3. The Priority of Listening Comprehension over Speaking
In practical terms, listening comprehension is of paramount significance. When speaking a language, a learner can manipulate a relatively narrow range of vocabulary at his or her own pace to express an idea, but when listening to the reply he or she no longer controls the choice of vocabulary. One must be prepared to assimilate those words which are a part of the speaker’s active vocabulary and must adjust to the speaker’s rate of speech. In order to handle a simple conversation, an individual must have a much broader competency in listening comprehension than in speaking; this is especially the case when conversing in a foreign language with a native speaker of that language. In terms of range of lexicon and structure, the comparable capabilities might be illustrated by the areas of two concentric circles (see Figure 1.).