LEARNING TO LISTEN
Since the students need to learn to use more than their knowledge of the
structure of the language -its syntax, its phonology, etc-if they are to be able
listen successfully ,they need to learn not only to fathom out what is meant by
the words spoken ,but also and the same time, to establish or elaborate the
context to which it relates. They need to apply both their knowledge of 'language
usage'(the language system) and their knowledge of 'language use' (i.e. the
appropriate use of the language to communicate with other people).
If our students do not learn to listen effectively, they will be unable to take part in
oral communication occur .When nobody listens to a speaker says is insufficient
for communication to occur. When nobody listens to a speaker or when a listener
fails to understand the massage ,we say that communication has broken down.
This does not mean that the massage has not been heard-i.e. That the sounds have
not been received. It means that the listener has either not been paying sufficient
attention or, whilst paying attention trying to grasp the massage ,has not managed
to understand it. by learning to listen ,then we mean that we want our students to attend
to what they hear ,to process it, to understand it, to interpret it to evaluate it, to respond
to it. We want them to become involved and active listeners.
Many learners of English will find themselves sooner or later in a variety of situations
where they will need or want to listen to English being used in real life fpr range of purposes.
Listening situations and purposes
Listening situations fpr which we should prepare our students include:
a) Listening to conversations in which one takes no part.
b) Listening to announcements (at airports, railway stations,
c) Listening to the news, the weather forecast.
d) Watching the news, the weather forecasted on television.
e) Listening to the radio for entertainment.
f) Watching television for entertainment.
g) Watching a live performance of a play.
h) Watching a film in a cinema.
i) Following a lesson.
k) Attending a lecture.
l) Listening on the telephone.
m) Following instructions.
n) Listening to someone giving a public address.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN LEARNIMG TO LISTEN TO ENGLISH
Lack of control over the speed at which speakers speak
Many English language learners believe that the greatest difficulty with listening
comprehension, as opposed to reading comprehension, is that the listener
cannot control how quickly a speaker speaks. This frequently means that students
who are learning to listen cannot keep up. They are so busy working out the meaning
of one part of what they hear that they miss the next part. Or they simply ignore a whole
chunk because they fail to sort it all out quickly enough. Either way, they fail
Not being able to get things repeated
Another difficulty associated with controlling the 'input' (what the speaker says) is that
the listener is not always in a position to get the speaker to repeat an utterance. This
is particularly likely to be the case when students are on the edge of conversations
outside the classroom. And, of course, repeats cannot be asked for when listening to the
radio or watching television. Recorded material is under the control of the listener, and
can be played over and over again. But unfortunately, in many learning and teaching
situations the decision about whether or not to replay a recording or a section of a
recording is not in the hands of the learner.
The students can be given the opportunity to control their own machines and proceed
in whatever way they wish, going back over parts they want to hear again as often as
they feel necessary, or pressing on and forcing themselves to listen at the speed of the
recording.
The listener's limited vocabulary
For people listening to a foreign language, an unknown word can be like a suddenly dropped
barrier causing them to stop and think about the meaning of the word and thus making them
miss the next part of the speech.
Indeed, determination to listen to what is coming, and letting things that have passed go rather
than dwelling upon them, often gives surprisingly good results.
Failure to recognize the 'signals'
There are many ways in which a speaker can indicate that he/she is moving from one point to
Another, or giving an example, or repeating a point, or whatever.
Students need to learn to(and, if the speaker is visible, watch)for the 'signals' in order to be able
to connect the various utterances in the way the speaker intended them to be connected.
Problems of interpretation
Sharing commen meanings and assuptions makes communication possible.Students who
are unfamiliar with the context may have considerable difficulty in interpreting the words they
hear even they can understand their surface meaning.And the meaning of non-verbal clues-
facial expression,nods,gestures,tone of voice-can easily be misinterpreted by listeners from
other cultures.
Inability to concentrate
This can be caused by a number of things,but in listening work it is a major problem,because
even the shortest break in attention can seriously impair comprehension.If students find the
topic interesting,they will find concentration easier.
Established learning habits
Traditionally,teachers have aimed to teach their students to understand everything in the English
lesson,and have gone to considerable trouble to ensure thet they do,by repeating and pronouncing
words carefully,by grading the language to suit their level,by speaking slowly and pausing frequently,
Because of this,students are if they fail to understend a particular word or phrase when they are
listening ,and become discouraged by their lack of success. This is a particularly difficult problem
For those teachers who have themselves learned English mainly through reading and writing and who
Therefore, find it as hard to 'tolerate vagueness and incompleteness of language' as their students do.
But it is only by overcoming these worries and encouraging students to take chances as they seek
to understand that we shall be able to prepare them for the listening experiences they will have
outside the classroom.