Listening in the Language Classroom

John Field

Cambridge University Press, Jan 22, 2009 - Foreign Language Study - 384 pages

This book challenges the orthodox approach to the teaching of second language listening, which is based upon the asking and answering of comprehension questions. The book's central argument is that a preoccupation with the notion of 'comprehension' has led teachers to focus upon the product of listening, in the form of answers to questions, ignoring the listening process itself. The author provides an informed account of the psychological processes which make up the skill of listening, and analyses the characteristics of the speech signal from which listeners have to construct a message. Drawing upon this information, the book proposes a radical alternative to the comprehension approach and provides for intensive small-scale practice in aspects of listening that are perceptually or cognitively demanding for the learner. Listening in the Language Classroom was winner of the Ben Warren International Trust House Prize in 2008.

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Review: Listening in the Language Classroom (Cambridge Language Teaching Library)

User Review  - Karen Chung - Goodreads

This book is a direct outcome of the author's decades of teaching English listening skills to L2 learners. Field is a model of mindful, attentive teaching and interaction with his students. By ...

About the author

John Field is an accomplished author and former English teacher at Westminster School. His previous books include illustrated histories of Westminster Abbey and Westminster School.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Listening in the Language Classroom; Cambridge Language Teaching Library
• Author: John Field
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009
• ISBN: 0521685702, 9780521685702
• Length: 384 pages
• Subjects: Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language