W alter j , lansu

TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS TO STUDENTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL

HEADING IMPROVEMENT CLASS

A P ro je c t

P resen ted to

The F acu lty o f the School of Education

The U n iv e rs ity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia

In P a r t ia l F u lf illm e n t

of the Requirements f o r the Degree

M aster of Education

feyW alter J , Lansu

Ju ly I960

UMI Number: E P 50253

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S cience in Education .

QULj .3 - 1.M.0..........

' ' X y > c v v ^ u ^ 5Adviser

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

CHAPTER PAGE

I , THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITION OF TERMS USED . . . . 2

The problem • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • 2

In tro d u c tio n • • • • • • • • • • ...................... 2

Statem ent o f the problem .......................... 3

Importance o f the study ....................................... h

L im ita tio n s on the scope o f the study . . . . 6

D e fin itio n s of term s used 6

Hearing • • • • « • • • • • • • • .................. 6

L is ten in g • • • • • • • • • . . . ...................... 6

Auding • • • • • • .................................................... 7

Oral i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ...................................... 7

Oral read ing • • • • . • • • • • • • • • . . 7

Reading Improvement . . . ....................................... 7

O rganization o f the rem aining ch ap te rs . . . . 8

I I . REVIEW" OF THE LITERATURE .......................... 9

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PART I ...................................... . 18

PART H

I I I . CURRICULUM FACTORS IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS . 2$

Recognizing th e im portance of teach ing l i s te n in g 2$

Understanding th e na tu re o f l i s te n in g . . . . . 31

Thought .......................................... 32

A tten tio n .......................................... 32

iv

m

33

3k

3k

38

38

38

k l

k3

k5

51

53

53

56

5?

59

61

61

61

62

65

69

70

CHAPTER

"C irc u it-re sp o n se 11...........................................

Composite p rocess of being an in d iv id u a l . . •

Mode o f L e a rn in g .......................... ............................. ....

Determining th e k inds of s k i l l s to be ta u g h t

Kinds o f l i s te n in g s k i l l s .......................................

C r i t i c a l l i s te n in g • • • • • • • • • . • • •

A ppreciative l i s te n in g ................................... . .

Iftsc rira ina tive l i s te n in g • • • • • • • • • •

R ela ting l i s te n in g s k i l l s to read ing

improvement in s t ru c t io n • • .......................• •

Basic s k i l l s to be lea rn ed by l i s te n in g

and/or read in g * .............................. .....................

Organizing th e l is te n in g in s t ru c t io n . . . . .

Improving l i s te n in g c o n d i t io n s ..................... •

The in d iv id u a l l i s t e n e r . . . . ......................

C h a ra c te r is tic s of a good l i s t e n e r . . . .

E igh t s ig n i f ic a n t l is te n in g h a b its • • • •

I ? . TEACHING AND TESTING LISTENING SKILLS . . . . . .

Methods of teach ing l is te n in g ...................................

L is ten in g la b o ra to ry • • • • • • • • • • • • •

D irec t approach

Coordinated l i s te n in g • . . . • • ..........................

Teacher reso u rces • • • • • • • • • ......................

T esting l i s te n in g s k i l l s • ............................. . .

CHAPTER PAGE

Standardized t e s t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Inform al classroom te s t in g ............................ 72

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PART I I . ............................. 76

past i

LISTENING AS A LANGUAGE SKILL

I CHAPTER X.1

; THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITION OF TERMS USED '

I* THE PROB3LEMi

; In tro d u c tio n . E ducators recognize th a t th e re a re s k i l l si

| which a re e s s e n t ia l to le a rn in g and which th e school accep ts respons- ,I 1| i b i l i t y fo r developing . These s k i l l s o r to o ls a re considered

! e s s e n t ia l to the optimum in te l l e c tu a l , p h y s ic a l, em otional and so c ia l

growth o f the in d iv id u a l. Among th ese a re the s k i l l s o f language

communication, which inc lude speaking, w r it in g , read in g , and l i s t e n

in g .

These s k i l l s a re u su a lly tau g h t throughout a p u p il* s school

1 y e a rs as in te r r e la te d developm ental ta sk s which re q u ire refinem enti1 and enlargem ent a f t e r b a s ic in s t ru c t io n has been prov ided and as the!| p u p il m atures. R egu larly , however, a sm all number o f s tu d e n ts havei

! been observed whose normal developm ental sequence o f le a rn in g appeared

to be s e r io u s ly d is ru p te d . In v e s tig a tio n s o f th e se cases o f d is -

I a b i l i t y tended to dem onstrate th a t d i s a b i l i ty in th e s k i l l s o f com-

i m unication through language had m u ltip le r a th e r th an s in g le cau sa tio n

and th a t d i s a b i l i t i e s tend to c lu s te r . Consequently, p u p ils assignedi; to th e w rite r* s h igh school c la s s e s in read ing improvement were no ti( only e d u ca tio n a lly re ta rd e d in read in g , due to a v a r ie ty o f reasons,

! b u t c lo se r o b se rv a tio n o f th ese s tu d en ts tended a lso to dem onstrate

th a t th e d i s a b i l i ty appeared to be a c lu s te r of th e a l l i e d s k i l l s and

o f th e s u b - s k i l ls a sso c ia te d w ith language. That i s to say th a t the

s tu d e n t had sim ultaneous d i f f ic u l ty .w i th one or_more o th e r language -

a

communication s k i l l s such as s p e llin g , handw riting , grammar, o r •

l i s t e n in g , f o r example. i

T ra d itio n a lly s tu d e n ts of normal in te l l ig e n c e have been as

signed to h igh school read in g improvement c la s s e s on the b a s is of

sco res a tta in e d in vocabulary , comprehension and c r i t i c a l read in g . I

The sco res showed a read ing r e ta rd a t io n of e ig h teen months o r more i n >

expected a b i l i t y . In every in s tan ce the t e s t adm in istered was o f th e :

s i l e n t read ing ty p e . In s t ru c t io n a l a c t i v i t i e s to improve read ing

a b i l i t y g e n e ra lly u t i l i z e d the s k i l l s o f o ra l and s i l e n t read in g ,

r e c i t in g o r d isc u ss in g , and w r it in g . L is ten in g was n o t tau g h t as anj

in te g r a l p a r t o f th e cu rricu lum , although i t was e v id e n t t h a t many

poor re a d e rs showed an i n a b i l i t y to fo llo w o ra l d ir e c tio n s c o rre c tly * ;

They were a lso o f te n unable to d is t in g u is h main p o in ts from supportingI

d e ta i l in l i s te n in g to o ra l read in g , and confused f a c t , op in ion , and ■i

p r in c ip le i n o ra l e x p o s itio n even a f t e r screen ing t e s t s had rev ea led 1

no s ig n if ic a n t hearing d y sfu n c tio n s . I t became ev id en t th a t b a s ic

l i s te n in g s k i l l s were needed i f s tu d en ts were to f u l ly r e a l iz e the

development p o ss ib le in a sem ester fs work in read in g improvement. ;!

Statem ent o f the problem * Hie problem of th i s study was by

means of a n a ly s is , f i r s t , to in v e s tig a te the v a lu e s , i f any, o f experi

m en ta lly in co rp o ra tin g sy stem atic in s t r u c t io n in l i s te n in g s k i l l s

in to th e p re se n t h igh school read ing improvement program. I t was f e l t

t h a t such an in v e s tig a t io n would confirm o r deny the o b se rv a tio n th a t

such a d d itio n a l s k i l l seemed r e la te d and necessary* C oro lla ry to t h i s

was an in v e s tig a t io n to d isco v er what in fo rm a tio n , methods, and

m a te r ia ls would be ap p ro p ria te fo r te a ch e r use in such a proposed ji

experim ental classroom s i tu a t io n and to in v e s tig a te and propose form ali

and in fo rm al in strum en ts o f diagnosing the a b i l i t y to l i s t e n and of.! |I ev a lu a tin g p rog ress in l i s te n in g s k i l l during and a f t e r the e x p e ri-I 1i| m ental in s tru c tio n * ;[lI; Importance of the study* Language a r t s s k i l l s a re r a r e ly used

! in i s o la t io n in human a f f a i r s . The in c re a s in g interdependence oft

human beings in te n s i f i e s the need f o r g re a te r competency* B ird

(3 i k -5 ) no tes in h is d is s e r ta t io n th a t o f th e m anifold pronouncements ■

, about g en era l educa tion s in ce the t h i r t i e s , a l l a ttach ed im portance ■

1 to th e a tta in m en t o f language s k i l l s by every student* A prim aryi

elem ent was to understand the o th e r p e rso n ’s id e a s through read in g and’

l is te n in g * In d ire c tly h i s study dem onstrated th e in c re a s in g ly complex

l i s te n in g requ irem ents p laced upon th e co lleg e s tu d e n t,

Adams and Torgerson ( l:2 5 l-2 7 k ) term read ing and l i s te n in g the; iI re c e p tiv e phases o f language a r t s and l i t e r a t u r e and c a l l them theI / 'iI b a s ic media o f learn ing* 1 They fu r th e r p o in t o u t t h a t there* i s a grow-jl ;i ■ |i in g r e a l iz a t io n o f the con tinu ing r e s p o n s ib i l i ty o f the secondary j

school to continue to r e f in e and en large upon the b as ic in s t r u c t io n in

j "this a re a which was a prim ary fu n c tio n o f th e elem entary school* Be

cause o f th e dom inating in flu en ce of mass communication media, the. • \\ j' need f o r c r i t i c a l th in k in g based on l i s te n in g in c re a s e s , th ey a s s e r t .

In 1952 th e N ational Council o f Teachers o f E nglish (16:195)

through th e in v e s tig a t io n s of i t s Commission on the E nglish Curriculum

. found th a t in s t ru c t io n in l is te n in g s k i l l was in a p ioneer s ta g e , and

s tro n g ly recommended th a t such in s t ru c t io n be given a la rg e r p lace in

a l l language a r t s programs a t a l l school le v e ls .

S tr ic k la n d (25:97) s ta te d : “L is ten in g and read ing are the

in ta k e a sp ec ts o f language, th e means by which one e n rich es him self

and adds to h is s tock of in t e r e s t s and know ledge,11 b u t warned a g a in s t

the danger o f allow ing t h i s in ta k e to become p ass iv e r a th e r than

a c tiv e and form ing us in to a n a tio n o f ab so rb e rs . (25:156)

While urg ing a c lo se in te g ra t io n between th e exp ressive and

a s s im ila tiv e language s k i l l s , N icholas and Lewis ( l8 :x i ) p o in t o u t

th a t 11 , . . many, i f n o t most o f the d i f f i c u l t i e s . . . in speaking

and w ritin g a r is e from inadequate t r a in in g in l i s te n in g and re a d in g .“

E arly (6:396) asked teach e rs to consider read in g as one phase in a

complex p ro c e ss , n o t as an is o la te d to o l . She s ta te s a lso th a t suc

c e s s fu l read ing programs prov ide f o r “in te g ra t io n o f read in g s k i l l s

w ith o th e r communication s k i l l s . “ Ramsey (20:ij.95) c r i t i c i z e d most

read in g improvement programs f o r j u s t th a t la c k of in te g ra t io n . Such

c la s s e s are too o f te n d e f ic ie n t in th a t “they are concerned w ith the

improvement o f on ly one s k i l l {and) they are tau g h t in i s o la t io n from

th e re g u la r E nglish c la s s in which s tu d en ts le a r n the o th e r th re e

communication s k i l l s . “ S t i l l ano ther team o f re se a rc h e rs a s s e r t :

T rain ing i n one s k i l l simply does n o t r e s u l t in s ig n i f ic a n t ca rry -o v e r to the o th e r . . • • the re c e p tiv e mechanisms are d i s t in c t ly d i f f e r e n t . L is ten in g i s th e a s s im ila tio n of a u ra l p lu s v isu a l c lu e s , read ing the a s s im ila tio n o f v isu a l c lu es a lone . (18 :1 )

In view o f the e rp h a s is p laced by most in v e s t ig a to r s and edu

c a to rs on the u n iv e rsa l im portance o f l is te n in g as a language s k i l l ,

and in view o f i t s complementary a s so c ia t io n w ith reading as a recep -i

t iv e , an im pressive , o r an a s s im ila tiv e s k i l l , t h i s study was under- i

taken on the hypo thesis th a t a prom ising means toward the developm ent'

o f b e t t e r ed u ca tio n a l achievement among s tu d e n ts grouped fo r r e t r a in - !

ing i n read ing was to be found in r e la t in g and a sso c ia tin g a p p ro p ria te

l i s te n in g s k i l l s in s t ru c t io n w ith an ongoing read ing improvement p ro - ji

gram.

L im ita tio n s on the scope of th e study . L is ten in g can be

v a rio u s ly la b e le d , depending on what i s being l i s te n e d to and th e

purposes f o r such l i s te n in g . T herefore , t h i s study was r e s t r i c te d to ;

an a n a ly s is o f d isc r im in a tiv e , c r i t i c a l , and ap p re c ia tiv e l i s te n in g

to l in g u i s t i c types of m a te r ia ls u se fu l to a tea ch e r o f read ing !

improvement c la s s e s . In a d d itio n , to make th e study o f proposed

experim ental methods and m a te r ia ls ap p ro p ria te to a high school »

read ing improvement program, l i s te n in g re se a rc h and in s t ru c t io n a l

p ra c t ic e s i n the elem entary school, ju n io r h igh schoo l, and in h ig h eri

education were surveyed and drawn upon b u t only when adap ting such ii

methods and m a te r ia ls o ffe re d genuine a p p l ic a b i l i ty and p r a c t i c a l i ty 1

to th e proposed experim ental a d d itio n s to the p re se n t read ing improve

ment program.

I I . DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

Hearing. The f i r s t phase o f a u ra l a s s im ila tio n i s th e percep

t io n o f sound by the human e a r .

L is te n in g . . The attachm ent o f meaning to _the a u ra l symbols___

p erce ived i n a phase d is tin g u ish a b le from h e a rin g . The d e f in i t io n i s

q u a lif ie d to includes ( l ) s i le n c e i s an a u ra l symbol which fre q u e n t- |

1y c a r r ie s meaning; (2) l i s te n in g i s n o t l im ite d to th e immediate

speaking s i tu a t io n ; (3) l i s te n in g as a medium of le a rn in g through jI

i classroom in s t ru c t io n im p lie s the p resence o f persons speaking in! i! ,fl i v e M s i tu a t io n s in which v is u a l and a u ra l c lu e s complement each |i ’ ;| o th e r in the mode o f p re s e n ta tio n . (18s i) '

ji Auding. The p ro cess o f h ea rin g , l i s te n in g to , recogn iz ing ,

and in te r p r e t in g o r comprehending spoken language. This term i s

used by* some re se a rc h e rs as a s u b s ti tu te f o r th e more commonly

• accepted one o f l i s t e n in g . An e x c e lle n t case f o r th e use of auding ■! ' !. was made by C affrey (l+ sl2 l), b u t th e m atte r has n o t been s e t t l e d . TheI; most re c e n t re se a rc h appears to have re tu rn e d tq th e use o f the term ,!

l i s te n in g (liis89)* and in t h i s study th e two:;terms w i l l be considered

synonymous and in te rch an g eab le u n less o therw ise n o ted . r (

Oral in te r p r e ta t io n . The understand ing and a p p re c ia tio n of

v a rio u s forms o f l i t e r a t u r e through o ra l p re s e n ta tio n .

Oral rea d in g . The a r t and te c h n ic a l s k i l l o f read ing aloud.

Reading Improvement. A sp e c ia l c la s s i n a d d itio n to the

re g u la r h igh school E ng lish c la s s e s in which s tu d e n ts a re p laced fo r

one o r two sem este rs . As determ ined by s tan d ard ized t e s t s , th ese 1

p u p ils a re e d u c a tio n a lly re ta rd e d due to read ing d i s a b i l i ty b u t are

n o t m entally re ta rd e d . In s tru c t io n in these c la s s e s focuses on th e

b a s ic read ing s k i l l s in which th e s tu d e n t i s d e f ic ie n t , w hile a l l the

8

o th e r read ing s k i l l s a re m ain tained through p r a c t ic e .

