Listening in the Language Classroom

The book’s central argument is that a preoccupation with the notion of ‘comprehension’ has led teachers to focus upon the product of listening, in the form of answers to questions, ignoring the listening process itself. The author provides an informed account of the psychological processes which make up the skill of listening and analyses the characteristics of the speech signal from which listeners have to construct a message. Drawing upon this information, the book proposes a radical alternative to the comprehension approach and provides for intensive small-scale practice in aspects of listening that are perceptually or cognitively demanding for the learner.

Key features

• Provides the language teacher with a clear set of goals for listening instruction and redresses a number of mistaken beliefs.
• Discusses the nature of the speech signal and the problems it poses for second language listeners.
• Proposes a new methodology for the teaching of listening based upon small-scale practice of target problem areas.