In general, I think I try to keep a balance between the amount of interactive and non-interactive listening activities that I use in my classes. I usually try to respect the listening activities suggested by the coursebook without altering them too much but I am more innovative with the listening activities that I invent for my students.
As for the activities suggested in the second exercise of this unit, I can say that I use most of them up to a certain extent. Thus, we watch a video once a month and the students have to complete the questions provided there. I also like using songs in my lessons as I think they provide plenty of interesting vocabulary and expressions the students internalise without realising. Depending on the level of my students, I also find it useful to bring some real English listening to the class (news bulletins, for example) and presentations prepared by the students themselves seem to be a very useful activity to develop their listening skill. However, I am not very keen on dictations and I hardly ever use them in my lessons.
As for my favourite listening activity, I always start my lessons talking about something that has deeply impressed me during the week or something that has happened to me. After explaining most of the details and answering my students’ questions – they usually want to know more about what I am telling them – I ask them to explain something similar or perhaps the most relevant situation that they have experienced during the week. This leads to nice natural conversations in which all of us – including myself – ask each other questions to clarify, repeat and develop the speech of the others. I firmly believe that the fact that we start the lesson in such an informal way prepares students for the rest of the activities for that day and they start with the positive attitude of having been able to understand and being understood.