I I I . ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINING CHAPTERS

Chapter I I p ro v id es a review o f the l ite ra tu i* e r e la t in g to

experim ental s tu d ie s o f l i s te n in g and i t s r e la t io n s h ip to read in g as

th e com bination of re c e p tiv e s k i l l s .

P a r t II* Chapter I c o n s is ts o f a p re s e n ta tio n o f f a c to r s to

be considered in an experim ental curricu lum f o r teach in g l i s te n in g

s k i l l s in a s so c ia tio n w ith read ing improvement.

Chapter I I p ro v id es a d e s c r ip t io n and a n a ly s is of th e m a te ri

a l s and methods of teach in g and o f t e s t in g l i s te n in g a b i l i t y .

REVIEW CF THE LITERATURE

I t i s a cu rio u s h i s to r ic a l anomaly in educa tion th a t i n t e r e s t

in l i s te n in g as a mode of learn ing* as w e ll as a mode o f communica

t io n , began to be a su b je c t of s tu d ie s a t the same time th a t th e

teach in g o f read ing was undergoing a v i r tu a l re v o lu tio n . Smith pub

l is h e d a f u l l study of th e h is to r y and p r a c t ic e o f in s t ru c t io n in

read ing and p o in ts to the predominance o f o r a l read ing in s t ru c t io n in

American educa tion from th e c o lo n ia l p e rio d u n t i l about 1918:

From the beginning o f read ing in s t r u c t io n , o ra l read ing had m aintained i t s supreme and und ispu ted c la im over classroom methods. In marked c o n tra s t to t h i s t r a d i t io n a l p ra c t ic e ( th e y e a rs from 1918 to 1925 wer§J marked w ith an exaggera ted and, in some c a se s , alm ost ex c lu siv e emphasis upon s i l e n t read in g p rocedures. (23:153-154)

G oldste in (7*2-5) in th e in tro d u c tio n to h is experim ental

s tudy of the r e la t iv e e f f ic a c y o f read in g and l i s te n in g as modes o f

comprehension d e ta i le d th e s tu d ie s beg inn ing in 1917 which were p r i

m arily concerned w ith l i s te n in g comprehension a s an ed u ca tio n a l and

so c ia l medium. He then summarized the c o n tra d ic to ry pub lished

s tu d ie s :

Three s tu d ie s fa v o r the a u d ito ry mode, w hile an equal number fav o r the v is u a l mode. One re se a rc h f in d s a re v e rs a l o f s u p e r io r i ty between the f i f t h and n in th g rades, w ith the v is u a l modes su p e rio r in h igh g rades; another f in d s the a u d ito ry modes su p e rio r f o r co lleg e s tu d e n ts and the v is u a l modes su p e rio r f o r non-co llege s tu d e n ts ; a th i r d f in d s th a t f o r ra p id re a d e rs in co lleg e th e v isu a l mode i s su p e rio r, and f o r slow re a d e rs the, au d ito ry mode i s su p e r io r . (7 :6 )

In h e r monographic study d e ta i l in g th e h is to ry and development

o f o ra l read ing in s t ru c t io n in the_ United S ta te s from 1880 to 1941,. -

| ^jratt*s (11 :lli* ) conclusion was th at sp e c if ic in stru c tio n in ora l ;

j read ing i n an audience s i tu a t io n should be re tu rn e d to the c u rr ic u -

* lum. Obviously a l i s t e n e r s i tu a t io n was in p lie d h e re .!

Ste&th (23:159) c i te d th e e a r l i e s t r a t io n a l iz a t io n s fo r chang- |! (

I in g read ing in s t r u c t io n in th e tw en ties from o r a l to s i l e n t read in g , !! ■

which a lso im p lies s ig n if ic a n c e f o r classroom l is te n in g . Oral read

ing was an ap p ro p ria te classroom a c t iv i ty when read in g m a te r ia l was

sca rce ; only a few were ab le to read , communication was v e ry slow, ,i ,

; ij and spoken language was the c h ie f means of communication. Today th e 1

need f o r e f f e c t iv e ra p id s i l e n t read ing presumably m i l i ta te s a g a in s t 1

l i s te n in g and i s ap p ro p ria te because:

' ( l ) Heading m a te r ia l i s abundant, (2) read in g i s u n iv e rs a l;only a few are unable to rea d , (3) communication i s veryra p id , (it) w r i t te n language i s th e c h ie f means o f communic a tio n . (23*159)

i

; The assum ption t h a t w r i t te n language i s th e c h ie f means o f jI I

communication was brought under exam ination by one o f the f i r s t

; s tu d ie s to p o in t to the im portance of l i s te n in g among a d u lts . In 1926

Rankin (21:625) conducted an experim ent in which th e average p e rc e n t-t ■ 1

■ age of waking tim e devoted to each form o f language communication was\

taken from a d ia ry k ep t by twenty-one persons f o r a t o t a l of s ix ty

days. His r e s u l t s showed th a t o f t h i s group "n ea rly 70 p e r c e n t o f

■ the t o t a l waking tim e was spen t in some form o f communication, l i s t e n

ing rank ing f i r s t , ta lk in g second, read ing th i r d , and w r itin g fo u r th ."

When "the percen tages were recomputed on th e b a s is o f t o t a l time spen t

in communicative a c t i v i t i e s invo lv ing v e rb a l symbols • • • • l i s te n in g

le a d s w ith 1*2.1 p e r c e n t ." (21:625) In f a c t , l i s te n in g was used

n .

th re e tim es a s much as reading* and t h i s p ro p o rtio n was v i r tu a l ly the

same f o r every occupation rep resen ted in th e experim ental group and ji

rem ained rem arkably c o n s is te n t fo r a l l the su b je c ts every day o f th e

week* in c lu d in g Saturday and Sunday. Rankin then compared t h i s use

o f l i s te n in g w ith the cu rricu lum a llo tm en t o f time to teach ing l i s te n - ,I

ing i n th e D e tro it P ub lic Schools* and concluded th a t : 'iL is te n in g , o r th e a b i l i t y to understand spoken language* i s used in l i f e th re e tim es as much as read in g , b u t re c e iv e s le s s than o n e -s ix th a s much emphasis in schoo l. The e v idence p o in ts to the probable need of g re a te r a t te n t io n in th e school to o ra l language* here c a l le d l i s te n in g . ;(21:629)

Every s ig n i f ic a n t study o f l i s te n in g s ince has re fe r re d to t h i s e a r ly

study* and n o t a few have d u p lica ted the experim ent w ith s u b s ta n t ia l ly

th e same r e s u l t s .

In a study o f read ing and l i s te n in g comprehension w ith 280

male and fem ale sub jects* rang ing in age from 18 to 65 y e a rs ,

G oldste in*s (7 :52-55) p r in c ip a l f in d in g s f o r th i s gioup in c lu d ed :

(a ) L is ten in g comprehension is* in general* su p e rio r to read ing com

prehension* (b) th e s u p e r io r i ty o f l i s te n in g comprehension i s g re a te r

f o r easy than f o r d i f f i c u l t m ateria l* (c ) th e r e la t iv e s u p e r io r i ty o f

l i s te n in g comprehension i s in in v e rse p ro p o rtio n to the in te l l ig e n c e

and read ing speed o f the sub jects* (d) read ing and l i s te n in g compre

hension show a c o n s is te n t d e c lin e w ith in c reased ra te* (e) th e more

i n t e l l i g e n t and more ra p id rea d e rs score h igher i n both read ing and

l i s te n in g comprehension th an do the l e s s i n t e l l i g e n t , ( f ) read ing and

l i s te n in g comprehension a re h ig h ly c o rre la ted * and (g) low er q u a r t i le

achievement groups f in d l i s te n in g em phatica lly su p e rio r to read in g .

I Trthen th e same re se a rc h e r in tro d u ced r a t e o f p re s e n ta tio n a s a j

: v a r ia b le in to the experiment* he concluded: j!

! I t i s ve ry in te r e s t in g th a t l i s te n in g comprehension shouldhold i t s own w ith read ing comprehension a t a r a te o f p re s e n ta t io n of about 325 words pe r minute* i n view of the f a c t t h a t none o f the su b je c ts had ever heard speech de- j

j l iv e re d a t th a t r a te b e fo re , whereas many may have read a tI even f a s t e r r a t e s . This f a c t would appear to have im por- j

t a n t im p lica tio n s f o r speeding up th e le a rn in g process* |p a r t i c u la r ly since th e r e s u l t s were ob ta ined under con-

i d i t io n s m inim izing p r a c t ic e . (7 s6 l)i ij F u rth e r s tu d ie s by Anderson (2:32h) in 1937* and LarsenI I| (13*250) tended to confirm the f a c t th a t th e c o r r e la t io n between com-

; p rehension in read ing and comprehension in l i s t e n in g i s h igh .i; C affrey *s (U:125) summary o f re se a rc h s ta te d th a t th e c o r re la t io n si■ range from .60 to .8 2 . I t may be l i k e l y t h a t a common language j1 . i

a b il i ty * in te l l ig e n c e , power* o r speed u n d e r lie s bo th read ing andi Jj l i s te n in g . C a n tr il summarized the e f f e c t o f d i f f i c u l ty as an i n f l a -! i! ence on the r e la t io n s h ip between l i s te n in g and read ing comprehension: |

; I f the m a te r ia l i s easy* stu d en ts a re l i k e l y to comprehendi t e q u a lly w e ll when l is te n in g o r read in g . I f the m a te ria l i s d i f f ic u l t* s tu d e n ts o f h igh s c h o la s tic a p titu d e and

| read ing a b i l i t y comprehend more e f f i c ie n t ly by read ing thanI by l i s te n in g . A uditory comprehension v a r ie s w ith the d i f f i -! c u lty and type o f m ate ria l* th e k ind o f th in k in g re q u ire d ,1 and th e ed u ca tio n a l background o f the l i s t e n e r s . (5 :l5 9 )

The e f f e c t o f t h i s l a s t conclusion appears c le a r ly to be t h a t

p u p ils w ith poor read in g a b i l i t y and a l e s s than su c ce ss fu l educa

t io n a l background e n ro lle d i n read ing improvement c la s s e s can be

expected to be the s tu d e n ts to ga in the most in e d u ca tio n a l achieve

ment a f t e r being tau g h t s p e c if ic l is te n in g s k i l l s in a d d itio n to

rea d in g . S trang (2l*:78) p o in ted o u t, however, th a t the i n i t i a l super

i o r i t y o f l i s te n in g over read ing as an avenue o f- le a rn in g - tends -----

J to decrease as the p u p il g a in s i n read in g p ro f ic ie n c y . N evertheless*i! a c r i t i c a l p e rio d f o r bo th read ing and l i s te n in g s k i l l s f o r the p u p il ;i

would appear to be during o r a t the end o f h igh school. S trang made

| c le a r th a t th e p re se n t s ta tu s o f re se a rc h on th e su b je c t makes i t < t| "im possible to a ss ig n d e f in i te s u p e r io r i ty to e i th e r read ing o r l i s - '

ten in g as a means of re c e iv in g communication a t the co llege l e v e l . 11 ;I Ij (2l4.:78) Again, the su p e rio r s tu d en ts tend to do eq u a lly w ell w ith* ij bo th modes, although most co lleg e s tu d e n ts s a id they p re fe r re d re a d -

| in g exam ination q uestions them selves to l i s te n in g to them. " In fe r io r j ! !

s tu d e n ts , on th e o th er hand, do markedly b e t te r when questions a re

; read to them by the in s t r u c to r ." (19sU75) Beery rep o rte d th a t c o r-i: r e la t io n s o f in te l l ig e n c e w ith l i s te n in g range from *27 to .5 6 .

I (15:3U)IOne B r i t is h in v e s t ig a to r made a la rg e -s c a le study o f th e

; problem o f backwardness in read in g and concluded th a t second i n impor-i !

tance to , although n o t n e c e s s a r ily accompanying a weakness in p e r-

‘ ce iv in g complex v is u a l p a t te rn s in read in g e x h ib ite d by n e a r ly 50

S p e r c en t of the cases s tu d ie d :

j . . . i s a lowered power o f a u d ito ry d isc r im in a tio n in thef i e l d of speech sounds. This weakness on th e au d ito ry

1 s id e i s s im ila r to th a t shown in v is u a l p e rcep tio n . . . .aga in , t h i s weakness i s on ly r a r e ly due to p h y sica l imperfe c t io n , b u t u su a lly to a p sy ch o lo g ica l im m aturity or d e fic ie n c y . (22ik9k)

I f the above conclusion can be v e r i f i e d about l i s te n in g as i t

has been about rea d in g , c le a r ly a u d ito ry d isc rim in a tio n can be inproved

as e f f e c t iv e ly as v is u a l d isc r im in a tio n u su a lly i s under ap p ro p ria te

c o rre c tiv e In s tru c t io n . ‘Strang (2li.:78) b e liev e d d iscrepancy between

' » au d ito ry comprehension and read ing comprehension i s a va luab le

| d iag n o s tic s ig n f o r secondary read ing te a c h e rs .I ■ !! Evidence th a t s tu d e n ts can be tau g h t to l i s t e n iiore e f fe c -i

t iv e ly has accum ulated. Bearing im p lic a tio n s f o r h igh school in s t ru c -i

t io n , in an experim ent perform ed in 1952 a t Michigan S ta te College in

the teach ing o f l i s te n in g to co lleg e freshm en, I r v in (12:28) found !j

j t h a t 27 p e r cen t o f th e s tu d e n ts id e n t i f ie d main p o in ts o f w ell j

organ ized le c tu r e s befo re in s t ru c t io n began; a f t e r in s t ru c t io n more jI

j th an h a l f o f th e s tu d e n ts showed s ig n if ic a n t improvement. |! ij W ilt (26:626-636) examined th e assum ption t h a t schools have j| iI long req u ire d p u p ils to l i s t e n e x te n s iv e ly w hile p rov id ing l i t t l e o r iI ;| |

no in s t ru c t io n i n the classroom because i t i s a " n a tu ra l" a b i l i t y . j

j Her 1950 study o f th e amount o f teach ing o f l i s te n in g i n the n in e teen I

j elem entary school classroom s has im p lica tio n s fo r the te a c h e rs o f ;

j h igh school s tu d e n ts . I t was shown th a t the amount o f tim e p u p ils

■ spen t in l i s te n in g averaged two and o n e -h a lf hours d a ily . Timed

I observations rev ea led t h a t from 60 to 70 p e r e en t o f th e e lem entary !iJ p u p il *s school day was re q u ire d fo r a t te n t iv e l i s te n in g . In no case •(

! was th e re observable in d ic a t io n th a t te a ch e rs were he lp ing p u p ils j1 ,

become b e t t e r l i s t e n e r s ; i n f a c t , she concluded th a t the m a jo rity o f ,i

i th e tea ch e rs were n o t co n sc io u sly teach ing l i s te n in g as a fundam ental

| s k i l l . Che a p p ra ise r o f in s t r u c t io n b e liev ed th a t much of the f a u l t

f o r n o t teach ing l i s te n in g i s ex p la in ab le because te a c h e r educa tion

n e g le c ts l i s te n in g . Of f i f t e e n tex tbooks in e d u ca tio n a l psychology,

p u b lish ed between 191*6 and 1951*, e leven made no m ention of l is te n in g

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - J g ,

anywhere i n th e book* Three te x ts made m ention o f l i s te n in g in one

page o r l e s s . Only one con ta ined c i t a t io n s of re sea rch d a ta which

compared th e e f f ic a c y o f l i s te n in g and read ing on educa tion . An

I exam ination o f curricu lum guides by Heilmann (105285-286) rev ea led

th a t they a re couched in extrem ely g en era l term s and w ell sounding

c l ic h e s , a lthough th ey appear to r e s p e c t th e ro le of l i s te n in g in the! iI ed u ca tio n a l p ro ce ss . They appeared to o f f e r no help to tea ch e rs o f ,I ij l is te n in g s k i l l s . ij j

Lewis (lit:9 2 ) re p o rte d a c a re fu l study o f l i s te n in g i n the

h igh school which rev ea led th a t a l i s te n in g f a c to r does e x i s t and can

be measured i f con sc io u sly ta u g h t. H ackett, i n a resume o f p u b lish ed

re p o r ts about l i s te n in g , d isag reed . His n u l l hypo thesis was: ”There

i s n o t enough evidence th a t l i s te n in g can be tau g h t . . . . th e re i s

no evidence th a t knowledge about l i s te n in g c o n tr ib u te s to th e a b i l i t y

to l i s t e n . » (9 :3l*9-350)

i The t o t a l evidence reviewed s tro n g ly fav o rs th e typo the s i s 1i

J t h a t a l i s te n in g s k i l l e x is ts and has a s ig n i f ic a n t e f f e c t on le a rn - ;!

in g . I t was no ted how Rankin (2 1 ), G o ld ste in (7 ) , and W ilt (26) havel

shown what a g re a t p ro p o rtio n o f th e communicating time o f su b je c ts o f

a l l ages was spen t i n l i s te n in g . The f a c t t h a t l i s te n in g was more 1

e f f e c t iv e th an read ing as a means of le a rn in g fo r the e d u c a tio n a lly 't

re ta rd e d and in f e r io r ach iev e rs s tro n g ly im plied the need o f some j

s tu d e n ts fo r in te n s iv e t r a in in g in l i s te n in g as th e major medium of

le a rn in g while a ttem pts to improve t h e i r read ing are con tinued .

