John Field Universities of Reading and Cambridge, uk

A role for the comprehension approach

• Training in listening, like training in any form of expertise, requires:
• Intensive micro-listening exercises that focus on a particular process, combined with
• Exposure of the kind the comprehension approach gives
• [But we need to rethink the way in which we implement the comprehension approach in the classroom]

Summary: A process approach to listening…

• 1. diagnoses why understanding fails
• 2. identifies phonetic features of the TL which are likely to cause decoding problems for L2 listening;
• 3. recognises processes which characterise the performance of the L1 listener;
• Uses this information to build a programme of micro-listening practice, with exercises that involve the transcription or interpretation of short pieces of input.
• Supports with larger-scale comprehension work to ensure that the skills that are acquired become integrated into overall competence.