Join Michael Rost for Part 2 of our deep dive into student-driven listening instruction that prioritizes meaningful engagement over traditional comprehension testing. Discover his complete 7-step framework that transforms passive listeners into active participants who shape their own learning experience.

Building on his Peace Corps teaching experience in West Africa - where he had no textbooks and created oral narratives with student-written "textbooks" - Michael shares practical strategies that put student choice at the center of listening lessons. Learn why the phrase "this is a listening lesson, not a test" can revolutionize classroom dynamics and how the simple "three stars" activity shifts focus from what teachers want students to notice to what genuinely interests learners.

Host highlights include:

• Ash explores how student-selected materials create natural engagement and questions the real value of traditional comprehension questions
• Andrej discusses the power of student agency in transforming classroom relationships
• Cooper connects this approach to "teaching unplugged" and explains why mainstream textbook audio fails to captivate learners

Key topics: Student-chosen listening materials, safe learning environments free from test anxiety, deliberate practice as lesson closure, Peace Corps teaching philosophy, neurological foundations of engagement-based learning

Ready to shift from testing to teaching? We've outlined Rost's complete 7-step procedure in our blog post at https://jaltlistening.wordpress.com/ - your guide to building student-driven listening experiences.

The JALT Listening Podcast: Hear Us Out! releases new episodes monthly. Subscribe to stay current with listening research and student-centered teaching methods.