■ D espite the p refe ren ce o f su p e rio r s tu d e n ts and the in te l l e c tu a l ly

^ su p e rio r fo r read ing over l i s te n in g , the _ N ational--Society -for- -the_____

Study o f Education (175 282) recommended t h a t read in g , l i s te n in g , and

observing ^should occupy approxim ately h a lf th e E nglish time of

g if te d s tu d e n ts .”

N icholas and Lewis summarized the im p lic a tio n s of t h e i r r e

sea rch as fo llo w s:

L is ten in g and read in g , the two g re a t media through which most o f us do alm ost a l l o f our le a rn in g , are p a r a l l e l in many ways and a re d e f in i te ly r e la te d s k i l l s . S tud ies of t h e i r r e la t io n s h ip u su a lly show a c o e f f ic ie n t o f c o rre l a t i o n of about .7 0 , and when th e f a c to r o f in te l l ig e n c e i s h e ld c o n s ta n t, o f about .5 0 . Very p robably the same c o r t ic a l a re a o f the b ra in which in te r p r e t s v is u a l symbols, r e la t in g th e f a c t s and id ea s th ey c a rry to o th e rs p rev io u s ly le a rn e d , o p e ra tes in about th e same way when a u ra l symbols c a r ry the bulk o f th e message. Despite th e i r s im ila r i ty i t i s a m istake to assume th a t improvement o f one medium w il l a u to m atica lly in su re correspending improvement in the o th e r . (18:1)

G o ldste in was hopefu l in 19U0 th a t l i s te n in g s k i l l s would be

ta u g h t:

In our so c ie ty , read ing and l i s te n in g c o n s t i tu te the b a s ic to o ls o f le a rn in g as w ell as the prime media o f so c ia l in te rc o u rs e . In the fu lf i lm e n t o f th ese r o le s , th e importance of read ing has never been q u estioned . More re c e n tly . . . th e s ig n if ic a n c e o f l i s te n in g i s re c e iv in g in c reased a t te n t io n . (7 :1 )

Gray (8 : l5 ) d id n o t f e e l th a t the e d u c a to r1 s ta s k i s to

dep lore i n a b i l i t y to l i s t e n o r to wean the p u p il from the mass media

o f l i s te n in g and viewing en te rta in m en t; in s te a d , te a ch e rs "must

t r a i n youth to recognize the unique value o f each and to make

in t e l l i g e n t cho ices in the l i g h t o f needs and purposes between read

ing and each o f th e o th e r m ed ia .”

C affrey summarized the re se a rc h on th e connection between

l i s te n in g and read in g in s t r u c t io n :

17

« • • s tu d en ts whose auding sco res exceeded t h e i r read ing sco res appeared to p r o f i t more from rem edial read in g in s t ru c t io n than d id s tu d en ts whose read ing exceeded t h e i r auding$ th e l a t t e r seemed ab le to improve t h e i r auding though n o t so much. (1*2123.)

This re se a rc h tends to encourage experim en ta lly a s so c ia te d

re a d in g - lis te n in g in s t r u c t io n in the read ing improvement classroom as

p resen ted in P a r t XI o f t h i s s tu d y .

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHT

POE

PART I

b ib l io g r a p h y :

Adams, Georgia Sachs, and Theodore L. Torgerson, Chapter 13, "Measurement, D iagnosis, and C orrec tive I n s t ru c t io n in Reading and L is te n in g ," Measurement and E valuation f o r the Secondary School Teacher. New York: The Dryden P re ss ,1956. '558 pp .

The book a ttem pts to b rid g e the gap between th eo ry and th e p ra c t ic e o f measurement and e v a lu a tio n and i s a fu n c tio n a l approach w ith emphasis upon th e s tu d e n t and h is le a rn in g problem s.

Anderson, Irv in g H., and Grant F a irbanks, "Common and D iffe re n t i a l F ac to rs in Reading Vocabulary and Hearing V ocabulary" Jou rna l o f E ducational Research, 30:317-321*, January , 1937*

This s tu d y tends to confirm e a r l i e r re se a rc h th a t co rr e la t io n between comprehension in read in g and comprehension in l i s te n in g i s h igh .

B ird , Donald E ., The Teaching o f Oral Ski.11 s in FreshmanE ng lish , Unpublished D octoral d i s s e r ta t io n , U n iv e rs ity of Southern C a lifo rn ia , Los Angeles, C a lifo rn ia , 1951. 387 pp.

A study of lis te n in g -sp e a k in g s k i l l s as in co rp o ra te d in freshman c o lle g e programs which p u rp o rt to emphasize comm unication f in d s th a t the tre n d in o rg an iz a tio n of such c la s s e s i s toward g en e ra l ed uca tion aims o f sim ultaneous fo u r - tra c k in s t ru c t io n .

G affrey , John, "Auding," Review of E ducational Research, 25:121-38, 1955.

A comprehensive review of th e f i e l d o f auding, o r the comprehension o f spoken language, has been p repared by C affrey , who a lso has dev ised a t e s t o f th i s fu n c tio n .

C a n tr i l , Hadley, and Gordon W. A llp o r t, Psychology o f Radio.New York: Harper & B ro th ers , 1935* 276 pp.

The book i s an a n a ly s is o f the g en era l p sy ch o lo g ica l and c u l tu r a l f a c to r s t h a t shape rad io programs and determ ine the responses o f th e l i s t e n e r s to these b ro ad c as ts . S ca tte red se c tio n s d isc u ss l i s te n in g and l i s te n in g v e rsu s read ing e f fe c t iv e n e s s .

E arly , M argaret J . , "About S uccessfu l Reading Program s,"E nglish Jo u rn a l, 1*6:395-1*05, 1953.

Teachers must see read in g , n o t as an i s o la te d to o l , b u t as one phase in th e complex p rocess of communication. A read ing program p rov ides f o r in te g ra t io n of read ing s k i l l s w ith o th er communication s k i l l s .

20

| 7» G o ldste in , H arry, Reading and L is ten in g Comprehension a t VariousC on tro lled R ates. New York: te a ch e rs C ollege, (ColumbiaU n iv e rs ity C o n tribu tions to E ducation, No. 821, 19-U0. 69 pp.

In our so c ie ty , read ing and l i s te n in g c o n s t i tu te th e b a s ic to o ls o f le a rn in g as w e ll a s th e prime media of s o c ia l in te rc o u rs e . In th e f u l f i l lm e n t o f th ese r o le s , the importance of read ing has never been q u estioned . Through t h i s study th e au tho r a ttem p ts to view l i s te n in g i n i t s p roper and im portan t p la c e .

8 . Gray, W illiam S ., e d i to r , Reading in an Age o f MassBComrouni-c a t io n . Report o f th e Committee on Reading a t the Secondary School and College Levels o f th e N ational Council o f Teachers o f E n g lish . New York: Apple to n -C en tu ry -C ro fts ,I n c . , 19k9. 108 pp.

! Six c o n tr ib u to rs p re s e n t summaries o f re sea rch and prom ising p ra c t ic e s in th e ro le o f rea d in g , i t s en rich in g v a lu e s , p e rso n a l f a c to r s which in flu e n c e read in g , the b a s ic read ing com petencies, read ing a s in te r p r e ta t io n , and r e s p o n s ib i l i ty f o r th e school read ing program.

I: 9 . H ackett, H erbert, "A N ull Ifypothesis,« Education, ?5*3U9-3Sl,"

January , 1955.An e d i to r ia l d isp u tin g th e op in ions t h a t th e re i s s u f f i

c ie n t knowledge about l i s te n in g to proceed w ith the teach ing of l i s t e n in g . The au tho r doubts th a t genuine evidence e x is ts t h a t l i s te n in g can be ta u g h t. He urges ex ten siv e re se a rc h .

10. Heilman, A rthur, l i s t e n i n g and th e C urriculum ,11 Education,75:283-87, 1955.

: The study q u estio n s th e a t t i tu d e of educa to rs who p a ss iv e -’ l y accep t th e fo lk lo re o f education th a t c h ild re n come toi school w ith th e a b i l i t y to l i s t e n - and who in schoo ls busy

them selves w ith a c t i v i t i e s ro o ted i n t h i s p rem ise. Those ed u ca to rs who v e rb a lly e x to l th e v i r tu e o f l i s te n in g as an ad ju n c t to le a rn in g are asked f o r the evidence th a t le a rn in g i s a c tu a l ly p a r t o f t h e i r cu rricu lum .

11 . I$ ra tt, Ada V., The P lace o f Oral Reading in the School Program.New York: Teacher1s C o llege, Columbia U n iv ers ity C on tribu tions to E ducation , No. 872, Bureau of P u b lic a tio n s , 19U3. I t o pp .

The d e ta i le d h is to ry and development o f o ra l read ing in s t r u c t io n in th e United S ta te s from 1880-19141 i s d iv id ed in to two p e rio d s , 1880-19ll|. and 1915 through 19 ltl. Her conc lu s io n i s t h a t o ra l read ing in s t r u c t io n should be re tu rn e d to the cu rricu lum .

I r v in , C harles, “E valuating a T rain ing Program in L is ten ing f o r College Freshm en,” School Review, 61:25-59, January , 1953.

This study dem onstrates the e f fe c t iv e gains made by s tu d en ts a f t e r even sm all amounts o f in s t ru c t io n in l i s t e n ing to l in g u i s t i c m a te r ia ls .

L arsen, Robert P . , and D. D. Feder, r,Common and D if fe re n tia l F ac to rs in Reading and Hearing Comprehension,” Journal o f E ducational Psychology, 31 :2 iil-52 , A p ril, I 9I4O.

A study of th e ex is ten ce of c o r re la t io n s between th e elem ents c o n s t i tu t in g read ing comprehension through l i s t e n ing and read in g .

Lewis, T. R ., “L is te n in g ,” Review o f E duca tiona l Research, 28:89-95, A p r il , 1958. “ ' :

The t r i e n n ia l summary o f the su b je c t i n t h i s p e r io d ic a l i s most u se fu l f o r concise d e s c r ip tio n o f th e major re se a rc h tre n d s . The l i s t i n g s re v e a l co n sid erab ly le s s rep o rte d re se a rc h than appeared in the 1955 summary.

N ational Conference on Research in E ng lish , I n te r r e la t io n s h ip s Among the Language A rts . Champaign, I l l i n o i s : N ationalCouncil o f Teachers o f E ng lish , 195U. hZ pp.

The re se a rc h s tu d ie s d ea lin g w ith the fo u r language s k i l l s o f w r i t in g , read ing , speech and l is te n in g i s here summarized and shown to be as h ig h ly in te r r e l a t e d fo r in s t r u c t io n a l purposes as fo r human communication.

N ational Council o f Teachers o f E nglish , Commission on th e E nglish Curriculum , The E nglish Language A rts . New York: A ppleton-C entury-C rofts, I n c . , 1952. 501 pp.

This i s ¥olume I o f f iv e volumes in the E nglish Curriculum s e r ie s . I t i s an a ttem pt to g ive an overview of the c u r r ic ulum in E ng lish language a r t s from p reschoo l through the graduate schoo l.

N ational S oc ie ty f o r th e Study o f E ducation , "Language and L ite r a tu r e ” in Education f o r the G ifte d , 57th Yearbook,P a r t 2. Chicago: U n iv e rs ity of Chicago P re ss , 1958.U20 pp.

N ichols, Ralph G ., and Thomas R. Lewis, L is te n in g and Speaking:A Guide to E ffe c tiv e Oral Communication, Dubuque, Iowa: W illiam M. C. Brown, 195IT. 250 pp.

W ritten from the communication approach to language th i s t e x t p rov ides an ex p lan a tio n of the l i s te n in g s k i l l s and th e d e ta i le d procedures which are designed to a id the teach in g o f l i s te n in g . The t e x t i s designed to help e f f e c t the change of in s t ru c t io n to in c re ase a u ra l a c t i v i t i e s .

22

19* Odom, C harles L. , and Ray W. M ie s , 11 Oral Fergus V isual Present a t i o n of E rn e -fa lse Achievement T ests in the F i r s t Course i n Psychology,'1 E ducational and P sycho log ica l Measurement, 21:570-577, Autumn, 195 l.

Comprehension by e i th e r l i s te n in g o r read ing ten d s to be e q u a lly e f f e c t iv e fo r su p e rio r co llege s tu d en ts d e sp ite s tu d en t p re fe ren ce f o r rea d in g . I n f e r io r s tu d en ts tended to do b e s t when l is te n in g *

20. Ramsey, W allace Z ., "An Experiment in Teaching Reading in HighSchool E nglish C la s se s ," E ng lish Jo u rn a l, 56 :595-500, November, 1957.

Reading Improvement c la s s e s a re d e f ic ie n t in one of two ways: ( l ) They p rovide f o r th e needs o f only a sm all p ro p o r tio n o f a l l s tu d e n ts , o r (2) th ey a re concerned w ith the improvement o f only one s k i l l and th ey a re tau g h t in i s o l a t i o n from th e re g u la r E ng lish c la s s i n which s tu d e n ts le a r n the o th e r th re e communication s k i l l s .

21. Rankin, Paul T ., "The Im portance o f L is ten in g A b i l i ty ,"E nglish Jo u rn a l, College E d itio n , 17:623-30, O ctober, 1928.

Probably one of th e f i r s t in v e s tig a to r s to d i r e c t a t t e n t io n to l i s te n in g as the mode o f language most used by a d u lts . The m ajor f in d in g s have been co rrobora ted by o th e r resea rch e rs#

22. Schonell, Fred J . , Backwardness i n the Basic School S u b jec ts .Toronto: C larke, Irw in and Company, L td . , 1952. 560 pp .

This t e x t emphasizes p r a c t ic a l procedures in dea lin g w ith p u p ils who are e d u c a tio n a lly re ta rd e d in read in g , s p e llin g , and com position. W ritten by a B r i t is h p sy ch o lo g is t and educa to r, i t i s based on h is re se a rc h in c o rre c tiv e in s t ru c t io n .

23. Smith, N ila B ., American Reading In s t ru c t io n . San F ran c isco :S i lv e r , B urde tt and Company, 1935-. 287 pp.

An in te r e s t in g ’, l iv e ly h is to ry o f read ing in s t ru c t io n from c o lo n ia l America u n t i l 1935-. The book shows how th e school attem pted to meet the demands o f each h i s to r ic a l p e rio d by th e read ing methods employed.

