Listening Skill Requires a Further Look into Second/Foreign Language Learning
Hossein Bozorgian
Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
Received 18 April 2012; Accepted 10 July 2012
Academic Editors: N. Dumais and R. D. Tennyson
Abstract
Current English-as-a-second and foreign-language (ESL/EFL) research has encouraged to treat each communicative macroskill separately due to space constraint, but the interrelationship among these skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is not paid due attention. This study attempts to examine first the existing relationship among the four dominant skills, second the potential impact of reading background on the overall language proficiency, and finally the relationship between listening and overall language proficiency as listening is considered an overlooked/passive skill in the pedagogy of the second/foreign language classroom. However, the literature in language learning has revealed that listening skill has salient importance in both first and second language learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of each of four skills in EFL learning and their existing interrelationships in an EFL setting. The outcome of 701 Iranian applicants undertaking International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in Tehran demonstrates that all communicative macroskills have varied correlations from moderate (reading and writing) to high (listening and reading). The findings also show that the applicants’ reading history assisted them in better performing at high stakes tests, and what is more, listening skill was strongly correlated with the overall language proficiency.
1. Introduction
The challenge in reference to ESL/EFL learning in applied linguistics is that the four communicative macroskills on the current published research, for example, reading [1], writing [2], speaking [3], and listening [4–6] are treated separately in second language learning. Recently, a study conducted by Hartley [7] examines the citation of recently reviewed articles published in applied linguistics and verifies the lack of overlap between references of studies focusing on the four communicative macroskills, despite listing one or two papers where the overlap occurs. One way of promoting such opportunities is to unpack the existing interwoven relationship among the communicative macroskills. This study thus attempts to find out the link among communicative macroskills and the relationship between listening and other skills as Hartley maintains that deciphering reading in first and second language relies on writing, in general, and thinking of speaking and listening, in particular. In this relation, a substantial amount of research has been conducted in reading and writing skills, whilst investigators [8–10] have underscored the role of listening and speaking skills in human learning and development. The reason for inadequate attention to listening/speaking research is that the instruction of listening and speaking requires teaching pronunciation and cross-cultural pragmatics to understand a speaker’s intended message (e.g., [11, 12]).
Arguing for the role of listening in the communicative macroskills, Hunsaker [8] found that more than three quarters of what children learn in school is achieved through listening in the classroom. Closely aligned with this is the study conducted by Gilbert [13], which demonstrated the prominence of listening in schools. Gilbert found that K-12 students spend between 65% and 90% of their school time in learning, which is achieved, in fact, through listening trajectory. Research has found that improvement in listening skill has a positive effect on other language skills: reading, writing, and speaking. To illustrate, Morris and Leavey [10] have conducted a study focusing on preschoolers’ phonological development. The study reveals that listening skill instruction improves preschoolers’ phonological awareness. Similarly, two other studies found out that listening skill instruction assists students in improving reading comprehension in middle school [14, 15]. In addition, the outcome of Bergman’s [15] study has revealed that listening and reading stories at the same time contribute to enhance reading comprehension. In addition to the impact of listening skill on reading comprehension, a study reported by Berninger [16] showed that students in grades 1–6 improve their spelling significantly through aural skill instruction, whereas there is a high correlation between grades 1–3 and the improvement of narrative and expository composition in grades 2 and 3 through listening instruction.
The studies presented above show the multiple requirements of listening skill in learning first language, in general, with a particular focus on second language learning. Now that listening is crucial for human learning, it is worthwhile to explore the origin of this fundamental skill.
2. The Essence of Listening Skill
The essence of listening skill for effective communication has been recognized almost for a century. Rankin [17] conducted a study and found that listening skill was the most dominant skill for the mode of human communication. Listening skill occupies almost 50% of our daily communications. In this regard, two studies conducted by Ralph and Stevens [18] and Rankin [19] reported that listening (46%), speaking (30%), reading (16%), and writing (9%) involve our daily communication. However, there were no more similar studies until the 1940s. The base of listening inquiry was primarily laid academically in the late 1940s, and the founders (James Brown, Ralph Nichols, and Carl Weaver) of the listening skill were considered as the “fathers of listening” [20]. Listening skill was taken into the second and foreign language research field in the mid-20th century, and many researchers put listening as the focus of their studies. After half a century, a professional committee, the International Listening Association (ILA), was established in 1979 to develop listening skill [21]. Knowing how to entail listening instruction and assessment in the school syllabi was the main target of the pedagogy. Steven [22] pointed out that many studies provide a focus on either understanding listening comprehension or listening critically agreeing or disagreeing with oral input.
