Listening is a critical element in the competent language performance of adult ESL learners, whether they are communicating at school, at work, or in the community. Through the normal course of a day, listening is used nearly twice as much as speaking and four to five times as much as reading and writing (Rivers, 1981). In a recent study of Fortune 500 Corporations, Wolvin and Coakley (1991) found that listening was perceived to be crucial for communication at work with regards to entry-level employment, job success, general career competence, managerial competency, and effectiveness of relationships between supervisors and subordinates. Yet listening remains one of the least understood processes in language learning despite the recognition of the critical role it plays both in communication and in language acquisition (Morley, 19991). As language teaching has moved toward comprehension-based approaches, listening to learn has become an important element in the adult ESL classroom (Lund,1990).
This Q & A summarizes what is known about the listening process as it related to adult second language learners; it discusses the factors affecting listening; it describes the listening process; it suggests guidelines to consider in teaching listening; and it gives examples of activities for practicing and developing listening skills in adults learning ESL. Although most of the activities described have a workplace program context, the same types of activities could be used in any adult ESL class to improve learners’ listening in all facets of life: at school, at work, or in the community.