25* S trang , Ruth, Constance M. McCullough, and A rthur E. T rax le r, Problems in th e Improvement o f Reading* Second E d itio n .New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955. 526 pp.

The work i s a thorough d e s c r ip tio n of every a sp ec t o f a h igh school read ing program, in c lu d in g i t s a d m in is tra tio n , and i s re q u ire d read ing f o r te a c h e rs in te re s te d i n read ing improvement.

23

I 25. S tr ic k la n d , Rath, Language A rts in the Elem entary School* Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 195>1* 370 pp.

Developmental language teach ing i s d iscussed from th e g en era l educa tion p o in t of view . The au tho r p lac es comm unication ahead of in te r p r e ta t io n as th e c h ie f p r in c ip le o f te a ch in g , rea d in g , w r i t in g , speaking, l i s te n in g , observ-

, in g , and s p e l l in g .*

26. W ilt, Miriam E ., nA Study of Teacher Awareness of L is ten in g as a F ac to r in Elementary E d u ca tio n ,11 Jou rna l of E ducational Research, 1*3:626-36, A p ril, 1950.

There i s s u b s ta n t ia l evidence from v i s i t s to n in e teen classroom s th a t the m a jo rity o f e lem entary school teach e rs

' do n o t consciously teach l i s te n in g as a fundam ental s k i l l■ of communication. In no case was th e re observable in d ic a -

t io n t h a t te a ch e rs a re he lp ing c h ild re n to become b e t te r| l i s t e n e r s .

J

i

I

I

PART I I

i

'A LISTENING - READING CURRICULUM

CHAPTER I I I

CURRICULUM FACTORS IN TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS

I . RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE CF TEACHING LISTENING Ji

|Although the concern o f a sm all number o f re se a rc h e rs in the

f i e l d of teach ing of l i s te n in g s k i l l i s l e s s than a decade o ld and

much rem ains to be done (2*>:122), c e r ta in re se a rc h f in d in g s and

classroom "ac tio n s tu d ie s " a re a s u f f ic ie n t ly la rg e body o f knowledge

upon which to b u i ld an experim ental curricu lum f o r teach in g l i s t e n

in g in a read ing improvement program.

The re se a rc h in to the need fo r t r a in in g p u p ils in l is te n in g

stems from R an k in ^ s tu d ie s . (3 7 ), (38) Educators became in te re s te d

i n t h i s re se a rc h which showed th a t over tw ice as much time i s sp en t in |

l i s te n in g as a mode of ga in ing in fo rm ation as was sp en t i n read in g ,

and h a lf again as much as was sp en t on speaking. ( 3 3 :v i i ) E l l i f f

(1 7 :2 0 ), ta k in g no te o f th e d u p lic a tio n s o f the re se a rc h , urged

teach e rs to beg in th e teach ing o f l i s te n in g on the prem ise th a t i t

i s n * t th e amount o f time sp en t on the a c t iv i ty which i s s ig n i f ic a n t

"but r a th e r the Im portance o f l i s te n in g in modern l i f e which shouldI

give tea ch e rs the most concern ." S tu d ies which tended to show the Ii

n e c e s s ity fo r a c c u ra te , e f f e c t iv e l i s te n in g became th e su b je c t o f !

a n a ly s is . Lewis (26:176, 178, 180), f o r example, analyzed th e impor- |

tan ce o f o ra l s k i l l s i n b u s in ess and in d u s try and found th a t many

la rg e e n te rp r is e s o ffe re d th e i r employees a t a l l l e v e ls t r a in in g

cou rses in l i s te n in g . A le r t and accu ra te l i s te n in g was deemed an a sse t

i n th e w orker, a t te n t iv e and responsive l i s te n in g an ab so lu te n e c e ss ity

to su c c e ss fu l su p e rv is io n and a d m in is tra tio n . Some em ployers, he

found, were c r i t i c a l o f ed uca tion fo r n e g le c tin g throughout th ei

schooling of t h e i r employees so n ecessa ry a s k i l l .

D espite the a t te n t io n o f some re se a rc h e rs in the f i e l d o f

speech, psychology, soc io logy , and l in g u i s t i c s , Lewis (27:89) po in ted

o u t t h a t v e ry l i t t l e was done in a d d itio n to accen ting the im portance

o f l i s te n in g s k i l l f u l l y . Few s tu d ie s d e a l t w ith the c u r r ic u la r p rob

lems o f the classroom te a c h e r who was convinced o f the im portance of!

l i s te n in g and who was try in g to le a rn th e n a tu re o f l i s te n in g and th e j

methods and techn iques o f teach ing l i s t e n in g , in a d d itio n to f in d in g

s e le c tio n o f ap p ro p ria te m a te r ia ls . S tr ic k la n d (50:97-98) d esc rib ed

fo r te a c h e rs the o rder o f development o f the language a r t s i n the j

e lem entary school p u p il , in c lu d in g the urgency of developing minimal j

l i s te n in g and speaking p ro f ic ie n c y p r io r to th e use o f th e w r i t te n

symbol form o f the language i f e f fe c t iv e r e s u l t s were to be secu red .

N ev erth e less , the secondary school appeared no t to be

a f fe c te d , and re c e n tly the Commission on the Language A rts o f the

N ationa l Council o f Teachers o f E ng lish complained th a t : ;i

I n s tru c t io n in read in g and w r itin g has long been g iven iprim ary emphasis i n th e curricu lum o f American sch o o ls . IOnly in re c e n t y ea rs has speaking rece iv ed the a t te n - 1t io n i t d e se rv es . L is ten in g i s s t i l l the n eg lec ted ■language a r t a t a l l e d u ca tio n a l l e v e l s . (30:328)

T h is , the Commission p o in ted o u t to te a c h e rs , i s . a f a c t d e sp ite th e

im portance o f th e e a r to the language l i s te n in g demands o f th e cu r

r e n t mass media of r a d io , te le v i s io n , moving p ic tu r e s , te lep h o n e , and

re c o rd s . Following the long primacy o f th e o ra l t r a d i t io n th e e a r had

g iven way to the eye only a f t e r the in te n t io n of p r in t in g and read ing

became the medium o f education# The m ajor method of le a rn in g among

th e p rin t-m inded was* and is* v is u a l and t h i s remains the measure o f \i

l i t e r a c y and lea rn in g * But p re sen t-d ay re se a rc h c le a r ly rev ea led th e .

weakness o f the exclu sive emphasis on the v is u a l in th e teach ing of

language. (33 Jx) Much o f the f a u l t lay* p e rh ap s, i n the erroneous

a t t i tu d e s and b e l i e f s th a t were h e ld by tea ch e rs and laymen* due

p r im a rily to th e b e l i e f th a t n o t much could be done about a "n a tiv e "i

f a c i l i t y determ ined by in te l l ig e n c e and e a r a c u i ty . ( 3 3 0 )

N ichols and Lewis (33*6-9) d isc u ss f iv e f a l s e assum ptions to

which th ey a s s ig n r e s p o n s ib i l i ty f o r de lay ing t r a in in g programs i n

l i s t e n in g . These a re based on th e i r re se a rc h and a re rep o rte d here

i n abridged form :

1# That l i s te n in g a b i l i t y i s la r g e ly a m a tte r o f t r a in in g .A p o s i t iv e c o r r e la t io n does e x i s t b u t we appear to l i s t e n more w ith our experience than w ith our i n t e l l i gence.

2. That l i s te n in g a b i l i t y i s c lo s e ly r e l a te d to hearing a c u ity . Only from th re e to s ix p e r c en t of the n a tio n * s school p o p u la tio n s u f f e r s from h earin g d e fe c ts severe enough to im pair le a rn in g in a classroom .

3* That d a i ly p ra c t ic e e lim in a te s th e need f o r t r a in in g .U nless we are c a re fu l ly guided we a p p aren tly tend to p rac tic e* develop and re in fo rc e a s s im ila tiv e f a u l t s r a th e r th an s k i l l s .

it* That to le a rn to l i s t e n we need only to le a rn how to re a d . E ducational re se a rc h shows th a t the e f fe c t iv e way to develop any s k i l l i s to p rov ide d i r e c t tra in in g designed to improve th a t s k i l l .

S . That le a rn in g to read i s more im portan t than lea rn in g to l i s t e n . Not only do we l i s t e n th re e tim es as much as we read* b u t th e form er may a lso have more in f lu ence upon human behav io r.

I f the f a l s e assum ptions l i s t e d a re held by educators as w e ll

a s laymen* i t becomes obvious th a t developing a b i l i t y to l i s t e n i s an

im portan t cu rricu lum problem . The N ational Council o f Teachers o f

E ng lish (30:31*6) i n s i s t s th a t “Good l i s te n in g h a b its a re taught* n o t

caugh t. Because of t h e i r im portance in e f f e c t iv e le a rn in g . • •

they should be developed a t a l l l e v e ls o f in s t r u c t io n . 11 L is ten in g i s

a f a c to r i n s c h o la s tic achievement and poor l i s t e n e r s can be id e n t i

f i e d and helped to improve in t h e i r s k i l l s . (31*253)

Walker*s (5l*3l*5) r e p o r t id e n t i f ie d th e poor elem entary and

secondary school l i s t e n e r s by t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to fo llo w o ra l d ire c

tions* f a i lu r e to d is t in g u is h between sta tem en ts o f f a c t and opinion*

i n a b i l i t y to l i s t e n to bo th s id e s o f a controversy* low le v e l of

t a s t e s in ra d io and te le v is io n lis te n in g * and d is to r t io n s and con

fu s io n s re f le c te d in t h e i r r e p o r ts on what th ey h eard .

No l e s s do th e s tu d ie s o f th e l i s te n in g achievem ents o f c o l l

ege s tu d en ts who depend to a g re a t e x te n t on a s s im ila tin g le c tu r e

m a te r ia l em pha tica lly show th e se r io u s need f o r a refinem ent o f

l i s te n in g h a b its and a b i l i t i e s when:

t e s t s f o r the c o n te n t o f c la s s le c tu re s* a s w e ll as f o r th e con ten t o f le c tu r e “sam ples” organized fo r read in g in f iv e - minute se lec tio n s* r e s u l te d in an average score o f about s ix ty p e r c en t in immediate re c a l l* and th a t in d iv id u a l d if fe re n c e s in immediate memory covered a wide range . . . . ( 3 3 0 )

Obviously* a t any le v e l le a rn in g to l i s t e n i s fundam ental to l i s t e n

ing to le a rn . In schoo ls where l i s te n in g has rec e iv e d a s much a tte n

t io n a s reading* th e conclusions in d ic a te d th a t the improvement i s no t

on ly to be seen in th e q u a l i ty o f th e le a rn in g b u t in the p lea su re o f

teach ing as w eH . (31:269) L isten ing* or a u ra l re a d in g , Bishop

(6 :98 ) views as a l i f e t im e le a rn in g to o l , a m ajor f a c to r in read in g ,

environm ent, and as a means o f b e t t e r in d iv id u a l ad justm ent to the

environm ent and the spheres o f in flu e n ce in which he liv e s* As an

evidence o f m a tu rity , Sondel a rg u es:

Too much cannot be s a id about th e need fo r i n te l l i g e n t l is te n in g * Only th e m ature o f mind seem to be ab le to accom plish i t , f o r i t i s on ly th e mature o f mind who know th a t argument speech i s p roductive o f a d e s ire d end on ly when two minds make a co n sc ien tio u s e f f o r t to come to g e th e r on the b e s t p o ss ib le grounds in o rder to meet a common need. Above a l l e ls e — c o lla b o ra tio n demands l i s te n in g . L is ten in g i s co llab o ra tio n * (l*3:lU8)

The f i n a l genera l argument dem onstrating th e im portance o f

teach ing l i s te n in g has to do w ith the s ig n i f ic a n t p a r t communication

i s he ld to have in the g enera l ed uca tion ph ilosophy . A m ajor te n e t

underly ing g en era l educa tion h o ld s th a t ”in school we should le a r n

how to do b e t te r th e th in g s we a re going to do most f re q u e n tly

throughout our l iv e s * ? (33*v± ii) Thus, teach ing l i s te n in g in school

i s a c o n tr ib u tio n to the o v e r - a l l development and u se fu ln ess o f p u p ils

as p re se n t and fu tu re members o f s o c ie ty . The communication approach

toward teach in g l i s te n in g as w e ll as speaking, reading* and w r it in g i s

a p a r t o f the growth o f g en e ra l educa tion i t s e l f . A w itn ess to t h i s

i s th e r e p o r t o f the P r e s id e n ts Commission on Higher Education which

i s quoted in N ichols and Lewis: ‘’Developing the s k i l l s of communi

c a tio n i s perhaps the l e a s t debatab le o f the o b je c tiv e s of th e o b jec

t iv e s o f genera l e d u c a tio n .” ( 3 3 :v i i i ) The communication approach i s

th e d i r e c t approach which a tta c k s any language problem on a fo u r - fo ld

f r o n t in s te a d o f on one, and w ith c o rre c tiv e techn iques and a c t i v i t i e s

u t i l i z i n g th e fo u r channels o f language. Reports o f s tu d ie s comparing

th e e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f t r a d i t io n a l language t r a in in g and th e comrauni- j

c a tio n s approach f in d t h a t the l a t t e r fs a t ta c k on fo u r f r o n ts

develops th e g re a te r language f a c i l i t y , (3 3 :ix -x )

U nquestionably, th e co n v ic tio n of p ro fe s s io n a l bodies o f

te a ch e rs such as the N ational Council o f Teachers o f E ng lish th a t

language adequacy i s b e s t developed by a d i r e c t , i n te r r e l a t in g of the

language a r t s i s a strong argument i n a s so c ia tin g l i s te n in g w ith

read ing improvement.' Indeed , Robinson (39:79) r e p o r ts th a t one

re se a rc h e r “contends th a t t r a in in g i n l i s te n in g improves read ing

a b i l i t y . 11 And a second suggests t h a t such t r a in in g can improve no t

only read in g b u t speaking and w ritin g as w e ll . There i s , a p p aren tly ,

no lo n g er any argument t h a t the re c e p tiv e s k i l l s , l i s te n in g and

rea d in g , a re e q u a lly amenable to improvement. (33:6) Caffrey»s

(12:123) summary o f t h i s re se a rc h in d ic a te d th a t a f t e r work on th e

c o n s tru c tio n and v a l id a t io n of a l i s te n in g a b i l i t i e s t e s t , “Spaehe

suggested th a t measures o f auding a b i l i t y mark p o te n t ia l c e i l in g s fo r

read ing a b i l i t y . ” V e r if ic a t io n of such an h y p o th esis would s tro n g ly

urge th e c lo se a s so c ia tio n of d iag n o sis and in s t ru c t io n of a b i l i ty i n

l i s te n in g and read ing be combined e i th e r in E ng lish c la s s e s , o r when

se r io u s d e f ic ie n c ie s e x i s t , i n the read in g improvement c la s s . Reading

s k i l l a lone , a s Dale p o in ts o u t, i s too o f te n d e f ic ie n t . “D espite the

s t r ik in g advantages of read ing as the most . . . s ig n i f ic a n t method of

communication of experience i t sometimes f a i l s . ” (15:1*7) VJhether

such f a i lu r e e x is ts o r n o t does n o t remove th e school*s r e s p o n s ib i l i ty

f o r p rov id ing in s t r u c t io n in the supplem entary s k i l l o f l i s te n in g .

