Alistair Graham-Marr: Decoding Spoken English

Alistair Graham-Marr discussed the problems English learners face in trying to decode spoken English when they move from the classroom to the ‘real world’ and the role of listening in providing a bridge between the two. Classes where the medium is written English or clearly enunciated dialogues do not adequately prepare students for comprehending spoken English in the real world. Teachers can help prepare students for the uncertainty they will face by focusing on developing their ‘top down’ predictive skills. Additionally raising awareness of suprasegmental phonology, paying attention to how something is said not just what is said, helps students develop their ‘bottom up’ decoding skills.

Graham-Marr talked about the potentially infinite number of communicative needs an English learner may face: textbooks cannot possibly cover all situations. According to Graham-Marr the only thing that a teacher can safely predict about students future communicative needs is that they’re likely to face difficulties. As such, teaching speaking strategies provides the students tools to cope to help with difficulties. Teaching these strategies within a communicative framework empowers students and helps compensate for their lack of language. Speaking strategies discussed included conversation openers, elaboration, involvement questions, clarification, and asking for repetition.
Graham-Marr has recently written a new speaking and listening text, Communication Spotlights, that is designed around these communication strategies.