I'd like to begin by highlighting a phrase found in the latter half of chapter 22, "The Changing Face of Listening": "We focus on the product of listening when we should be interested in the process- what is going on in the heads of our learners." This sentence did a lot for me in contextualizing the issue with listening in second language acquisition, as well as aligning this chapter, finally, along with my own perceptions of teaching.
First, the contextualization: Up until this point, I had only an idea of what these chapters had been talking about. Listening comprehension was viewed in my second language classes (in high school) as something that naturally progresses as one achieves further proficiency in the language. Looking back, this also appealed to me as I already employed several of the learning strategies the anthology discusses (clinging to key words, crafting meaning from the inter-connected vocabulary that I already knew, etc.), and so I figured that was how listening fit into the equation. But the chapters also got me thinking about my native language and how, even now, I need to focus on finding meaning through intensive listening simply because someone has an accent or arsenal of slang that I don’t know yet. Finally, it sort of just clicked for me that, of course it isn’t about what we say we hear, and consequently hope to God it’s true. What is important lies in how we make errors and then correct those mistakes, or how we go about deriving a certain meaning from a sequence of sounds and utterances.
This finally fit well again with how I’ve always felt about learning and teaching- namely, that the importance and the meaning of all of this is found through a journey of self-discovery, not with correctly answering B when A, C, and D (and possibly E) all could have been fine answers, save one simple detail. The teaching of a skill such as listening is so hard to assess from a right-or-wrong position that it’s almost a waste of time, and really, all that we teachers want from our students is for them to get better and better, day by day. In listening, this is especially key, as it helps build the foundation of understanding in everything from everyday conversations to official hearings, meetings, and even understanding important commands in transportation hubs (bus/train stations, airports, etc.) and emergency drills.
Another thing that us teachers need to understand, and then help our students understand, is found in yet another passage I thought interesting. This, from chapter 23 now: “Spoken language is not written language spoken aloud.” This ties into the ideas listed above because that sentence itself entails a process that must be viewed with patience and understanding. Students will need help trying to divorce the idea of text dialogue and informal conversations, and given that they will be studying the two, most likely at the same time, it is important that we work with them, rather than grade them, on how much they understand and how much more we can help them to.
What’s the age-old saying? Life’s about the journey, not about the destination. So, too, is education, both ours and theirs, mine and yours. It’s imperative that we package our information as such to get our students passionate about learning, as well as fostering in them the skills that we seek to grow so healthily. If that requires changing the thinking about teaching listening or the curriculum, then I say we bash the old ways to pieces and start fresh. You know, with liberty and free popsicles for all. Or, well, at least some better educators and a better education.
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