W oelfel (5 5 :28 ), i n a study o f the advantages o f read in g versus

l i s t e n in g , concluded t h a t l i s te n in g groups d id eq u a lly as w e ll on j

t e s t s o f lea rn ed in fo rm ation as d id s i l e n t read ing groups* \

Two in v e s t ig a to r s (33s11) found th ese conclusions supported

by the re se a rc h l i t e r a t u r e concerned w ith the teach in g o f l i s te n in g j

s k i l l s and tend to agree t h a t e s s e n t ia l ly the m a jo rity o f people a re

lo w -lev e l perform ers in l i s t e n in g ; th a t th e s k i l l i s r e a d i ly amenable .

to t r a in in g and improvement; t h a t i t i s u n fo rtu n a te th a t schools d id

n o t s t a r t t r a in in g f o r t h i s d e s ira b le s k i l l sooner; t h a t the l i s t e n e r

must be dynamic, re sp o n siv e , c o n s tru c tiv e , and courteous i f he i s to

opera te a t a h igh le v e l ; t h a t th e person who acq u ires and evidences

these a t t r ib u t e s w i l l be r i c h ly rewarded fo r h is e f fo r ts *?

The conclu sion , th en , i s t h a t the u t i l i t y o f teach in g l i s t e n - j5

ing in th e read ing improvement c la s s i s based on th e evidence th a t !!

th e g en e ra l ed uca tion program combines the language a r t s and u t i l i z e s i

th e knowledge about read in g and l is te n in g a s the re c e iv in g ends o f th e

communicative process* They, a s a s s im ila tiv e s k i l l s , a re th e means

by which we rec e iv e l i n g u i s t i c communication and a re f a c to r s i n im

proving sc h o la s tic achievement* What th e te a c h e r needs to know are ji

th e s p e c if ic s o f how p u p ils* l i s te n in g s k i l l s can be improved in the

classroom*i

I I . UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF LISTENING

Teachers who accep t l i s te n in g a b i l i t y as a f a c to r in scho l

a s t i c achievem ent, and who wish to a id poor l i s t e n e r s to improve i n

th e s k i l l , w i l l need to understand what i s known o f the n a tu re o f the

l i s te n in g process* While t h i s a re a has n o t been a m ajor re se a rc h

concern , what th e l i t e r a t u r e exp resses i s worthy o f c o n s id e ra tio n . j!

N ichols and Lewis (33 *59-60) p o in ts to thought as th e f i r s t

and most im portan t o f a l l p o ss ib le f a c to r s a f fe c t in g l is te n in g com

prehension . Thought, i n t h e i r view , l ik e a r i v e r o f consciousness i s

e f f e c t iv e ly in focus when our m ental p ro ce sse s a re engaged in manipu

la t in g the o b je c t upon which we would a tte n d . But to give th is

a t te n t io n , p a ra d o x ic a lly re q u ire s a c o n stan t m ental m anipu lation o f a!

speaker*s words and usage. T herefo re , i t i s obvious th a t th ese '

re se a rc h e rs see le a rn in g through l i s te n in g as a c o r t i c a l a c t iv i t y

w ith in the l i s t e n e r r e s u l t in g from something perceived from the ap

p e rcep tiv e mass which i s the sum t o t a l o f a l l th o u g h ts , f e e l in g s ,

em otions, ex p erien ces , f a c t s , and id ea s t h a t an in d iv id u a l p o sse sse s .

(33:15-16) C on trariw ise , i t i s e v id e n t th a t in s u la t io n from l i s te n in g

can a lso be a u se fu l device f o r le a rn in g i f i t sh u ts ou t the w orth less

p e rc ep tio n s which may d e s tro y a t te n t io n . In e f f e c t , the s tre n g th and

danger to le a rn in g i s t h a t when p e rc ep tio n o f the appercep tive mass

occu rs, th e l i s t e n e r may w ithou t conscious e f f o r t s t r a in o u t the

worthy w ith th e w o rth le s s . Ctoly conscious e f f o r t toward m ental r e s

ponse to what i s heard h e lp s th e in d iv id u a l to l i s t e n in te l l i g e n t ly .

(22:230)

In a d d itio n to though t, a second f a c to r o f a t te n t io n i s h e ld

to be s ig n i f ic a n t in the n a tu re o f l i s te n in g . Brerabeek (8:263) in

s i s t s t h a t w ithou t a t te n t io n , communication cannot e x i s t . A tten tio n

i s th e c r i t i c a l elem ent o f communication. Once ga ined , th e re i s no

guaran tee i t can be re ta in e d because d u ra tio n o f a b so lu te a t te n t io n

has been found to be on ly a few seconds, and in s p u r ts , w ith the span

dependent upon the s tim u li and upon the in d iv id u a l l i s t e n in g . j

A ttending to se v e ra l th in g s sim ultaneously reduced the in te n s i ty o f j

focus o f a t te n t io n to m arginal s ta tu s . I t s h i f t s as i t exp lo res th e j

va lu es o f each s t im u li , and in k ind i t i s e i th e r in v o lu n ta ry , volun- !

ta r y , o r n o n -v o lu n ta ry ." (8:267) A tten tio n was a lso dem onstrated to ,

be v i t a l by W ilt {$k slUli) who found i n h e r study th a t more than h a lf

o f th e s o -c a lle d deafness i n p u p ils i s no th ing more th a n la c k o f ;

a t te n t io n . Poor l i s te n in g w ith o r w ithou t hearing impairm ent r e ta rd s if

normal language development. I t may be s ig n i f ic a n t to th e teach ing

of l i s te n in g to le a r n why in mass communication the spoken word i s

so o f te n re in fo rc e d w ith music and sound e f f e c ts i f n o t to make the

l i s t e n e r s more a t te n t iv e su b je c ts .

A th i r d f a c to r in the n a tu re o f read ing i s th e concept o f !

" c i r c u i t r e s p o n se ,11 (33 :7) the essence o f which i s th a t communication

i s always a two-way c o lla b o ra tio n between speaker and l i s t e n e r . / The

l i s t e n e r , through the a p p lic a tio n o f c o n ce n tra tio n , i s always o f

equal im portance to the speaker and makes an e q u a lly s ig n i f ic a n t con

t r ib u t io n to su c c e ss fu l communication. Lewis (27:89) summarizes a Ji

th eo ry th a t l i s te n in g c o n ce n tra tio n would be aided through some recon

c i l i a t i o n o f th e speed o f speech and the speed o f though t. I f i t

p roves to be t ru e " th a t th e human mind has an a b i l i t y to re c e iv e

spoken language f a s t e r th an speakers do o r can produce i t . . . "

stepp ing up the p re se n t r a t e s o f speech should in c re a se comprehension :

by making c o n ce n tra tio n e a s i e r . In a d d itio n , such c i r c u i t response

h y p o th e tic a lly should enhance p e rs o n a l i ty b e n e f i ts ensuing from b e t t e r

l is te n e r - s p e a k e r r e la t io n s (3 3 :7 ), s in ce l i s te n in g i s s u b tly m odified

by the l i s te n e r * s a t t i tu d e toward th e speaker, as w ell a s toward the

audience and s itu a tio n * Even s o c ia l s i tu a t io n s cause l i s t e n e r s to

respond v a r io u s ly to th e same speech in d i f f e r e n t audience contexts*

(31:253) "What i s p robably im p lic i t in th ese s tu d ie s i s t h a t some

s tu d e n ts l i s t e n b e t t e r o r p o o rer i n some c la s s e s th an in o th e rs ,

depending upon the a t t i tu d e h e ld toward the tea ch e r and c la ssm a te s .

A fo u r th elem ent in the n a tu re o f l i s te n in g i s b u i l t on th e

psychology o f communication and i s expressed by Sondel (i*U:5) a s the

composite p rocess o f being an in d iv id u a l . "Our though ts are f i l t e r e d

by our f e e l in g s , our fe e l in g s by our th o u g h ts . No human being ever

stands alone in communication. L is te n in g i s p a r t of t h i s complex of

th o u g h t- fe e l in g .11 In ano ther study th e same au tho r concluded th a t th e

communicative p ro cess was o f te n f r u s t r a t e d because "most o f us l i s t e n

(and rea d ) w ith o u t a glimmer o f the d ev ices which are used to e n l i s t

our c o lla b o ra tio n . " (1*3 s76) The w r i te r was, o f course , u rg ing the

n e c e s s i ty of in d iv id u a l involvem ent in th e i n te l l e c tu a l p rocess o f

language communication. Dale (l5*5ii) o b liq u e ly re in fo rc e s t h i s view

p o in t by u rg ing f i r s t hand, in tim a te "knowledge of acquain tance11 w ith

a c tu a l d i r e c t , f i r s t - h a n d experience in the classroom f o r the p u p il ,

r a th e r than having him spend h is e n t i r e tin© in secu ring "knowledge

about" such v i t a l p ro cesses as read in g and l i s t e n in g .

The f i f t h f a c to r concerning th e n a tu re of l is te n in g " re s id e s i n

, i t s fu n c tio n as a prim ary mode o f le a rn in g and v a r ie s according to in

d iv id u a ls . According to N ichols and Lewis (33 *12), Hubbell concluded

on the b a s is o f h is s tu d ie s th a t n in e ty -e ig h t p e r c en t o f a l l th a t we

le a r n in our l i f e t im e we le a rn e i th e r th rough our eyes . or through our

ears* An e a r ly experim ent rep o rte d by S trang (1*7*368) showed le c tu r e

comprehension to be as e f f e c t iv e as unguided s i l e n t reading* Never

th e le s s , a tendency to f in d l is te n in g c o n s is te n t ly su perio r as an

avenue o f le a rn in g among some s tu d e n ts recu rs* The same re p o r t shows

th a t when d iv ided on the b a s is o f a b i l i t y , la rg e d if fe re n c e s appeared

The h ig h e s t q u a r t i le o f the group comprehended b e t te r a f t e r reading*

th e opposite was t ru e f o r th e low est q u a r t i l e . F iv e -s ix th s of the

average and poor re a d e rs p re fe r re d lec tu re s* Delayed t e s t s showed

th a t bo th types of s tu d e n ts lo s e about the same amount of le a rn ed

in fo rm ation when te s te d from one to s ix weeks l a t e r . (1*7:369) A

s im ila r study i n the same y e a r emphasized th e f a c t th a t some avenues

of le a rn in g are more a p p ro p ria te f o r c e r ta in s tu d e n ts than fo r o th e rs

Strang re p o r ts on Corey>s experim ents w ith c o lleg e freshmen which

-"showed.that s tu d e n ts sco rin g in the h ig h e s t q u a r t i le on the Ohio

S ta te Psycho log ica l Exam ination d id b e t te r on comprehending m a te r ia ls

read s i l e n t ly th an heard in le c tu re form. For s tu d en ts in the low est

q u a r t i le o f th e t e s t , th e re was no d if fe re n c e ." (1*7:368)

Thus, the l i t e r a t u r e o f re se a rc h does n o t challenge th e con

c ep t o f l i s te n in g a s a prim ary mode of le a rn in g . E xho rta tions to

b e t t e r the teach in g o f l i s te n in g do f in d sustenance in t h i s re se a rc h .

What i s more d i f f i c u l t to a s c e r ta in i s what to te a ch and how to teach

l i s te n in g s k i l l s . N ichols and Lewis (33:2) e x p la in , f o r example,

t h a t “th e r e a l fu n c tio n o f l i s te n in g i s to l e a r n ” and th a t i t s “a l l

im portan t c e n tra l c o n tr ib u tio n to be made to in d iv id u a l growth and

development i s th a t o f making le a rn in g e a s ie r , more p le a s a n t, and

more econom ic.“ The re se a rc h o f W elsh ,attem pted ,to . i s o la te the

f a c to r s th a t would, p r e d ic t t h i s l i s te n in g s k i l l , and according to th e j. ■ . I

summary o f Lewis (27:9 2 ) , th e in v e s tig a t io n concluded th a t m ental age,'

read ing t e s t s , te a c h e r and p a re n t r a t in g s would n o t p re d ic t such [!

s k il l* In a comparison o f l i s te n in g and s i l e n t read ing as p roductive |

o f su p e rio r le a rn in g s Gates concluded:i

So f a r as we know, the p rim ary and h ig h er n e u ra l connections jo f the b ra in aroused through one sense organ a re j u s t a sm od ifiab le and r e te n t iv e as a re th e c e n te rs s tim u la ted by o th e rs . Other th in g s being equal we le a rn q u ite as r e a d i ly through one sense as ano ther • • • . The main q u estio n s a re : which method makes most c le a r the th in g to be le a rn e dand which does i t most in te r e s t in g ly and most econom ically . . . . (19:338-33?)

The Commission on th e E ng lish Curriculum i n 195>2 d id n o t a ttem pt to

a sse ss the n a tu re of l i s te n in g b u t proceeded from th e assum ption th a t ■

l i s te n in g was a mode o f le a rn in g and id e n t i f i e d the k inds of l is te n in g

in s t ru c t io n th a t th e p u p il should undergo from p re -p rim ary to c o lle g e .

They d id n o t d esc rib e the in s t r u c t io n . (30:83-92, 331-332)

The most concre te suggestions found in th e l i t e r a t u r e a re from

W eksell (52:27-29) 'who emphasized how much can be le a rn e d about the

teach in g of l i s te n in g from re se a rc h in methods o f teach in g rea d in g ,

a lthough l i s te n in g i s n o t in a l l re spects : analagous to rea d in g .

N ichols agreed:

l is te n in g and read in g are roughly e q u iv a le n t as to o ls o f |le a rn in g • • • • a re c lo s e ly r e la te d , b u t l i s te n in g can- n o t be thought o f s o le ly as a by-product of th e teach in g jo f read ing • • * • l i s te n in g cannot be thought o f as cons i s t in g o f p ra c t ic e and n a tiv e in te l l ig e n c e , b u t i t must be ta u g h t. (32:158)

Kegler (2hih97) b e lie v e s th a t th e p sycho log ica l p ro cesses o f l i s t e n

ing and read ing have much in common; i t i s m echanically t h a t th ey

d i f f e r .

, The n a tu re o f l i s te n in g construed to include a p rim ary le a r n

ing mode c lo s e ly r e la te d to read in g i s sc a rc e ly more than a hypo

th es is* I f , however, i t should be e s ta b l is h e d , the evidence fo r i t

j w i l l come, a s i t d id f o r read in g , from th e classroom s where tea ch e rs!

coopera ting w ith re se a rc h e rs w i l l experi m en tally i n s t r u c t in s p e c i f ic

l i s te n in g s k i l l s and w ith techn iques dev ised o r im provised by them

s e lv e s . U t i l iz a t io n of the methodology o f p a s t re se a rc h in to s i l e n t

read ing may re v e a l t h a t i n a b i l i t y to l i s t e n , l ik e i n a b i l i t y to read ,

i s caused by a c o n s te l la t io n o f f a c to r s r a th e r than by one i s o la te d

f a c to r . Credence f o r t h i s su p p o s itio n i s gained from no ting th a t ,

where a ttem p ts were made to determ ine th e f a c to r s invo lved , th ey have

i n every case appeared, as i n rea d in g , to be m u ltip le f a c to r s . In

l i s te n in g , some o f these m u ltip le f a c to r s have been surveyed.

Cashman (ll*:l*0) surveyed th i s re se a rc h and re p o rte d the fo llow ing

m u ltip le f a c to r s to be p re s e n t i n the l i s t e n e r s :

1 . A tt i tu d e :

a . Toward th e speaker

b . To the su b je c t m atte r

c . Toward th e l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n

2 . Tendency to fake a t te n t io n

3* Methods, by which he handles what he h ea rs

k* Adjustment to em otional p o in ts

£ . Experience w ith in c re a s in g ly d i f f i c u l t su b je c t m a tte r

6 . Way o f u t i l i z in g the m a te r ia l w hile he l i s t e n s .

