“Listening is a complex skill which operates at various levels. It is a skill which involves a series of different strategies and micro-skills that we use at different times for different purposes”, state J. McDowell and Ch. Hart, who describe these strategies and micro-skills as follows.
- As we listen and select information, we store it in short-term memory so that we can
reinterpret it in the light of what is to come. We then store it in long-term memory, in the form of messages rather than in actual words. (McDowell, J., Hart, Ch., Listening Plus, p. 7)
Listening skill and learners
At this point it is worth mentioning a few words about catchy songs because they are closely related to short-term and also long-term memory. Keith Duffy describes this phenomenon in terms of “brain itching and brain scratching (mentally repeating a song)”. He carried out research, where the “test subjects were played snippets of familiar songs that had segments removed. Participants said their brains filled in the gaps – in fact, they ‘heard’ the removed parts of the songs in their heads. This was especially true in songs that had lyrics – as well as songs which evoked strong visual memories in participants.”