Listening skill varies as the context of communication differs. Wolvin and Carolyn [23] propose five different kinds of listening. First, discriminative listening helps listeners draw a distinction between facts and opinions. Second, comprehensive listening facilitates the understanding of oral input. Third, critical listening allows listeners to analyse the incoming message before accepting or rejecting it. Fourth, therapeutic listening serves as a sounding board and lacks any aspect of critiques. Finally, appreciative listening contributes listeners to enjoy input and receive emotional impressions. All the varieties of listening help to demonstrate that listening is an active process rather than a passive one. Wolvin and Coakley define the process of listening as making sense of oral input by attending to the message. Similarly, Floyed [24] defines listening as a process entailing hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating, and responding to spoken messages. He further believes that listeners should be active participants in communication process. Thus, the second definition of listening is to understand the oral input mentioned by Wolvin and Coakley used as a tool in IELTS to evaluate applicants’ listening.
As the studies reveal, listening comprehension lies at the heart of language learning, but it is the least understood and least researched skill in language learning, and the listening process is often disregarded by foreign and second language instructors [25]. Particularly, in a digital era, people around the globe are in spoken contact through a variety of digital platforms. These global technical communication progresses underline the importance of listening skill in our daily contacts. Acknowledging the fact that listening skill requires development, the professional committee ILA invited many experts in psychology, communication, counselling, education, political science, philosophy, business, law, and sociology to share their perspectives. Whilst the evidence gained displays a crucial contribution of listening virtually in all fields, the following section documents the existing relationship between listening and other communicative macroskills.
3. Listening and Speaking Continuum
There has been much debate about the effect of listening skill on speaking proficiency. Oral skill (speaking), like other language skills, deals with or combines different branches of learning initiatives. This explicit skill involves a repertoire of psychological and interpersonal features in terms of language production (syntax, semantics, and speech process) and the way they are developed [3]. Even though speaking skill involves a range of learning perspectives, listening skill manipulates human learning, by and large, and develops other language skills such as speaking to a large extent. Rost [26] proposed three reasons showing the essential role listening plays to improve speaking skill. First, spoken language provides a means of interaction for the learner. Because learners must interact to achieve understanding, access to speakers of the language is essential. Moreover, learners’ failure to understand the language they hear is an impetus, not an obstacle, to interaction and learning. Second, authentic spoken language presents a challenge for the learner to attempt to understand the language as native speakers actually use it. Third, listening exercises provide teachers with the means for drawing learners’ attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, and new interaction patterns) in the language. In addition to pursuing linguistic aspects in sp
ทักษะการฟังต้องดูเพิ่มเติมในการเรียนรู้ภาษาต่างประเทศ/วินาทีHossein Bozorgianคณะศึกษา ลัยเทคโนโลยีควีนส์แลนด์ บริสเบน QLD 4059 ออสเตรเลียได้รับ 18 2555 เมษายน ยอมรับ 10 2555 กรกฎาคมบรรณาธิการวิชาการ: ตอนเหนือ Dumais และ R. D. ประชุมบทคัดย่อปัจจุบันภาษาอังกฤษเป็นหนึ่งสอง และ ภาษาต่างประเทศ (ESL/EFL) วิจัยมีกำลังใจในการรักษาแต่ละ macroskill สื่อสารแยกต่างหากเนื่องจากเนื้อที่จำกัด แต่ interrelationship ระหว่างทักษะเหล่านี้ (ฟัง พูด อ่าน และเขียน) ไม่ได้ชำระความสนใจครบกำหนด การศึกษานี้พยายามตรวจสอบความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างทักษะหลักสี่ที่มีอยู่ก่อน ที่สอง ผลกระทบพื้นในทักษะทางภาษาโดยรวม และสุดท้ายความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างทักษะทางภาษาการฟัง