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)KRASHEN, S. D. Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press,1982.; Nunan (1998)NUNAN, D. Approaches to teaching listening in the language classroom. Taejon: KOTESOL, 1998. (Proceedings of the 1997 Korea TESOL Conference).; Richards (2008RICHARDS, J. C. Teaching listening and speaking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008., 1983RICHARDS, J. C. Listening comprehension: Approach, design, procedure. TESOL quarterly, Washington, v.17, n.2, p.219-240, 1983.); Brown (2006)BROWN, S. Teaching listening. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.; Hinkel (2011HINKEL, E. (ed.). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. New York: Routledge, 2011., 2006HINKEL, E. Current perspectives on teaching the four skills. Tesol Quarterly, Washington, v.40, n.1, p.109-131, 2006.); Nation and Newton (2009)NATION, I. S. P.; NEWTON, J. Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. London: Routledge, 2009.; Vandergrift (2011VANDERGRIFT, L. Second language listening: presage, process, product, and pedagogy. In: HINKEL, E. (ed.). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. New York: Routledge, 2011. v.2, p.455., 2007VANDERGRIFT, L. Recent developments in second and foreign language listening comprehension research. Language teaching, Cambridge, v.40, n.3, p.191-210, 2007., 1999VANDERGRIFT, L. Facilitating second language listening comprehension: acquiring successful strategies. ELT Journal, London, v.53, n.3, p.168-176, 1999.); Rost (2011ROST, M. Teaching and researching listening. 2.ed. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2011., 2001ROST, M. Listening. In: CARTER, R.; NUNAN, D. (ed.). The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2001. p.7-13.) among others, who have developed substantial research on this field.
KEYWORDS:
Listening skills acquisition; Listening processes; Students’ needs