Skills and strategies: towards a new methodology for listening

by John Field

This article calls for a rethinking of the purposes of the listening lesson, and examines ways in which we can teach the skill rather than simply practise it. The approaches proposed are based on micro-listening exercises which practise individual subskills of listening. The implications of using authentic materials are then examined, and a case is made for teaching recognition of the features of spontaneous speech. Finally, a strategic view of listening is presented, and it is argued that classroom activities need to take account of the true nature of real-life L2 listening, where understanding is partial, and inferencing is crucial.

Taken from ELT Journal Volume 52/2 (April 1998).

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You might be interested to know that the search function on version 2 of the CD-ROM shows that 262 out of the 699 documents included contain the word 'strategies' and there are 17 articles which contain the phrase 'learner strategies'. These include:

Helping L2 learners reflect on classroom learning by Kazuko Matsumoto ( 50/2 April 1996)
Promoting learner autonomy through the curriculum: principles for designing language courses by Sara Cotterall (54/2 April 2000)
Learner strategies and learner interviews by Eloise Pearson (42/3 July 1988)