และโดยรวมที่เป็นการฟังการอ่านถือเป็นทักษะการมองข้าม/แฝงในกลางของการเรียนภาษาต่างประเทศ/วินาที อย่างไรก็ตาม เอกสารประกอบการเรียนรู้ภาษาได้เปิดเผยว่า ทักษะการฟังมีความสำคัญเด่นทั้งเรียนรู้ภาษาที่หนึ่ง และสอง วัตถุประสงค์ของการศึกษานี้คือการ ตรวจสอบบทบาทของแต่ละทักษะในเรียน EFL สี่และ interrelationships ของพวกเขาที่มีอยู่ในการตั้งค่าของ EFL ผลลัพธ์ของผู้สมัคร 701 ที่ดำเนินการระหว่างประเทศภาษาอังกฤษภาษาทดสอบระบบ (IELTS) ในเตหะรานอิหร่านแสดงให้เห็นว่า macroskills การสื่อสารทั้งหมดมีให้เลือกความสัมพันธ์จากปานกลาง (การอ่าน และการเขียน) สูง (การฟัง และการอ่าน) ผลการวิจัยแสดงว่า ประวัติของผู้สมัครอ่านช่วยพวกเขาในการดำเนินการดีกว่าที่มีเดิมพันสูงยิ่งทดสอบ และอะไรคือเพิ่มเติม ทักษะฟังเป็นอย่างยิ่ง correlated กับทักษะทางภาษาโดยรวม1. IntroductionThe challenge in reference to ESL/EFL learning in applied linguistics is that the four communicative macroskills on the current published research, for example, reading [1], writing [2], speaking [3], and listening [4–6] are treated separately in second language learning. Recently, a study conducted by Hartley [7] examines the citation of recently reviewed articles published in applied linguistics and verifies the lack of overlap between references of studies focusing on the four communicative macroskills, despite listing one or two papers where the overlap occurs. One way of promoting such opportunities is to unpack the existing interwoven relationship among the communicative macroskills. This study thus attempts to find out the link among communicative macroskills and the relationship between listening and other skills as Hartley maintains that deciphering reading in first and second language relies on writing, in general, and thinking of speaking and listening, in particular. In this relation, a substantial amount of research has been conducted in reading and writing skills, whilst investigators [8–10] have underscored the role of listening and speaking skills in human learning and development. The reason for inadequate attention to listening/speaking research is that the instruction of listening and speaking requires teaching pronunciation and cross-cultural pragmatics to understand a speaker’s intended message (e.g., [11, 12]).โต้เถียงในบทบาทของการฟังใน macroskills สื่อสาร Hunsaker [8] พบว่า มากกว่าสามรอบอะไรเด็กเรียนรู้ในโรงเรียนได้ผ่านการฟังในห้องเรียน อย่างใกล้ชิดชิดนี้จะการศึกษาดำเนินการ โดยกิลเบิร์ต [13], ซึ่งแสดงให้เห็นว่าความโดดเด่นของการฟังเพลงในโรงเรียน กิลเบิร์ตพบว่า นักเรียน K-12 ใช้ระหว่าง 65% และ 90% ของเวลาเรียนในการเรียนรู้ ซึ่งสามารถทำได้ จริง ผ่านวิถีฟัง วิจัยพบว่า การปรับปรุงในทักษะฟังมีผลบวกในภาษาอื่น: อ่าน เขียน และพูด การแสดง มอร์ริสและ Leavey [10] ได้ดำเนินการศึกษาที่มุ่งเน้นพัฒนาคำโครงสร้างประโยคของ preschoolers การศึกษาพบว่า สอนทักษะฟังปรับปรุงรับรู้คำโครงสร้างประโยคของ preschoolers ในทำนองเดียวกัน สองการศึกษาอื่น ๆ พบว่า สอนทักษะการฟังให้ความช่วยเหลือนักเรียนในการปรับปรุงความเข้าใจในการอ่านในโรงเรียน [14, 15] นอกจากนี้ ผลการศึกษา [15] ของ Bergman ได้เปิดเผยที่ ฟัง และอ่านเรื่องราวในเวลาเดียวกันสนับสนุนเพื่อทำความเข้าใจในการอ่าน นอกจากผลกระทบของการฟังทักษะในการอ่านจับใจความ การศึกษาที่รายงาน โดย Berninger [16] พบว่า นักเรียนเกรด 1-6 ปรับปรุงตัวสะกดมากผ่านทักษะการฟังคำแนะนำ ในขณะที่มีความสัมพันธ์สูงระหว่างเกรด 1 – 3 และปรับปรุงองค์ประกอบบรรยาย และ expository ในเกรด 2 และ 3 โดยฟังคำสั่งThe studies presented above show the multiple requirements of listening skill in learning first language, in general, with a particular focus on second language learning. Now that listening is crucial for human learning, it is worthwhile to explore the origin of this fundamental skill.2. The Essence of Listening SkillThe essence of listening skill for effective communication has been recognized almost for a century. Rankin [17] conducted a study and found that listening skill was the most dominant skill for the mode of human communication. Listening skill occupies almost 50% of our daily communications. In this regard, two studies conducted by Ralph and Stevens [18] and Rankin [19] reported that listening (46%), speaking (30%), reading (16%), and writing (9%) involve our daily communication. However, there were no more similar studies until the 1940s. The base of listening inquiry was primarily laid academically in the late 1940s, and the founders (James Brown, Ralph Nichols, and Carl Weaver) of the listening skill were