Some examples of listening exercises in Mandarin

The developing of listening skills is one of the main problem areas of learning to speak Chinese. Beginning students are often baffled by Chinese words which they consider to be homophones, or by words differing only in tones. They need to be convinced that these problems inherent in learning the Chinese language can be overcome if they develop strategies to listen for structures meaning. Since Krashen (1980) pioneered the concept of Comprehensible Input, language teachers have tried to produce listening materials to simulate situations for students to practise authentic language. Some of these teachers include ESL teachers such as Penny Ur, Mary Underwood and Jack Richards. They have produced teachers’ resource books and conducted research on methodological issues. I have been a member of a team of teachers from the University of New South Wales who have undertaken to produce listening packages using authentic-like materials. One of the outcomes of this project is the production of Listening to Mandarin. This paper gives some examples of the strategies used and discusses problems in the teaching of listening comprehension in Mandarin.