A proposal for the implementation of a multimodal approach in Cambridge Preliminary English Test listening tasks

Abstract

The global expansion of the English language has generated a necessity for non-native speakers to learn it as a foreign language for either communicative, occupational or academic purposes. Under these circumstances, the teaching of foreign language listening comprehension has become a subject of study, and different traditional teaching approaches have made way to more modern, communicative methodologies such as task-based language teaching. While the instruction of the listening skill within this methodology has traditionally been conducted through the use of audio-only resources, the use of video for assessment purposes has been thoroughly studied. This has led to the consideration of a multimodal approach to teach listening using video media material due to its potential to improve listeners’ communicative competence. However, the implementation of this approach has not yet been properly tested. Hence, the purpose of this current contribution is two-fold. First of all, it aims at giving a proper insight into the teaching of listening within a communicative framework and from a multimodal perspective, paying special attention to previous studies on the use of video media. Secondly, the main objective of this paper is to develop a task proposal that allows for the implementation of multimodality together with a task-based language teaching methodology in listening assessment tests as a way of enhancing listeners’ comprehension and communicative competence. Thus, the designed tasks are intended for intermediate learners of English and will consist of two adapted tasks from the Cambridge preliminary English test. Further research on multimodal listening would be advisable to implement this proposal and test its effectiveness.