EFL listening for gist with "Learn-English Teens" platform

Abstract

Technology has greatly influenced education worldwide, facilitating the access of teaching materials aim to raise the performance level of the students. In this sense, the slight use of information and communication technologies at the school where the pedagogical internship took place makes EFL pre-service teachers inquire about technology-assisted language learning to develop listening skills in young learners. This inquiry deals specifically with listening for gist. This micro-skill describes the learners’ efforts to understand what is happening in the oral speech even if they cannot understand every phrase or sentence. This action research study invites EFL high school teachers to use virtual platforms such as ‘LearnEnglish teens’ to adapt their educational material to design a lesson plan or a didactic unit that promotes interactive work. Likewise, it seeks to encourage sixth graders whose ages range between 10 and 13 years old to use these platforms for their personal and autonomous learning of the English language to develop their understanding of listening skills. In the pedagogical intervention design, participants must learn to grasp keywords, intonation, and other clues to guess the general meaning of the messages. To conclude, the expected results in the listening development facilitated by the ‘LearnEnglish teens’ platform should positively impact the teaching strategies to enhance listening comprehension in EFL students.