Listening Comprehension

Catalog description

This course focuses on strategies for effective listening to university lectures and other academic content, such as seminars and group discussions. It extends beyond listening for main ideas and details, providing practice in identifying discourse markers common in academic settings and recognizing and accommodating implied information, hesitations, and reduced forms, such as contractions. It also covers challenging areas such as processing numbers and adapting to unfamiliar vocabulary. Listening practice is complemented by instruction in effective note-taking and study strategies to retain and review comprehended information. Additionally, the course has a significant discussion component, allowing students to interpret what they hear to develop a deeper and more critical understanding of the content and link that understanding to their spoken English production and interaction. Materials include recorded lectures from Stanford faculty and other relevant sources.