Listening Skill Requires a Further Look into Second/Foreign Language Learning
Current English-as-a-second and foreign-language (ESL/EFL) research has encouraged to treat each communicative macroskill
separately due to space constraint, but the interrelationship among these skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is not
paid due attention. This study attempts to examine first the existing relationship among the four dominant skills, second the
potential impact of reading background on the overall language proficiency, and finally the relationship between listening and
overall language proficiency as listening is considered an overlooked/passive skill in the pedagogy of the second/foreign language
classroom. However, the literature in language learning has revealed that listening skill has salient importance in both first and
second language learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of each of four skills in EFL learning and their existing
interrelationships in an EFL setting. The outcome of 701 Iranian applicants undertaking International English Language Testing
System (IELTS) in Tehran demonstrates that all communicative macroskills have varied correlations from moderate (reading
and writing) to high (listening and reading). The findings also show that the applicants’ reading history assisted them in better
performing at high stakes tests, and what is more, listening skill was strongly correlated with the overall language proficiency
Please find out the full article here:
https://downloads.hindawi.com/archive/2012/810129.pdf
