Learning listening skills: a means and an end in foreign language acquisition

Abstract

Listening constitutes a valuable means of foreign language learning and an important goal for students in the purpose of obtaining information produced in the target language. Its successful acquisition involves the use of mental processes that need to be internalized by the students and later put into practice in their oral interactions to facilitate comprehension in different communicative contexts. It is the teacher’s responsibility to find the best ways to guarantee the students’ active acquisition of this language skill by choosing the kinds of tasks and materials that best suit their needs and interests as individuals and as language learners. Following these ideas, the present paper aims to highlight the importance of listening skills in the process of foreign language acquisition. It also explores the ways in which these skills can be approached in the classroom in order to add a student centered dimension to their teaching-learning process. In order to achieve these goals, the article relies on theoretical contributions offered by authors like Krashen (1982); Nunan (1998); Richards (1983; 2008); Brown (2006); Hinkel (2006; 2011); Nation and Newton (2009); Vandergrift (1999; 2007; 2011); Rost (2001; 2011) among others, who have developed substantial research on this field.