I I I . DETEmCDUNG THE KINDS OF LISTENING SKILLS TO BE TAUGHT !I

» No m a tte r how good th e evidence f o r teach in g any s k i l l s may j

be , evidence needs to be supplemented by a p robing in to how th e ;i

e f f e c t iv e r e a l iz a t io n i s to be accom plished. This obviously p e r ta in s ,

to l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n a ls o . In g e n e ra l* the answers p rovided by

re se a rc h have been d ire c te d more toward teach in g l i s te n in g to th e :

c o lle g e s tu d e n t, e s p e c ia l ly i n the freshm an y e a r o f E nglish communi

c a tio n . Second in im portance has been the in v e s t ig a t io n in to elemen- '\

ta r y school teach ing o f l i s te n in g . The two a re a s o f re se a rc h i n t e r e s t

a re combined and adapted in t h i s s e c tio n whenever i t appears t h a t such

o b je c tiv e s deserve experim entation a t the secondary school l e v e l .

iKinds of l i s te n in g to be ta u g h t. The f i r s t m ajor o b jec tiv e in

in co rp o ra tin g th e teach in g o f l i s te n in g s k i l l s i n a read ing improve

ment classroom i s to de term ine , w ith as much p re c is io n a s i s p o s s ib le ,

the k inds of l i s te n in g which should be in c lu d ed in such a program.

Since th e curricu lum under d isc u ss io n i s l im ite d to a s p e c if ic type of,

classroom in s t r u c t io n d e a lin g only w ith language symbols, the l i s t e n - 1

ing o b je c tiv e s n e c e s s a r ily a re r e s t r i c te d to l in g u i s t i c sym bols. Hiey

a re o f th re e k in d s: c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g , d isc r im in a tiv e l i s te n in g , and

a p p re c ia tiv e l i s t e n in g . The fo llow ing se c tio n s p re s e n t what has been |

e s ta b lis h e d about th e th re e k inds o f l in g u i s t i c l i s te n in g to be

ta u g h t.

C r i t i c a l l i s te n in g . Any pu rposefu l l i s te n in g to p e rsu as iv e1

speech to e v a lu a te arguments and evidence i s considered to be c r i t i c a l

39 !l i s t e n in g . (33s i) The c o n tro llin g elem ent t h a t should d is t in g u is h !

imost c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g from o th e r k inds o f in s t ru c t io n a l l i s te n in g 1

i s th a t i t i s r e s t r i c te d to the ro le o f the c o u n te rp a rt to p e rsu as io n |

and i s n o t ap p lied i n th e same manner to in fo rm a tiv e , in s t r u c t io n a l ji

m a te r ia ls . In c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g the c e n tr a l purpose i s to make an

accu ra te e v a lu a tio n o f th e p e rsu as io n p re se n te d . InJhile i t i s n o t j

meant to in c lu d e a snap judgm ent, a su sp ic io u s o r h o s t i le a t t i tu d ei

toward every phrase o r sen tence , i t does presuppose a more im m ediately

c r i t i c a l a t t i tu d e th an i s adopted w hile l i s te n in g to in fo rm atio n o r

in s t r u c t io n . The most obvious form o f p e rsu as io n i s propaganda, and

l i s t e n e r s k i l l in c lu d es th e d e te c tio n of th e "committed11 speaker to

p o in ts o f view o r p roducts w ith o r w ithou t genuine c o n v ic tio n s .i

"Whether th e m otives of the "committed" speaker a re e th ic a l o r n o t does'

n o t a f f e c t th e avowed in te n t o f p e rsu as io n . The p ersu as io n f a c to r i s

th e one which c a l l s up immediate r ig o ro u s c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g and

th in k in g resp o n ses . (33*72)

C r i t i c a l l i s t e n in g , B aird and Knower (14*291) em phasize,

re q u ire s t h a t the l i s t e n e r po ssess a knowledge of common f a l l a c i e s and

th e schemes o f p ro p ag an d is ts . .Among these a re inc luded th e n e c e s s i ty

f o r in s t ru c t in g l i s t e n e r s about the propaganda dev ices o f s name

c a l l in g , g l i t t e r i n g g e n e r a l i t ie s , t r a n s f e r , te s tim o n ia l, p la in fo lk s ,

card s ta c k in g , and band wagon. (33*73-710 Since most speech te x ts

p rov ide f u l l trea tm e n t o f th ese and o th e r p e rsu as io n d e v ic es , f u r th e r j

d e sc r ip tio n i s n o t e n te re d in to h e re .

Teaching s e lf -d e fe n se a g a in s t propaganda in a n a tio n p ro v id in g

f o r n e a r ly u n lim ited freedom of speech in c lu d e s the examining o f a ll

a sp e c ts of th e evidence in speeches o f p e rsu as io n . The in s t r u c t io n 1

should inc ludes

1* When an a s s e r t io n i s made, l i s t e n f o r ev idence . i

2. W ithout evidence suspec t th e a s s e r t io n . j

3. With evidence l i s t e n f o r a t t r ib u t io n to a s p e c if icsou rce . 1

U. T est th e value of the p u rp o rted source f o ri

a . recency j

b . competency

c . n e u t r a l i ty ( lack of p re ju d ic e ) (33 t lh - lS )

In a d d itio n to teach ing l i s t e n e r s a c r i t i c a l a t t i tu d e toward

th e sources o f p e rsu as io n in speech as i n w r i t in g , the re c e p tiv e s k i l l

o f l i s t e n in g , l ik e read in g , re q u ire s t h a t an in d iv id u a l m ain ta in a!

c r i t i c a l a t t i tu d e toward one »s own response to the p e rsu as io n .

Adams (2 :12) analyzes t h i s a t t i tu d e of s e l f - c r i t i c i s m toward response.!

P urposefu lness i s f i r s t o f a l l m aintained^ we know whyrwe l i s t e n .

Second, th e l i s te n in g i s k ep t accu ra te by being a l e r t m en ta lly and

em o tionally . This in v o lv es b rin g in g an adequate background to th eI

p e rsu as iv e speech so th a t p re ju d ic e s can be c o n tro lle d , and i t means

an a b i l i t y to recognize th e p a t te r n o f th e p e rsu a s io n , by ju d g in g , by

q u e s tio n in g , by summarizing, a s s im ila tin g . T h ird , the l i s te n in g i s

response — we use fo r a n a ly s is what we have a tten d ed to . Toi

e f f e c t iv e ly te a ch c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g to p e rsu as iv e speech and a

c r i t i c a l a t t i tu d e toward th e l i s t e n e r s own resp o n se , Anderson

(3 :6Lj.-65) b e lie v e s th a t a p a r t o f the teach e r* s o b je c tiv e s w i l l j

in c lu d e knowing something s p e c if ic about the understand ings, a t t i tu d e s ,

a p p re c ia tio n s , s k i l l s , and a b i l i t i e s , h e ld by the in d iv id u a ls in th e I

classroom . A fter t h i s has been determ ined a s w e ll as p o s s ib le , he J suggests t h a t te a c h e rs analyze in what re s p e c ts th e classroom can b e s t

encourage, m odify, and supplement c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g s k i l l , o r eounteiy!

a c t th e elem ents th a t m i l i ta te a g a in s t i t . S tr ick lan d (50 s i 22) con- ;

n e c ts c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g to c r i t i c a l rea d in g . The in d iv id u a l has th e ,i

r e s p o n s ib i l i ty f o r le a rn in g to l i s t e n p u rp o se fu lly , a c c u ra te ly , and

re sp o n s ib ly . To in su re t h i s i s th e teach e r* s ta s k .

A ppreciative l i s t e n in g . L is ten in g to any kind of stim u lus

g ra t i fy in g to the senses o f th e l in g u i s t i c h e a re r i s considered to be

a p p re c ia tiv e l i s t e n in g . A ppreciative l i s te n in g can include l i s te n in g ,

to s t im u li o th e r th an l in g u i s t i c symbols, b u t the work in language

communication i n the read ing classroom does n o t norm ally in c lu d e such ij

a c t i v i t i e s . In harmony w ith a p p re c ia tiv e read in g , se v e ra l elem ents

combine to make a p p re c ia tiv e l i s te n in g a d e s ira b le in s t r u c t io n a l

o b je c tiv e . I t i s through l i s t e n in g , f i r s t o f a l l , th a t in d iv id u a ls

d isco v er and develop inescapab le a e s th e t ic experiences which may be

e i th e r em otionally o r i n t e l l e c t u a l l y p le a su ra b le o r b o th . Yery o f te n

th ey a re a lso s tim u la tin g and can be d e riv ed from sources t h a t range

from simple to complex. (33:66) A ppreciative l i s te n in g , l ik e most

s k i l l s , depends upon th e background of knowledge of co n ten t t h a t we

b rin g to i t . The b e t t e r we understand the language concepts we are

h e a rin g , the g re a te r becomes our p o te n t ia l s a t i s f a c t io n and p le a su re .

(33:68)

The N ational Council o f Teachers o f E nglish (31:265) r e p o r ts

t h a t C hristopher Fry c h a ra c te r iz e d the b e s t a p p re c ia tiv e l i s t e n e r as

a c re a tiv e l i s t e n e r who m ain ta in s : a re a d in e ss to re c e iv e , s e n s ib i l i

t y , and an awareness o f when he i s touched. The Council (310^4-0-3141)

a lso d e c la re s th a t developing a p p re c ia tiv e l i s te n in g among s tu d e n ts

was dem onstrably a two-way s tr e e t* A esth e tic responses to l i t e r a t u r e

read aloud le a d n a tu r a l ly to d isc u ss io n and b e t t e r speech* Appreci

a tiv e l i s te n in g re q u ire s a classroom c lim ate t h a t i s q u ie t , r e f l e c t iv e

in mood, in c re a s in g ly d isc rim in a tin g in t a s t e , and in s t r u c t io n in

fo llow ing a sequence of id e a s , o f recogn iz ing t r a n s i t io n , and o f sep

a ra tin g main p o in ts from subord ina te ones, and g e n e ra liz a tio n s from

exam ples. (31s265) O p p o rtu n ities f o r engaging in a p p re c ia tiv e

l i s te n in g surround u s . Smith i n s i s t s :

There a re a e s th e t ic elem ents in p re s e n ta tio n s on the s ta g e , th e screen , and th e a i r which make sp e c ia l demands on th e l i s t e n e r * * * some o f th e most b e a u t i f u l d e s c r ip t iv e l in e s i n E nglish p o e try have been a t t r ib u te d to the absence of scenery from Shakespeare*s stage* In ra d io drama . • . vo ice and language alone must d i f f e r e n t i a t e one c h a ra c te r from ano ther u n t i l th e unfo ld ing o f th e p lo t p e rm its a c tio n s to speak w ith words• S p e c ific techn iques of l i s te n in g must compensate fo r the la c k of v is u a l p resen t a t io n . (k2 2100- 1 0 1 )

The f u l l a e s th e t ic b e n e f i ts o f a p p re c ia tiv e l i s te n in g are

r a r e ly known to many p u p ils because of la c k of in s t r u c t io n . Among the

a n t ic ip a te d y ie ld f o r s tu d e n ts o f such in s t r u c t io n th e fo llow ing a re

l i s t e d :

1* In c re a s in g ly h igh q u a li ty o f l is te n in g in c re a se s enjoyment o f l i f e *

2* E nlarges experience v ica rio u s ly *

3* Develops language f a c i l i t y .

It* Expands th e range o f enjoyments*

_ _ - - - k3

5 . D ecreases the te n s io n o f l iv in g . (33:68-69)

D iscrim inative l i s t e n in g . The th i r d kind of l i s te n in g ap

p l i e s to l i s te n in g to in fo rm ative speech. The purpose o f d isc rim in

a tiv e l i s te n in g i s comprehension and l a t e r , u t i l i z a t i o n of th e id ea s

and in fo rm atio n o f th e speaker* In th e in s t ru c t io n a l s i tu a t io n i t i s

th e main k ind o f l i s te n in g and very o f te n o verlaps w ith c r i t i c a l o r

a p p re c ia tiv e l i s t e n in g • (33:2)

According to Bishop (6:101-102) th e reason f o r doing d i s

c rim in a tiv e l i s te n in g V aries w ith the s i tu a t io n and w ith the person

l i s t e n in g , b u t th re e g en e ra l reasons can be s ta te d , namely: (1 ) the

need f o r in fo rm atio n , (2) th e d e s ire f o r in fo rm a tio n , and (3) the

a n t ic ip a t io n o f p le a su re or p o ss ib le reward f o r a c tio n based on infor<

m ation through l i s te n in g . In fo rm ative speech in th e classroom i s

always e i th e r s tru c tu re d so t h a t comprehension can be e x p l i c i t ly

checked, o r i t i s n o n -s tru c tu re d , a s i n th e s i tu a t io n where a ss ig n

ments and d ire c tio n s are g iven by the te a c h e r , o r where r e c i t a t io n s

and d isc u ss io n s occur spontaneously* (30:335) 3h e i th e r ca se , d i s

c rim in a tiv e l i s te n in g must be tau g h t and p ra c tic e d .

Pronvost emphasized th e c r e a t i v i ty and pu rposefu lness in c o r

p o ra te d in to th e fo llow ing f a c to r s which should be included i n any

o ra l communication s i tu a t io n in the classroom* These would apply to

bo th s tru c tu re d and n o n -s tru c tu re d d isc r im in a tiv e l i s te n in g s i t u

a tio n s :

1 . Courteous and a t te n t iv e l i s t e n in g .

2. The a b i l i t y to l i s t e n f o r main id e a s , se q u e n tia l development o f su b -p o in ts , and th e use of exp lanato ry

o r supporting ev idence .

3* The a b i l i t y to analyze th e meanings and im p lic a tio n so f words used b y a speaker. I

si*. The a b i l i t y to a d ju s t l i s te n in g to a speaker*s v o ice j

and a r t i c u la t io n , and the a c o u s tic a l c o n d itio n s o f jthe l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n . j

5 . The a b i l i t y to adap t l i s te n in g behavior i n conver- |sa tio n s and d isc u ss io n s .

6 . A ppreciative l i s te n in g to l i t e r a t u r e p resen ted in o ra l read in g o r dram atic form. (36:7)

Sondel1 s (U3:199) concern w ith th e d isc r im in a tiv e type o f j

l i s te n in g to in fo rm ative speech i s cen tered i n the concept o f

a n a ly s is . I f the l i s t e n e r can d e te c t the b a s ic o u tlin e o f the

speech, th a t l i s t e n e r has g rasped th e beginning of a n a ly t ic a l l i s t e n - !

in g . A nalysis means understand ing , f a c i l i t a t e s remembering, i si

e s s e n t ia l to e v a lu a tio n o f in fo rm atio n , and i s f i n a l l y , the p re lim in - j

a ry s tep to any f u r th e r use which can be made o f th e m a te r ia l l i s te n e d

to .

In a survey o f the language s k i l l s f o r g i f te d s tu d e n ts pub

l is h e d by the N ational E ducation A sso c ia tio n , Jew ett emphasizes th e

o b je c tiv e s in l i s te n in g which apply to a l l th e k inds o f l i s te n in g

which should be tau g h t in th e classroom . I t i s notew orthy t h a t he

p o in ts ou t t h a t m ost, i f n o t a l l , o f th e o b je c tiv e s apply as w e ll to

s tu d e n ts o th e r th an th e g i f te d :

1 . Does the s tu d e n t, w hile l i s te n in g to speeches o r l e c tu r e s , d is t in g u is h between im portan t id ea s and i r r e l e v a n t d e ta i l s and summarize th e sp e a k e r 's main p o in ts ?

2 . Can the s tu d e n t fo llo w a l in e o f reason ing and e v a lu a te th e v a l id i ty o f arguments and conclusions reached?

3 . Can th e s tu d e n t tak e n o tes and o u tlin e a speaker *s main

p o in ts ?

In Does th e s tu d e n t respond a p p re c ia tiv e ly to th e em otion- ■ a l q u a l i ty o f p o e tic language? I

5>. Does th e s tu d e n t respond a p p ro p r ia te ly to d i f f e r e n t 'ty p es of p ro se : humor, iro n y , s a t i r e , tragedy? j

6 . Does th e s tu d e n t evaluate the e f fe c t iv e n e s s o f speake rs i n a p an e l o r round ta b le : w hether th ey s t ic k toth e s u b je c t , p re s e n t id ea s f a i r l y and f a c t s h o n e s tly , and a r r iv e a t lo g ic a l conclusions?