considered as the “fathers of listening” [20]. Listening skill was taken into the second and foreign language research field in the mid-20th century, and many researchers put listening as the focus of their studies. After half a century, a professional committee, the International Listening Association (ILA), was established in 1979 to develop listening skill [21]. Knowing how to entail listening instruction and assessment in the school syllabi was the main target of the pedagogy. Steven [22] pointed out that many studies provide a focus on either understanding listening comprehension or listening critically agreeing or disagreeing with oral input.Listening skill varies as the context of communication differs. Wolvin and Carolyn [23] propose five different kinds of listening. First, discriminative listening helps listeners draw a distinction between facts and opinions. Second, comprehensive listening facilitates the understanding of oral input. Third, critical listening allows listeners to analyse the incoming message before accepting or rejecting it. Fourth, therapeutic listening serves as a sounding board and lacks any aspect of critiques. Finally, appreciative listening contributes listeners to enjoy input and receive emotional impressions. All the varieties of listening help to demonstrate that listening is an active process rather than a passive one. Wolvin and Coakley define the process of listening as making sense of oral input by attending to the message. Similarly, Floyed [24] defines listening as a process entailing hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating, and responding to spoken messages. He further believes that listeners should be active participants in communication process. Thus, the second definition of listening is to understand the oral input mentioned by Wolvin and Coakley used as a tool in IELTS to evaluate applicants’ listening.As the studies reveal, listening comprehension lies at the heart of language learning, but it is the least understood and least researched skill in language learning, and the listening process is often disregarded by foreign and second language instructors [25]. Particularly, in a digital era, people around the globe are in spoken contact through a variety of digital platforms. These global technical communication progresses underline the importance of listening skill in our daily contacts. Acknowledging the fact that listening skill requires development, the professional committee ILA invited many experts in psychology, communication, counselling, education, political science, philosophy, business, law, and sociology to share their perspectives. Whilst the evidence gained displays a crucial contribution of listening virtually in all fields, the following section documents the existing relationship between listening and other communicative macroskills.3. Listening and Speaking ContinuumThere has been much debate about the effect of listening skill on speaking proficiency. Oral skill (speaking), like other language skills, deals with or combines different branches of learning initiatives. This explicit skill involves a repertoire of psychological and interpersonal features in terms of language production (syntax, semantics, and speech process) and the way they are developed [3]. Even though speaking skill involves a range of learning perspectives, listening skill manipulates human learning, by and large, and develops other language skills such as speaking to a large extent. Rost [26] proposed three reasons showing the essential role listening plays to improve speaking skill. First, spoken language provides a means of interaction for the learner. Because learners must interact to achieve understanding, access to speakers of the language is essential. Moreover, learners’ failure to understand the language they hear is an impetus, not an obstacle, to interaction and learning. Second, authentic spoken language presents a challenge for the learner to attempt to understand the language as native speakers actually use it. Third, listening exercises provide teachers with the means for drawing learners’ attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, and new interaction patterns) in the language. In addition to pursuing linguistic aspects in sp
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
