Listening Strategies
Listening strategies are
techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension and
recall of listening input. Listening strategies can be classified by how the
listener processes the input.
Top-down strategies are listener based; the listener taps into
background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text,
and the language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations
that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come
next. Top-down strategies include
- listening for the main idea
- predicting
- drawing inferences
- summarizing
Bottom-up strategies are text based; the listener relies on the
language in the message, that is, the combination of sounds, words, and grammar
that creates meaning. Bottom-up strategies include
- listening for specific details
- recognizing cognates
- recognizing word-order patterns
Strategic listeners also
use metacognitive strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate
their listening.
- They plan by deciding which listening strategies will
serve best in a particular situation.
- They monitor their comprehension and the effectiveness
of the selected strategies.
- They evaluate by determining whether they have achieved
their listening comprehension goals and whether the combination of
listening strategies selected was an effective one.
Material for this section was drawn from
“Listening in a foreign language” by Ana Maria Schwartz, in Modules for the professional preparation of teaching assistants in foreign
languages (Grace Stovall Burkart, ed.; Washington, DC:
Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998)
