Listening and reading comprehension can be assessed by analyzing children's visual, verbal, and written representations of their understandings. "Talking Drawings" (McConnell, S. (1993). Talking drawings: A strategy for assisting learners. "Journal of Reading", 36(4), 260-269 is one strategy that enables children to combine…

Educators need accurate assessments of preschool cognitive growth to guide curriculum design, evaluation, and timely modification of their instructional programs. But available tests do not provide content breadth or growth sensitivity over brief intervals. This article details evidence for a multiform, multiscale test criterion-referenced to…

This study builds on the concept that aural-written verification helps L2 learners develop auditory discrimination skills, refine word recognition and gain awareness of form-meaning relationships, by comparing two modes of aural input: reading while listening (R/L) vs. listening only (L/O). Two test tasks (sequencing and gap filling) of 95 items,…

This study investigated the relationship of first language (L1) skills in elementary school and second language (L2) learning in high school. Students classified as high-, average-, and low-proficiency L2 learners were compared on L1 achievement measures of reading, spelling, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and listening comprehension…

Teaching strategies are outlined for teachers of English as a second language to use in improving students' listening and reading comprehension skills specifically for two standardized tests: the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The strategies presented are not intended…

A resource kit for the teaching of listening comprehension in French at the beginning elementary level is represented by a teacher's guide and a handbook entitled "The Maple Sugar Industry." The guide offers sample activities and lesson plans, as well as a complete procedure for conducting a listening comprehension test. Instructions are given for…

This study investigated learning through listening at rates ranging from 78 to 428 words per minute (wpm). The sample consisted of 117 elementary school children, from two levels of intelligence. Immediate and one-week retention data were gathered on each subject. Results of the study indicate that listening rates of 228 and 278 wpm are more…

Specialists in child development have recommended that children be "read to" at an early age. Many children are read to, and some have been read to a great deal. However, much more is to be desired for some groups of the population and for some individuals. In recognition of the needs of these children this Curriculum in Listening Achievement was…

Reviews current research on listening comprehension and development of listening tests and considers four issues in detail: 1) the meaning of context in listening testing; 2) the concept of criterion referenced tests; 3) the notion of specific purposes in testing; and 4) the use of technology in listening tests. Issues for future research are…

Noting weaknesses in "standard" methods of measuring listening skills, developes a five-factor model utilizing three different kinds of memory and adding tasks requiring interpretation and concentration. Varying subscales--with the exception of the interpretive task--are found to be sufficiently reliable for research purposes. (NH)

Four areas relating to listening and language learning are examined: current directions in second language instruction, listening instruction in second language programs, listening as a means to an end versus listening comprehension as an end in itself, and the influence of listening research on materials development for second language…

20 auditory activities that train your students' ears and raise awareness. (Editor)

Western philosophy has not had much to say about listening or receptive communication until fairly recently, and listening research has tended either to follow the trends of the speech communication field or to be directed by speech science or the pragmatics of the working world. A study examines the process of understanding and interpretation…

Describes theory and experimental findings of Asher and Postovsky in their investigations on how children acquire listening skills. (RL)

Phonological fusion occurs when the phonemes of two different speech stimuli are combined into a new percept that is longer and linguistically more complex than either of the two inputs. The present article is an investigation of the conditions necessary and sufficient for fusion to occur. (Editor/RK)