Listen and Speak to Communicate

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Interactive Listening and Speaking progression

To participate effectively in conversations and discussions, people need to listen with understanding and communicate by speaking. People need to develop specific skills to manage these face-to-face interactions, for example, by taking turns or by interrupting appropriately, by clarifying meanings that are not clear to them and by using conversational forms of speech such as “question and answer”.

Most adults will be able to: Activities
1.
  • respond to and use simple formulaic expressions in spoken language.

Learners use and respond to formulaic expressions in very familiar or predictable contexts. Interactions may include exchanges when meeting and when leaving, as well as simple requests and responses. Areas of study can include:

  • simple role plays to extend the use of a range of greetings, farewells, requests and responses.

Greeting, meeting and parting

Learners make choices and practise commonly-used ways of greeting, introducing and farewelling people. Customary practices such as whaikorero can also be included in this scope.

Managing interactions

Learners are given opportunities to learn about their own strengths and needs in work, social or community interactions, and use discussions and role plays to increase their skills.

Taking turns

Learners explore the many ways in which participants in a conversation give and use cues for taking turns.

2.
  • respond to and use skills and appropriate language to manage simple interactions and negotiate meaning
  • respond to and use some non-verbal methods to monitor the effectiveness of interactive communication
  • have an awareness of the conventions for taking part in interactions in familiar social and cultural settings, for example, during telephone conversations.

Learners apply their knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical constructions as they engage in simple interactions. Areas of study can include:

  • using common formulaic expressions for everyday interactions, for example, greetings, compliments and requests for (or offers of) help or information
  • finding ways to negotiate meaning, for example, checking for comprehension by using expressions such as “See?” or “What did you say, again?”
  • using verbal and non-verbal indicators for turn-taking, for example, the use of key words and expressions (such as “Don’t you think …?”; “Do you mean …?”; or “You know?”), gestures, changes in direction of gaze and changes in intonation.

Greeting, meeting and parting

Learners make choices and practise commonly-used ways of greeting, introducing and farewelling people. Customary practices such as whaikorero can also be included in this scope.

Asking questions

Learners to identify some specific situations in which they wish to improve their questioning skills, using listening and speaking.

Managing interactions

Learners are given opportunities to learn about their own strengths and needs in work, social or community interactions, and use discussions and role plays to increase their skills.

Taking turns

Learners explore the many ways in which participants in a conversation give and use cues for taking turns.

3.
  • respond to and use more sophisticated skills and appropriate language to monitor and improve the effectiveness of interactions
  • respond to and use variations in tone of voice, intonation and stress (for example, the stress placed on specific words or sentences)
  • recognise and use the vocabulary and other language features that mark the register appropriate to the topic, audience and context.

Learners use a range of strategies to manage, monitor and improve interactive communication. (See the glossary for an explanation of register.) Areas of study can include:

  • extending knowledge of social and cultural communication rules, such as expectations of politeness, marae protocol, or appropriate topics for informal and formal dialogue
  • attending to verbal or non-verbal signals (for example, those used to indicate turn-taking, agreement or discomfort), interpreting signals such as “mmm”, “yeah”, “ae” and discriminating between registers of speech and tones of voice
  • seeking, giving and receiving feedback in order to negotiate meaning, using strategies such as checking, making evaluative comments, using repetition, interrupting and refocusing the conversation.

Asking questions

Learners to identify some specific situations in which they wish to improve their questioning skills, using listening and speaking.

Listening and discussing

Learners develop their ability to listen for meaning and to demonstrate understanding through discussion. This also involves critical and interactive skills.

Managing interactions

Learners are given opportunities to learn about their own strengths and needs in work, social or community interactions, and use discussions and role plays to increase their skills.

Taking turns

Learners explore the many ways in which participants in a conversation give and use cues for taking turns.

5.
  • respond to and use appropriate skills and language to manage interactions in an increasing range of formal and informal settings
  • respond to and use variations in tone of voice, intonation and stress
  • respond to and use an awareness of the rules for taking part in interactions in a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar work, academic, social, community and cultural contexts.

Learners are able to maintain effective interactions on a wide range of topics in a range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts. They manage the interactions by using a range of strategies for taking short and long turns, filling gaps, maintaining or changing the focus, monitoring for mutual understanding and monitoring for social and cultural appropriateness (for example, by observing all participants’ comfort within the interaction). Areas of study can include:

  • managing interactions in formal and informal situations
  • discussing the rules for participation in personal, work, academic, social, community and cultural contexts
  • managing conversational difficulties, such as strong disagreement or inappropriate emotion.

Listening and discussing

Learners develop their ability to listen for meaning and to demonstrate understanding through discussion. This also involves critical and interactive skills.

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