Purpose: Background noise and voice problems among teachers can degrade listening conditions in classrooms. The aim of this literature review is to understand how these acoustic degradations affect spoken language processing in 6- to 18-year-old children. Method: In a narrative report and meta-analysis, we systematically review studies that…

Exploration of the role of listening comprehension in facilitating second-language learning includes discussion of the auditory perception of language, listening disadvantages for second-language learners, the need to concentrate on lexical knowledge rather than ear training, minimum word knowledge requirements, and lexical ignorance as a major…

A literature review of listening comprehension research covers five areas: text characteristics; interlocutor characteristics; task characteristics (variation in listening purpose); listener characteristics; and process characteristics (variation in the listener's cognitive activities and the nature of the speaker/listener interaction). (Contains…

Reviews the literature on the role of background knowledge in second-language listening comprehension, presents findings of pertinent first- and second-language research, and reports on a study showing the importance of schemata in second-language listening comprehension and the role of linguistic knowledge. (34 references) (Author/CB)

A study investigated the relationship between native language (NL) listening skills and foreign language (FL) learning. Research questions addressed: (1) whether a relationship exists between NL listening ability and overall FL proficiency, between NL listening ability and FL listening comprehension skills, and between NL listening ability and FL…

Reviews research into listening skills and processes, focusing on speech recognition, memory in processing, discourse comprehension, the challenge of accessing the listening process, the role of context and other factors influencing listening, and the relationship between listening and other language skills. Future directions in research are…

Learning strategies are the steps taken to facilitate acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information. Although this process is common to all learners, researchers have found that good second language learners consciously use appropriate language strategies. Strategies are identified in these broad categories: cognitive; memory;…

Symbolic play and literate behavior involve similar mental processes: the production and comprehension of decontextualized language and narrative competence. Methodological and theoretical issues in recent studies are reviewed. Observational results support the theory of similar mental processes, but experimental results question a causal…

Discusses "hermeneutics" and "inner speech" in an attempt to broaden the current theoretical basis for describing foreign language listening as a dynamically interpretive language process. A pedagogical model is proposed for the teaching of academic listening skills in the foreign language classroom. (Author/CB)

Examines native language transfer in second-language comprehension and production in relation to the different demands that the four language modalities make on the second-language learner and focuses on the different roles played by context and potential knowledge in comprehension and production. (53 references) (Author/CB)

Focuses on the structure/function relationship of the brain and language. Reviews the basic theories concerning cortical structures and language representation. Presents a call that highlights the need to examine the areas of listening, memory, and information retrieval for a more sophisticated analysis of the complex relationship between cortical…

Examines the role of suprasegmental phonology in speech processing and its implications for reading instruction; also reviews evidence for the hypothesis that prosodic features cue the boundaries of perceptually functional units in spoken sentences, thus assisting the listener in the segmentation of verbal information. (FL)

Presents a language processing model that distinguishes four functional components of reading and listening: feature detection, primary recognition, secondary recognition, and rehearsal and recoding. Uses the model to describe and incorporate some recent research. (GT)

Reviews the theoretical foundations of current-second language acquisition models. Draws upon this research as well as upon various studies of memory and verbal-input processing to present a theoretical model of adult second language comprehension. Discusses the implications of comprehension theory for second-language teaching. (Author/SED)

A review of the literature on lecture notetaking delineates research concerning learning from native-language (L1) lectures as a function of L1 notetaking, outlines accepted axioms of good notetaking, and suggests continued research to assess the utility of these axioms and to explore further second-language lecture information processing.…