The following research investigates the effect that unprescribed conversation with native speakers of the target language had on learners' L2 listening comprehension skills at the beginning (n=21) and advanced intermediate levels of Spanish (n=27). Treatment groups completed two-thirty-minute conversations with native speakers via…

The audio-lingual method of foreign language instruction predominant in the United States emphasizes the lingual at the expense of the aural. Language acquisition is viewed as verbal behavior. Instead of a response-oriented learning approach, a stimulus-oriented one should be used, with listening as the focal skill from which speaking would…

This study investigates the educational consequences of utilizing listen-response-compare mode in a college level language laboratory. (Author)

Scholars and consultants have offered a multitude of definitions of listening. One group defines listening as an ongoing, nonstatic process by which spoken language is converted into meanings in the mind. The other group, the sequentialists, view listening as a linear sequence of events in which one aspect is dependent upon a preceding aspect.…

The techniques for effective listening can be identified by the acronym PAT, which stands for three sets of techniques--physical, attitude, and thinking. Four kinds of physical techniques promote effective listening: appropriate eye contact and normal blinking rate, facial feedback, appropriate body language, and appropriate verbal feedback. Two…

Conclusion of a report on the development of a film program at the English Language Institute, begun in Language Learning,'' v21 n1 Jun 1971. (RS)

The importance of a good listening program in the upper-elementary grades was emphasized. Perhaps the biggest listening problem with these students, the author said, is to teach them to read as they listen. Suggestions were offered as to how to build listening skills. The separate communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing…

This study examines recall of narrative prose for evidence of underlying structures such as the grammar used in the story's sentence structure. Subjects listened to repeated presentations of a tape recording of two pages from a history book, with verbals collected after each presentation. The subjects used in this experiment were 13 undergraduate…

Attempting to present empathy as a vital ingredient of effective interpersonal listening, this paper first provides a brief historical tracing of the major trends in listening theory and research. This review then serves as a backdrop for a partial justification of an empathic listening emphasis that includes a clarification of some misconceptions…

This study tested which, if any, of three listening training methods would make a significant difference in the listening ability of high school students. From 17 public and parochial schools in the greater Kansas City, Missouri, area, 615 students were selected and pre- and post-tested with alternate forms of a "cloze" listening test devised by…

A pilot study of an experimental group of fifth graders in a Scottsdale, Arizona, elementary school was conducted to determine the effect of a series of training exercises on the students' ability to follow oral directions and on their general listening ability. After the training period, tests were administered to the experimental group and to…

Two main points are stressed in this essay: (1) Reading literature aloud to students is not only educationally sound, but for many youngsters, necessary; and (2) In order to help his students become critical listeners of the literature that is read to them, a teacher must build bridges between the youngsters' experience and that in the literature.…

This report summarizes the major features of a 1973 summer conference (at the New York State University at Buffalo) on listening as an essential feature of communication and problems relating to students' listening skills. The conference was held because of an awareness that little attention is being paid to listening comprehension in the…

The following articles on second language teaching techniques, English as a second language, and cross cultural communication are included: (1) "'Honne' and 'Tatemae': Tools for Developing Communicative Competence in a Second Language," by Gregory J. Thompson; (2) "Using Video-Taped Movies with Advanced ESOL Students," by…