7* Does th e s tu d e n t ev a lu a te th e r e l a t iv e m e r it o f v a rio u s jra d io and te le v is io n programs and m otion p ic tu re s in the l i g h t o f t h e i r purposes? (23:110) -

17. RELATING LISTENING SKILLS TO THE READING IMPR07EMENT INSTRUCTION ;

Three p o in ts were e s ta b lis h e d by th e consensus o f th e re sea rch

conclusions and d e s c r ip tio n s o f classroom p ra c t ic e s w ith reg a rd to ;

l i s t e n in g . F i r s t , g en era l agreement e x i s t s on the n e c e s s ity f o r

developing improved l i s te n in g s k i l l . Second, th e burden of re se a rc h

and p ro fe s s io n a l op in ion p o in ts to the need f o r a c lo s e r i n t e r

r e la t io n s h ip o f th e language a r t s in the elassroom . T hird, l i s te n in g

and read ing s k i l l s are c lo s e ly a sso c ia te d as re c e p tiv e communication

s k i l l s . Although g e n e ra l l i s te n in g s k i l l s a re req u ire d i n most school

a c t i v i t i e s , d i f f e r e n t l i s te n in g s k i l l s a re re q u ire d by d i f f e r e n t .

l i s t e n in g program s. (31:261i) This s e c t io n r e l a te s the l i s te n in g

s k i l l s to the in s t r u c t io n in th e read ing improvement classroom .

There i s a c lo se r e la t io n s h ip between c r i t i c a l l i s te n in g and

c r i t i c a l read in g , a p p re c ia tiv e l i s te n in g , and read ing f o r ap p rec i

a t io n , as w e ll a s between d isc r im in a tiv e l i s te n in g and d isc rim in a tiv e

re a d in g . (15:69) Oral read ing can develop improved l i s te n in g by

i*6i

classroom in te ra c t io n s j u s t as good conversation* d isc u ss io n , o r j

r e c i ta t io n in th e classroom can develop l i s te n in g s k i l ls * Both j

re q u ire an understanding of the need, the o b je c tiv e s , and th e s k i l l s

to be developed. (50:122) Classroom in te r a c t io n between s tu d en ts and'

s tu d e n ts , between tea ch e rs and s tu d e n ts c a l l s f o r l i s te n in g w ith j

a t te n t io n to resp o n ses, fo llow ed by a comprehension o f th e se responses’

and a re a c t io n to them. I f a meeting of minds i s to take p la c e in th e

classroom as genuine evidence th a t le a rn in g i s tak in g p la c e , th en i t j

must be d e l ib e ra te ly planned f o r . (50:32)

Whether in l i s te n in g to speech o r to o ra l read in g , most

in v e s tig a t io n s confirm th e procedure of f i r s t teach in g th e s tu d e n t toS

l i s t e n w hile c o n s ta n tly accompanying t h i s in s t r u c t io n and p ra c t ic e i n !

and ou t o f the classroom w ith e v a lu a tio n s o f th e accuracy o f the j

re c e p tio n . S tra t to n l i s t s s k i l l s to be developed and accompanied by

e v a lu a tio n :

1 . S k i l l s in understand ing o rd ers and commands g iven o r a l ly .

2 . A b il ity to le a rn e f f i c i e n t l y from o ra l in s t r u c t io n .

3 . A b il i ty to memorize o rd e rs , in s t r u c t io n s , and d ire c t io n s g iven o r a l ly and to re p e a t them a c c u ra te ly . ,

U. A b il i ty to l i s t e n w ith c r i t i c a l judgment to argum ents, !speeches, ra d io program s, and phonograph re c o rd in g s .(k9i$k2)

According to D ale, I . A. R ichards p o in ts o u t in a work on

c r i t ic i s m th a t i n th e read in g of p o e try even th e s im p le s t phase of '

communication, namely, th e communication o f the sense o f what i s

m eant, i s f re q u e n tly m is in te rp re te d due to poor re c e p tiv e s k i l l s . A

s im ila r s i tu a t io n e x is ts i n sc ien ce , m athem atics, and s o c ia l sc ien ce .

(15:14-7) This f a i l u r e can be overcome only by r ig o ro u s t r a in in g in !

l i s te n in g f o r and s ta t in g the sense of what i s meant when one engages j

in l i s te n in g o r read ing a c tiv ity * Sondel (1*1*: 65) reminds l i s t e n e r s , 1i

o ra l re a d e rs , and speakers how the sense o f speech, f o r example, i sii

communicated w ith th e a id o f s i le n c e .

A pause i s s i le n c e , an im portan t a id to communication and n ecessa ry to a l i s t e n e r , who n o te s th a t th ey occur n a tu r a l l y in t r a n s i t io n s and a re to be used as a guide to the s tru c tu re o f speech. (1*1* *6 5 )

Many educa to rs a re concerned w ith the s k i l l o f prom oting th i s i n t e r - iiia c tin g o r c o lla b o ra tin g p ro cess w ith in the in s t r u c t io n a l framework.

They r e f e r to th e se s k i l l s to be ta u g h t as e s ta b l is h in g h a b its o f

prompt a t te n t io n , r e l a t in g new in fo rm ation being rece iv ed to what i s i

a lread y known, and l i s te n in g f o r sp e c if ic s* To Sondel, f o r example, i!in te r a c t io n i s c o lla b o ra tio n , and su c c e ss fu l i n t e l l i g e n t c o lla b o ra tio n

r e s u l t s in communication: i

Mien i t * s your tu rn to l i s t e n , you l i s t e n . C a re fu lly , a t t e n t iv e ly , c r i t i c a l l y , e v a lu a tiv e ly . You g e t your cue from your c o lla b o ra to r • • • . w hatever he says you must acknowledge, in one way o r another* I f you don’t do t h i s w ith honest c o n s id e ra tio n you m ight j u s t as w e ll be deaf when he speaks* And most o f us a re —v ir tu a l ly * (1*1* *58)

O bstruc tion of t h i s s k i l l i s m ainly due to an e g o ce n tric c o n te s t fo r

le a d e rsh ip in d isc u ss io n , o r perhaps a tendency toward monopoly of

co n v ersa tio n . ltTo c o n te s t f o r the sheer sake of le a d e rsh ip i s the

mark o f th e n e u ro tic * ” (1*3 *11*6 )

S k i l l in communication or i n classroom d isc u ss io n as c o lla b

o ra t io n i s th e le a rn ed c re a t io n of more th an one p e rs o n a l i ty and c a l l s

f o r acceptance (re c e p tio n ) as w ell a s p re s e n ta tio n (speaking o r o ra l

re a d in g ) . Sondel suggests th a t d isc u ss io n s fo llow a form at such as

th e fo llo w in g , which i s ab ridged :

1 . Frame a q u estio n f o r a common s ta r t in g p o in t . This s t a t e s th e problem and p a r t ic ip a n ts can agree on ,!th e need” o f what i s being d iscu ssed .

2. Diverge only a f t e r th e common s ta r t in g p o in t has been s ta te d .

3 . R ela te the proposed end to th e common p o in t .

li. Proceed to agree o r d isag ree on the proposed end o r the means to a proposed end. This i s th e c o n te s t p a r t o f d isc u ss io n .

5 . L is ten J F in a lly , and most im portan t, c o n te s t demands l i s t e n in g . Com petition t h a t p e r s i s t s though th e cont e s ta n t s only h a l f l i s t e n ( i f a t a l l ) i s l o s t m otion.I t i s n o t i n t e l l i g e n t a c t iv i t y . I mean th a t th e l i s t e n e r i s on th e a l e r t only f o r p o in ts o f d isa g ree ment w ith u t t e r d is re g a rd o f p o ss ib le p o in ts o f agreem ent. The person who i s p red isposed to c o n tra - d ie t io n i s , in the end, excluded from any i n t e l l i g e n t a ttem p t to reach a goal on th e b a s is of coopera tive agreement • (U3 :ll*7 -lb .8 )

F a ilu re to l i s t e n in the classroom d isc u ss io n s o r to in s t ru c

t io n i s as se r io u s a handicap i n read ing improvement as n o t hearing

w e ll, and c o rre c tio n depends upon th e a u d ito ry techn iques of the

te a c h e r . Bond and Tinker (7 :93 ) p o in t ou t how much read in g ach ieve

ment depends upon language developm ent. In s tru c t io n i n read in g

in v o lv es a la rg e o r a l component. The p u p il needs to fo llo w a v a r ie ty

o f o ra l a c t i v i t i e s , c o n s ta n tly a s so c ia te s speech w ith p r in te d words,

and w ithou t th e a b i l i t y to make au d ito ry d isc rim in a tio n s through a

v a r ie ty o f a u d ito ry techn iques i s s e r io u s ly handicapped.

Lewis (27:92) p o in ts to f a i lu r e to l i s t e n as a m ajor handicap

of s tu d e n ts . His study re v e a ls th a t i t caused over h a l f th e s tu d e n ts

in h i s s tu d y to f a i l i n the r e l a t i v e ly sim ple s k i l l o f secu rin g the

main id e a of s p e c ia l ly c o n s tru c ted le c tu r e m a te r ia ls . S tr ic k la n d

u9

(50 :152) b e lieves_ .tha t th e c r i t i c a l a re a o f l i s te n in g f o r younger

p u p ils i s in fo llow ing and in g iv ing d i r e c t io n s . Brown (30:31*7) i s j

rep o rte d to have d iscovered th a t a b i l i t y to fo llo w co n te x tu a l c lu e s j; i| i s the b e s t s in g le t e s t f o r d isc r im in a tin g between good and poor j1 ;•

l i s t e n e r s , Cashman (ll*:33-31*) found a u ra l memory the c r i t i c a l\

f a c to r , and lew is (27:90) compiled a summary o f seven s tu d ie s t h a t !

seemed to dem onstrate t h a t r a te o f l i s te n in g v a r ie s w idely from r a te

o f speak ing , ,fWe might hypothesize t h a t r a te of l i s te n in g to speech,

as i s t ru e w ith s i l e n t rea d in g , m ight be improved w ith t r a i n i n g , tt I

(27:90) ’

I t i s notew orthy th a t the above-m entioned s k i l l s o f l i s te n in g

a re e q u a lly d e sc rib a b le as read in g s k i l l s • The N ational Council o f j

Teachers o f E nglish (30:33ii-335) suggest f u r th e r s k i l ls * They a re j: p resen ted here i n adapted form as p a r a l l e l s i n l i s te n in g and rea d in g : !

1 , L is te n in g /re a d in g f o r the answer to a d e f in i te q u e s tio n ,

2, L is te n in g to /re a d in g a q u e s tio n , w ith th e in te n t io n to answer,

3 , L is te n in g /re a d in g to form an op in ion on a co n tro - !v e r s i a l q u e s tio n , !

ih. L is te n in g /re a d in g fo r news,

5 , L is te n in g to /re a d in g an argument in o rd e r to answer i t ,

6 , L is te n in g to /re a d in g d ir e c t io n s which one i s to fo llo w ,

7 , L is ten in g fo r /re a d in g u n sp e c if ie d in fo rm ation on a to p ic in which one i s in te r e s te d ,

Stratmeyer (1*8:155) describes listen in g s k ills in terms of

l i f e situation s faced by youth. Again, i t i s noteworthy that some

of these same s k ills are practiced through s ile n t or oral reading.

Robinson (39 • 79) b e lie v e s t h a t th e id e n t ic a l s k i l l s ta u g h t in read ing

may be used , in la rg e m easure, f o r th e teach in g o f l is te n in g * Read

ing and l i s te n in g a re bo th complex p rocesses* The form er i s th e

means o f o b ta in in g meaning from w r i t te n o r p r in te d symbols, and

p u ttin g th a t meaning to use; th e l a t t e r i s th e means of ob ta in ing

meaning from spoken symbols and p u ttin g i t to u se . The study (3 9 :8 l)

f u r th e r in d ic a te s t h a t most o f th e s k i l l s ta u g h t i n read ing can be

tau g h t in l i s te n in g . The only excep tions a re the b a s ic word a n a ly s is

s k i l l s , b u t in c lu d ed were vocabulary development, comprehension, in

te r p r e ta t io n , and th e study s k i l ls * These l i s te n in g s k i l l s , Robinson

(3 9 s8l ) p o in ts o u t, re q u ire se q u e n tia l development as th ey do i n

reading* l i t e r a l comprehension, fo r example, p recedes in te r p r e ta t io n

o r a p p re c ia tio n . The concep tion o f main id e a s and supplem entary

d e ta i l s p recedes the s k i l l s o f o u tlin in g and summarizing. Before a

s tu d e n t can ga in a m astery o f the main id e a concept the s u b - s k i l ls o f

read ing or l i s te n in g to f in d f a c t s , key w ords, key sen tences , and

t i t l e s are re q u ire d . The ta s k s a re construed to be developm ental and

s e q u e n tia l .

Since i t i s apparen t th a t l i s te n in g and read ing a re r e la te d

p a r t s o f the communication p ro cess and a re p a t te rn s o f in te r - r e l a t e d ,

s e q u e n tia l , and developm ental ta s k s , t h i s study summarized the l i t e r

a tu re and here p re s e n ts the fo llow ing c la s s i f i c a t io n o f b a s ic s k i l l s

as suggestive o f those s k i l l s which may p ro p e rly be tau g h t i n a

classroom by e i th e r o r bo th o f the re c e p tiv e s k i l l s o f l i s te n in g o r

re a d in g , and a re e s p e c ia l ly ap p lica b le to in s t r u c t io n in the read ing

improvement classroom .

BASIC. SKILLS TO HE LEARNED HI LISTENING AND/OR READINGt

I . Word A nalysis S k i l l sA. C ontextual c lu e sB. S tru c tu ra l a n a ly s isG. Phonetic a n a ly s isD. C onfigu ration o f wordsE. S p e llin gF. Use o f a l l p a r t s o f a d ic t io n a ry

I I . V ocabulary-build ing S k i l l sA. A lphabetiz ingB. B uild ing word fa m ilie s ( a f f ix e s , ro o ts )C. G etting meaning from co n tex tD. Using a dictionary£• M ultip le meanings o f wordsF . Word o r ig in s and h i s to r ie sG. S y lla b ic a tio n and accen tH. Consonant soundsI . Vowel soundsJ . Synonyms and antonymsKm Adopted fo re ig n wordsL. S pec ia l and te c h n ic a l v o c ab u la rie sK. Homonyms and words o f te n confusedH. P a rts o f speech

III* Comprehension S k il lsA. Recognizing the main id eaB. Recognizing the to p ic sentenceG. Recognizing key words and ph rasesD. Recognizing im portan t d e ta i l sE. Seeing r e la t io n s h ip s among wordsF. Following o ra l and p r in te d d ire c tio n sG. U nderstanding f ig u re s o f speechH. Understanding symbolic languageI* D is tin g u ish in g f a c t from op in ion

IV. A ppreciation S k i l l sA. U nderstanding c h a ra c te rB. U nderstanding s e t t in g and backgroundG. U nderstanding th e s tru c tu re o f a s e le c tio nD. A n tic ip a tin g the outcomeE. Making in fe re n c e sF. Making judgmentsG. V isu a liz in g what i s read /h ea rdH. U nderstanding a p o in t o f viewI . A ppreciating humor J . A ppreciating rhythmK. A ppreciating atm osphere, mood L. Reading maps, ta b u la r m a te r ia ls

52

M* Following word order in poetryV. Location and Study Skills

A* Finding a book by library classificationB. Using a card catalog (author, subject, title)C. Using a text as a reference

1 . T it le2. A uthor, e d i to r , i l l u s t r a t o r , p u b lish e r3 . Table o f c o n ten tsI4. U nit and c h ap te r t i t l e s5 . C hapter, s e c tio n , paragraph headings6 . Boldface ty p e , i t a l i c s , s id e or running

headings7. I l l u s t r a t i o n s , c a p tio n s , map legends8 . G lossary9 . Footno tes

