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THE ROLE OF LISTENING IN LANGUAGE IN ACQUISITION
Teshaboyeva Nafisa Zubaydulla qizi
Scientific advisor
Saidova Dildora Anvar qizi
Student of group 102-23
Jizzakh branch of National University of Uzbekistan
named after Mirzo Ulug`bek
The Faculty of Psychology, the department of Foreign languages
Philology and foreign languages
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14233494
Abstract
: Listening, the very basic language skill is consistently interrelated and
intervened with the other language skills - speaking, reading and writing. Until the late
nineteenth century written mode is predominant in language learning and then onwards
listening began to gain its significance in language teaching. The challenges towards teaching
listening are now better understood because of the new strategies contributing to effective
listening and moreover the widespread availability of technology supports the language
learners in enhancing their listening skills. Still, the assessment of their listening skills, remain
far behind the current views of listening and hence innovations to be made to renovate the
teaching or learning of listening. This paper deals with the prime importance of listening in
language acquisition and the challenges in attaining listening competence and suggests some
strategies to overcome it.
Key words:
Listening, Learning, Language skills, Teaching skills and Language
Acquisition.
We have the unique ability to learn from listening. With it comes our ability to
understand the world. This separates us from the other species on Earth. As babies, we
acquire language by listening to the way our parents or family members talk. We then start to
copy the words we hear and this will eventually develop into speaking in sentences of our first
language. This proves how important the role of listening in language learning is.
Living in a competitive society requires us to learn continuously. As young individuals,
most of our years are spent attending school where there is a need to listen and comprehend
what the teachers say. To prove that we listen to lectures, we ask questions to clarify points
and eventually increase our knowledge on a variety of subjects.
Listening has an important place in learning. In fact, it is one of the four macro skills in
language acquisition. Other skills, namely reading, speaking, and writing along with grammar
are essential to developing language proficiency. Listening as a receptive skill first develops as
early as infancy. It awakens awareness of the language, in fact, of any language.
The Importance of Listening
The role of listening in language learning has been considered the least understood of all
the language skills. But, in a study conducted in 1950, it has been found that when we
communicate, 45% of this comes from listening, 30% from speaking, 15% from reading and
10% from writing. People develop sound judgment from their experiences and this can be
shared to others in the form of communication. With the highest percentage of involvement in
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the exchange of information, listening has to be considered an English language forerunner.
As humans communicate at about 71% of their waking time, it can be concluded that listening
is utilized in most parts of the day.
Listening plays a vital role in learning, not just languages but any branch of knowledge.
When students attend classes, they are expected to comprehend and retain information from
lectures. In language classrooms, most of these lectures would range from grammar,
pronunciation, word stress, vocabulary, syntax, and the like. It should be emphasized that
comprehension of messages conveyed can be based on tone of voice, pitch and accent; and it
is only possible when we listen.
Listening is not only utilized as a language skill for academics but is also considered an
essential life skill. Mastering this skill is crucial to understanding messages we encounter
every day. Additionally, it plays a part in bridging gaps for context meanings as we make use
of gestures, facial expressions and div language when we speak to others.
The importance of listening in communicative language teaching:
Listening is the most significant part of communication as it is pivotal in providing a
substantial and meaningful response. Especially in learning a language for communicative
purpose, listening plays a vital role, as it helps the language learner to acquire pronunciation,
word stress, vocabulary, and syntax and the comprehension of messages conveyed can be
based solely on tone of voice, pitch and accent; and it is only possible when we listen. Without
understanding input appropriately, learning simply cannot get any improvement. In addition,
without listening skill, no communication can be achieved [1]. Also, every study conducted
regarding the language skills acquisition has proved that when we communicate, we gain 45%
of language competence from listening, 30% from speaking, 15% from reading and 10% from
writing. With the highest percentage of involvement in the exchange of information in
effective communication, listening has to be considered a language forerunner. Listening,
unlike the other language skills, is felt comparatively much difficult by the learners, as it has
all its interrelated subskills such as receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and
responding. But with the advent of communicative language-teaching and the focus on
proficiency, the learning and teaching of listening started to receive more attention. However,
listening is not yet fully integrated into the curriculum and needs to be given more attention
in a language learning setting.
Listening in Language Learning: Tips for Teachers
We can never deliver the language curriculum when students are poor in listening. As
teachers, we must look for ways to keep students engaged in class, and that means, to listen.
