One aspect of language processing widely held as supporting and enhancing comprehension is that of mental schemata.
Research in reading supports the notion that activating prior knowledge or knowledge of the world and applying this
knowledge to new input greatly facilitates processing and understanding (Graves & Cook, 1980). Listening, like reading,
is an active process that entails construction of meaning beyond simple decoding. Activation of what is known about the
world clearly assists processing the aural code.