modalities of listening, namely learning to listen and listening to learn are introduced. It is hoped that by shedding light on these substantive issues, EFL stakeholders will work towards fine-tuning listening pedagogical practices and facilitating learners' reception of more SI beyond the classroom, both of which will highly likely improve learners' listening skills, enhance their overall English proficiency, and lead to more positive EFL learning experiences.

PENINGKATAN KUALITAS PEMBELAJARAN MENYIMAK CERPEN DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MEDIA REKAMAN PEMBACAAN CERPEN PADA SISWA KELAS XI IPA2 SMA NEGERI 1 BONTOTIRO KABUPATEN BULUKUMBA

Improving the Quality of Learning to Listen to Short Stories by Using Recorded Media for Reading Short Stories for Class XI IPA2 Students of SMA Negeri 1 Bontotiro, Bulukumba Regency.” This study aims to describe the improvement in the quality of learning to listen to short stories using short story reading recording media for students of class XI IPA2 SMA Negeri 1 Bontotiro, Bulukumba Regency. The results of the study prove that improving the quality of learning to listen to short stories using short story reading recording media in class XI IPA2 SMA Negeri 1 Bontotiro Bulukumba Regency at the planning stage found an increase in the ability of teachers in the field of study to plan better learning implementation in cycle II. In the implementation stage, there was an increase in student activity during the learning process, such as the sincerity, discipline, and self-confidence of students following the learning process. The evaluation stage found an increase in the results of the short story listening test, showing that in the first cycle 56.09% of students experienced mastery learning, and in the second cycle it reached 97.56% who experienced learning mastery. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that the recording media for reading short stories could improve the quality of learning to listen to short stories in class XI IPA2 SMA Negeri 1 Bontotiro, Bulukumba Regency

Listening Skills: Important but Difficult to Learn

This study of 87 Saudi female university students aimed to discover whether they experience difficulties learning to listen to spoken English. Acknowledging that listening is an important part not just of learning a new language but also of day-to-day communication, data was collected using an online questionnaire. Participants were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to test four constructs relating to their attitudes to learning English language skills in general (a); learning listening skills specifically (b); their attitudes towards listening activities (c); and (d) their attitudes towards improving their listening skills. The results showed that most of participants felt that speaking and listening were the most important skills to learn, but listening was also the most challenging. Reading was felt to be the most effortless skill to learn, as well as the most commonly used, suggesting that frequency of use contributes to students’ perceptions of the ease of learning a skill. Participants’ difficulties with learning to listen to English were associated with speech rate, pronunciation, nervousness, limited vocabulary, and lack of background information. However, students also expressed positive attitudes towards improving their listening skills. Understanding students’ attitudes to listening skills and their problems with listening may help teachers improve the way they teach these skills. This may in turn improve students’ listening comprehension not only in universities but also in schools.

Conclusion

This concluding chapter reiterates the point that being a good diagnostician requires not only an understanding of probability theory and statistical analysis but also learning to listen to your patients, learning how to interpret the results of diagnostic tests by taking into account clinical considerations, learning how to manage and communicate diagnostic uncertainty in the clinical setting, understanding the potential reasons to conduct diagnostic tests or not, and being concerned with issues of diagnostic justice while keeping in mind the concerns of the actual patient who is in front of you.