Seeing our students demonstrate that they listen by use of nods, eye contact and asking of
appropriate questions can be a guarantee we are fulfilling the goals of language teaching. The
following are the tips you can use to help develop students listening skill and eventually,
language proficiency.
Start easy with songs and rhymes
. Almost everyone likes music. As infants, we are put
to sleep with lullabies. As with children, language learners love to listen to lines with rhymes.
This makes them become familiar with the words, their pronunciation and intonation. Songs
can also be utilized but must be chosen based on student levels. In class, songs in the language
being learned are played and students are asked to listen. During the activity, they may be
required to listen out for words. This will help the teacher know how many words the student
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has identified. After the sound clip, teachers may ask students to draw conclusions on the
meaning or intention of the song based on the words they have listed. This is learning
vocabulary and inference through listening.
Make the class enjoyable with storytelling.
Storytelling has been used for centuries.
In fact, this is how ancestors passed information from one generation to another before paper
was made available. Just because students are not very good in the language yet doesn`t mean
you have the right to bore them to death. Try to spend time reading stories to students. Make
use of gestures and facial expressions as you go along the lines. Use proper pitch and tone of
voice to differentiate characters and events. Doing this gives students the opportunity to be
exposed to the language in a relaxed and fun classroom environment. After reading the story,
ask questions about the characters, personalities, the actions, and even the possible ending.
This will enhance students` ability to formulate opinions, understand the culture, and respond
to text which eventually leads to developing speaking skills.
Use scripts for listening activities.
Scripts are generally used to help students who are
poor in listening improve faster. Unlike written words, voices or sounds are quickly forgotten
and misunderstood. This is true when students fail to listen to the entire clip attentively.
When provided with scripts, students will be able to predict the missing words in a line. With
this, students put to practice the principle of coherence they have learned in writing classes.
Additionally, when given a sheet of paper with many unfamiliar words, it requires the
students to make use of the dictionary to find meanings. With scripts on hand, hearing words
in a clip played by the teacher will enable students to associate pronunciation with spelling
and meaning, recognize contractions, and even differentiate spelling and pronunciation of
words when spoken by two non-native speakers. Pairing listening clips with scripts develop
students` skills in writing, spelling, meaning, and variations in pronunciation.
Get the most out of popular movies.
To learn a foreign language effectively, one must
be exposed to the culture where the target language is spoken. Since not many students have
the chance to live or experience life in a country where the target language is used, movies can
bridge this gap. When teaching language through movies, students are given the chance to
listen closely to what words the native speakers utter, and how to say them. Though many
would consider film showing a language teaching peripheral, experts agree that utilizing this
medium of communication develops aural skills. As students view the film, they are given
sample situations and contexts in which a word or an expression is used. This can also be used
to help students associate type of language with gender, race, and social status. When they get
to hear exactly the same line in the absence of a video, they might start to draw conclusions
about the speaker. Making use of movies in listening classes gives the students the chance to
virtually immerse in the culture where the target language is spoken.
Use authentic listening clips.
The use of audio clips in language classrooms may be fun
when teachers choose the correct materials. Listening gets boring when a majority of the clips
are staged and stilted. Even if it`s just a simple line like “Excuse me, could you tell me the way
to the nearby library?” the way they are done in staged or stilted clips are very different from
those that are taken from real context. When authentic listening clips are used, students are
given the advantage of getting to listen to expressions used in real-life situations. Instead of
boring materials obviously made for commercial purposes, teachers can choose from any
authentic listening-viewing materials like news clips, radio ads, documentaries, TV
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commercials and even cartoons. Authentic listening clips are sources of idioms, contractions,
and pronunciation practice that can help students grasp ideas on how to cope with actual
speech with native speakers when the need arises.
Conclusion
Without listening skills, language learning is impossible. This is because there is no
communication where there is no human interaction. Learning to listen to the target language
improves language ability. As students listen, learners construct meaning and make sense of
the words they have heard. The sound, rhythm, intonation, and stress of the language can only
be perfectly adapted through listening. We practice using our second language by reading,
writing, speaking, and listening. Since the first three skills are to be learned by the time we are
three years old, our early schema can only be through listening. To understand the nuances in
the target language, one must be able to listen. As we get to understand spoken language, it is
easier to improve the other skills and gain confidence. Other than being the primary form of
communication, listening opens the opportunity to understand the elegance of a language
which is not obviously present in grammar or reading.
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