Listening Unit 1

 

Unit 1: Digital Literacies and My Identities

Theme: Digital Safety 
Topic: Digital Literacies for Youth’s Identity Construction

Skill Focus: Listening

Sub-topic: Identifying Expressions (Stating Opinions, Agreeing, and Disagreeing)

Learning Objective:

• By the end of this lesson, you are able to correctly categorize expressions (stating opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing) used in a spoken transactional conversation that you listen to.

Warm-up Activity

Hello, students! We live a lot of our lives online. We share photos, thoughts, and moments on social media. Let's think about that:

• What is your favorite social media platform and why?

• Do you think it's important to have many followers or likes?

• Have you ever disagreed with a friend's post? How did you handle it?

Today, we will listen to a conversation about sharing online and learn how to identify the language people use to share their opinions.

Core Activity: Listening Activity

Students will listen to a dialogue between two friends, Alex and Maya, who are discussing whether it's a good idea to join a new, popular social media challenge.

Listen to this conversation:

Dialogue Transcript (For the Teacher)

Maya: Hey Alex, have you seen the "20 Facts About Me" challenge trending everywhere? Everyone is doing it.

Alex: Oh yeah, I've seen it. A few of my friends have posted theirs.

Maya: I'm thinking of doing it. In my opinion, it looks like a fun way to let your friends know you better.

Alex: I see your point, but I'm not so sure about that. Sharing 20 personal facts, like your pet's name or your favorite street... I believe it could be risky. Some of that information can be used for security questions.

Maya: Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. But it's just for fun.

Alex: That's true, but we need to be careful. From my perspective, it's better to be safe than sorry. Maybe we could do a "5 Fun Facts" version instead? That's less risky.

Maya: You're absolutely right. That's a much smarter idea. It's still fun but safer. I'll do that instead.

Alex: Great! I totally agree with that plan.

Differentiation of Process and Content

To achieve the learning objective, students will be divided into three groups based on their readiness level. Each group will receive a different task after listening to the dialogue.

Group A (Requires Visual/Auditory Support)

• Objective: To recognize key expressions with visual aid (highlighted transcript).

• Process: Students are given the dialogue transcript where the key expressions are already in bold. Their task is to match the expressions with their functions.

• Instructions for Students: "Read the dialogue transcript while you listen. The important expressions are already in bold. Your task is to match the bold expressions with their function in the table below."

Expression	Function
1. In my opinion...	A. Agreeing
2. I see your point, but...	B. Stating an opinion
3. You're absolutely right.	C. Disagreeing

Group B (At Grade Level)

• Objective: To independently identify and categorize expressions from the dialogue.

• Process: Students listen to the dialogue (with or without a blank transcript) and are asked to write down the expressions they find, then group them into the correct categories.

• Instructions for Students: "Listen to the dialogue carefully. Identify the expressions used for stating opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing. Write them down in the correct category in the table."

Stating an Opinion	Agreeing	Disagreeing

Group C (Needs More Challenge)

• Objective: To analyze the function, nuance, and impact of the expressions used.

• Process: Students listen to the dialogue, identify expressions, and answer higher-order thinking questions.

• Instructions for Students: "Listen to the dialogue. After identifying the key expressions, answer the following questions:"

  1. Alex uses the phrase "I see your point, but I'm not so sure about that." Why is this a more polite way to disagree than just saying "You're wrong"?

  2. What is the difference in strength between "I totally agree" and "That's true"?

  3. Besides "In my opinion," what is another way Maya could have stated her opinion at the beginning?

  4. How does Alex's suggestion of a "5 Fun Facts" version help resolve the disagreement?

Answer Key (For the Teacher)

Here is the identification and categorization of the expressions from the dialogue:

Category	Expressions Used
Stating an Opinion	• In my opinion... • I believe... • From my perspective...
Agreeing	• That's true... • You're absolutely right. • I totally agree.
Disagreeing	• I see your point, but I'm not so sure about that.

Reflection and Follow-up (Closing)

• Reflection (For all students): "Think about your own online interactions. What is one expression you learned today that you can use to agree or disagree politely in a comment or a chat?"

• Follow-up (Suggestion): The teacher can continue the lesson to the speaking skill, where students role-play a similar scenario, such as deciding whether to post a group photo that one friend is unsure about, using the expressions they have learned.