10. Tabular o r graphic m a te r ia l , maps,c h a r ts

11. B ib liography and an n o ta tio n12 . P u b lic a tio n o r co p y rig h t d a te

D# Beading a p p ro p ria te s ig n if ic a n c e in to p u b lic a tio n d a te of m a te ria ls#

S . U nderstanding and using what i s supplem entary or c o l l a t e r a l read ing

F. Understanding chronologyG. F a c ile use of d ic t io n a ry in a l l i t s p a r t sH. Using encyc loped ias, g a z e tte e r s , handbooks,

in d ic e s , alm anacs, e t c . , f o r in fo rm ationI . S e lec tin g a problemJ . S e lec tin g d a ta on a problem K. Analyzing authors* c r e d i b i l i tyL. E s ta b lish in g a u th o r i ty o f an au thor i n a s p e c if ic

a re a o f knowledge M. Knowing and using f a c t - g e t t in g techn iques

1 . H ote-tak ing2. B ib liography making3 . L is tin g item s about a to p iciu C red itin g au th o r f o r id e a s , f a c t s

M. Organizing f a c t s o r id e a s1 . S eq u en tia l arrangem ents, such as

a . Events in o rd e r o f happeningb . Item s in o rd e r o f im portance

2* O u tlin ing o r to p ic a l form3 . Summarizing in w r i t te n o r o r a l s ta tem ents iu Resumes5. P re c is6 . diagrammatic form7 . T abular form8 . Graphic form9 . L ogical p ro g re ss io n o f sta tem en ts

10 . Answering q u e s tio n s

0. E valuating sources f o r a u th e n tic i ty , r e l i a b i l i t y

P. F inding key words in s ta te m e n ts , q u e s tio n s , problems

Q. D iscrim inating in fo rm ation c a te g o r ie s

IF . ORGANIZING THE LISTENING INSTRUCTION

In s tru c t io n in l i s te n in g s k i l l s when in co rp o ra te d in to a

read ing improvement program w il l a ttem p t to te a c h , a s has been shown,

most o f the same b a s ic s k i l ls # The scheduling o f such in s t ru c t io n

w i l l depend alm ost e n t i r e ly on the le n g th o f tim e o f d a i ly in s t r u c t

io n a l p e rio d s i n a p a r t i c u la r schoo l, the frequency o f m eetings,

w hether d a i ly o r on a l te rn a te days, and th e t o t a l le n g th of time of

in s t ru c t io n . Some schools arrange c la s s e s on a d a i ly b a s is f o r a

sem ester, o th e rs use E ng lish c la s s e s as a b a s ic anchor and schedule

a l l c la s s e s to read ing improvement in s t r u c to r s f o r a d a ily se ss io n o f

s ix o r te n weeks. There i s s t i l l no re sea rch evidence in d ic a tin g

th a t any s p e c if ic le n g th o f tim e of in s t ru c t io n produces maximum

l i s te n in g a b i l i t y . Much o f th e e f fe c tiv e n e s s o f th e in s t r u c t io n

depends upon the environm ent i n which l is te n in g in s t r u c t io n tak es

p lac e and on an understand ing by the tea ch e r o f the n e c e s s i ty f o r

p rep a rin g and t r a in in g th e in d iv id u a l to p a r t i c ip a te w ith in the in

s t r u c t io n a l environm ent.

Improving l i s te n in g c o n d itio n s . Probably the most im portan t

th in g tea ch e rs can do im m ediately about l i s te n in g i s , according to

Anderson (3 :65) to p rov ide a “b e t t e r l i s te n in g c lim ate th an now e x is ts

i n the sch o o ls . 11 Too many p u p ils a re compelled to unchalleng ing p a r-

Sht i c ip a t io n in s te a d o f having something worth l i s te n in g to# In s tru c

t io n i s too fre q u e n tly c h a ra c te r iz e d by q u estio n and answer r e c i t

a t io n , rehash ing of tex tbook assignm ents by s tu d e n ts and te a c h e r ,

d e liv e ry of book re p o r ts p r im a r ily designed to s a t i s f y th e te a c h e r ,

r e p e t i t io u s announcements o f le s so n assignm ents, in s t r u c t io n s , etc#

In a d d it io n , some a t te n t io n should be given to s tan d ard s of

l is te n in g # S tandards need to be equated to th e g en era l m a tu r ity and

experience o f the p a r t ic ip a n ts # I f the stan d ard s a re too low , growth

i s re ta rd e d j i f s e t too h igh , discouragem ent ensues# Bishop»s (6:101)

stan d ard s in c lu d e : ( l ) a q u ie t , o rd e r ly room, (2 ) c le a r speech,

(3 ) a p p ro p ria te and in te r e s t in g vocabulary , (U) good tim ing o f o ra l

c o n tr ib u tio n s , and (5 ) a reason fo r l i s te n in g c le a r ly d e lin e a te d

beforehand# "With re s p e c t to th e th i r d item , the vocabulary of

s tu d e n ts in read ing improvement c la s s e s f re q u e n tly su f fe rs from

r e s t r i e t iv e n e s s . The s o lu tio n beg ins w ith e n ric h in g the language

environm ent o f th e classroom s by p ro v id in g o p p o r tu n itie s to l i s t e n to

s tan d ard E ng lish through the means o f o r a l rea d in g s , tape re c o rd in g s ,

o r d isc rec o rd in g s , and a p p ro p ria te film s# (31:3U+) Enjoyment of

such l i s te n in g experiences le a d s to spontaneous d isc u ss io n and fu r th e r

m o tivated l i s te n in g , and ten d s to f a c i l i t a t e development o f a d e s i r

ab le classroom environment#

In t h i s re s p e c t i t i s w ell f o r te a c h e rs to b e a r i n mind th a t

te a c h e r awareness o f good and poor l i s t e n e r s i s n o t w e ll dem onstrated

by research# H all (20 :lii5 ) asked fo u rte e n classroom te a c h e rs w ith

s ix months o f alm ost d a i ly c o n ta c t w ith p u p ils to choose th e b e s t and

p o o re s t l is te n e r s # The r e s u l t s showed th a t these te a c h e rs p icked only

t h i r t y p e r c en t o f the f iv e top rank ing sc o re rs on l i s te n in g t e s t s .

T hirty -one p e r c e n t o f the te a c h e r ’s cho ices of lfb e s t l i s t e n e r s 11

a c tu a l ly f e l l w ith in th e p o o re s t l i s t e n e r h a l f o f th e sc o re s . H all

(20:l5U ) concludes th a t te a c h e r s 1 judgments o f b e s t l i s t e n e r s re p

re s e n ts a h ig h ly u n re lia b le m easure. This i s a ls o tru e f o r p ick ing

th e "poorest l i s t e n e r s . * The tea ch e r does n o t even recognize the

p u p ils who do l i s t e n to h e r . Obviously te a c h e r awareness o f th e

classroom perform ance o f p u p il l i s te n in g w i l l b ea r considerab le im

provement.

An a d d it io n a l f a c to r in improving l i s te n in g c o n d itio n s i s an

awareness on the te a c h e r fs p a r t t h a t a co n d itio n o f im paired hearing

may be c a u sa lly r e la te d to bo th poor read ing and poor l i s te n in g . Or

i t may re v e a l ano ther d i f f i c u l t y f o r which n on -ach ievers must com

p e n sa te . (7 j93) Hearing d e fe c ts which p rev en t re c e p tio n of the

sound im pressions re q u ire audiom eter t e s t s to determ ine i f the

lo s s e s are in the u su a l speech range . A second problem having to do

w ith hearing concerns s e a tin g . Normal hearing p u p ils who occupy

classroom s e a ts in such a p o s i t io n in r e la t io n to sound sources so

th a t d is ta n c e , o b s tru c tio n , o r competing sounds in te r f e r e w ith the

re c e p tio n of l in g u i s t i c sounds w i l l perform p o o rly in l i s te n in g .

(20:89) Such d e fe c ts a re c o rre c te d by checking the h earin g of a l l

s tu d e n ts and by determ ining i f speech i s reach ing c le a r ly to a l l

s tu d e n ts in the classroom . Poor a c o u s tic a l c o n d itio n s and poor

c l a r i t y of p re s e n ta tio n c o n d itio n s s tu d e n ts to in a t te n t io n and r e in

fo rc e s th e e f f e c ts o f n o n -a tte n tio n . (33255) In a d d it io n , such

co n d itio n s d e s tro y th a t p a r t o f m otivated le a rn in g which f o r t i f i e s

th e f a c t th a t l i s te n in g i s th e e a s i e s t way to acqu ire in fo rm atio n , to

grow c u l tu r a l ly , and to become s o c ia l ly mature* This i s an economy

in le a rn in g , as a re c a re fu l analy ses o f the m otives f o r l i s te n in g by

th e pup il* (33:57)

The in d iv id u a l l i s te n e r * L is ten in g a b i l i ty when te s te d

v a r ie s so w idely th a t few re se a rc h e rs have attem pted to p re d ic t goodi

o r poor l i s t e n e r s on the b a s is o f t e x t s . HaH*s d i s s e r ta t io n con

firm s an e a r l i e r d iscovery th a t boys have s l ig h t ly h igher l i s te n in g

sco res than g ir ls * I t r e q u ire s con tinued re sea rch to d iscover i f

t h i s i s because more boys are p o o rer re a d e rs th an g i r l s and may com

pensa te by being b e t te r l i s t e n e r s . (20:91+) There i s some c o n tra d ic -l

t io n involved here because th e same re se a rc h e r found th a t Mth e

c o r r e la t io n o f .56 between l i s te n in g and t o t a l read in g in d ic a te s th a t

poor read ing and poor l i s te n in g tend to go to g e th e r .11 Another r e

sea rch e r (33 :5U) concludes th a t i n a b i l i t y to co n cen tra te i s the

ranking problem o f as many as e igh ty -tw o p e r c e n t o f a l l students*

S trang (14.6:79) f in d s t h a t ease of d i s t r a c t i b i l i t y has bad e ffe c ts*

Ho p u p il w ith a h igh in te l l ig e n c e made poor l i s te n in g sco res on t e s t s .

adm in istered by Hall* (20 :115), b u t some p u p ils w ith low in te l l ig e n c e

had h igh l i s te n in g scores*

I f none o f these f a c to r s are c le a r ly p re d ic to rs o f in d iv id u a l

success o r f a i lu r e in l i s te n in g a b i l i t y , re se a rc h e rs have n o n e th e less

a ttem pted to c l a r i f y the c h a r a c te r i s t i c s o f the good and poor l i s t e n

e r . H ichols and Lewis (33:11-25) give a f if te e n -p a g e d e s c r ip t io n of

th e components of e f f e c t iv e l i s te n in g which, i f used by te a c h e rs , have

th e advantage o f g iv ing d ir e c t io n to classroom p rocedu res. They

inc ludes experience w ith d i f f i c u l t m a te r ia l , i n t e r e s t in the to p ic

a t hand, ad justm ent to th e speaker o r speech source, expend itu re o f

energy f o r a t te n t io n , ad justm ent to th e l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n , a d ju s t

ment to em otion-laden words, ad justm ent to em otion-arousing p o in ts ,i

re c o g n itio n o f c e n tra l id e a s , u t i l i z a t i o n o f n o te s , and r e c o n c i l i -i

a t io n o f th e speed of thought and the speed of speech*

E U if f has compiled from o th e r sou rces the most comprehensive ■II l i s t i n g o f th e c h a r a c te r i s t i c s of a good l i s t e n e r a t the high school

l e v e l :i

! CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LISTENER

I* A good l i s t e n e r has the fo llow ing a t t i tu d e s toward the l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n :

A. Wants to l i s t e nB. F inds a p e rso n a l reason f o r l i s te n in gC. I s w il l in g to do h is p a r t in the l i s te n in g

s i tu a t io n

I I . A good l i s t e n e r has the fo llow ing a t t i tu d e s toward th e speech:

A. I s re c e p tiv e and open-mindedB. I s aware of the e f f e c t o f h i s own p re ju d ic e sC. I s w il l in g to Hhear th e speaker o u t” to the

endD. Makes understanding h is most im portan t

o b je c tiv e

I I I . A good l i s t e n e r has the fo llow ing a t t i tu d e s toward th e speaker:

A. I s f r ie n d ly and sym patheticB. R espects th e speaker as a person

17. A good l i s t e n e r p rep a res to l i s t e n in the fo llow ing ways:

A. T rie s to le a rn about s u b je c t , speaker, s i t u a t io n in advance

B. S i ts where he can see and h earC. T rie s to e lim in a te d is t r a c t io n s i n h is

environment

56

D. I s ready to take n o te s when a p p ro p ria te

V. A good l i s t e n e r does the fo llow ing th in g s w hile l i s te n in g :

A. R e la te s what th e speaker i s saying to p a s t knowledge and experience

B. Looks in the d i r e c t io n o f th e speakerC* E valuates th e speech as he h ears and under

stands i tD. I s a t t e n t iv e , a ccep tin g h is r e s p o n s ib i l i ty

as a l i s t e n e r I . Takes n o tes su i ta b le f o r h is purpose F. E lim ina tes o r q u ick ly a d ju s ts to d is t r a c t io n s

w ith in h im selfB. T rie s to lo c a te the c e n tra l id e aI . T rie s to re c o n s tru c t the o rg a n iz a tio n a l

p a t te rn o f th e speechI . Considers r e la t io n s h ip s between p o in ts made

by speakerJ . Recognizes the purpose of i l l u s t r a t i o n s and

examples used K. Recognizes the d if fe re n c e s between f a c t s and

op in ionsL. U nderstands the f ig u r a t iv e language used —

analogy, m etaphor, e tc .M. S e le c ts im portan t d e ta i l s f o r re te n tio n N. I s aware o f im p lic a tio n s in what i s sa id0. Gan d is t in g u is h r e le v a n t from i r r e le v a n t

m a te r ia l in the speech P. Determines new word meanings by re fe ren c e

co n ten tsQ. I s aware of loaded words, em otional s la n tin g ,

and sem antic e r r o r s R. Overlooks inadequac ies in speech con ten t and

d e liv e ryS. T rie s to r e l a te what i s s a id to h im self and

h is i n t e r e s t s T. Recognizes use o f d ev ices such as in tro d u c tio n ,

t r a n s i t io n , r e p e t i t io n , summary, and conclu sion U. Recognizes the e f f e c t o f em phasis, i n f le c t io n ,

r a t e , volume, g e s tu re , and q u a li ty on meaningV. I n te r p r e ts what he h ea rs in term s o f speaker *s

s ta te d o r im p lied purpose

VI. A good l i s t e n e r fo llo w s up on h is l is te n in g in the fo llow ing ways:

A. I s ab le to give an accu ra te re s ta tem en t of the main p o in ts in the speech

B* Asks q u estio n s o f the speaker i f th e re i s o p p o rtu n ity

C. Talks about what has been sa id w ith o th e rs

59

D* C onstructs an o u tlin e o f th e speech from h is n o tes

E. Looks f o r o p p o r tu n itie s to r e f e r to what was s a id in speaking o r w ritin g (17:22-23)

The same a u th o r p rov ides a convenient and u se fu l c h e c k lis t

o f l is te n in g h a b its which a re adap tab le to l i s te n in g in s t ru c t io n in

the read ing improvement classroom :

EIGHT SIGNIFICANT LISTENING. HABITS

I . M aintains an awareness o f one*s own m otives in l i s te n in g

A. Develops sp e ed ily in each s i tu a t io n h is own m otives f o r e f f e c t iv e l i s te n in g

B. Analyzes the speech and a d ju s ts h im se lf to h is own m otives

I I . Shares w ith the conveyor r e s p o n s ib i l i ty fo r comm unication

A. A pplies h im self to the d i f f e r e n t techn iques o f th e speaker

B. Assumes h is h a lf o f the r e s p o n s ib i l i ty f o r communication

I I I . A rranges fav o rab le p h y s ic a l co n d itio n s fo r l i s te n in gA. A djusts h im self f o r any p e rso n a l hearing d i s

a b i l i t y o r f o r poor room v e n t i la t io n o r tem perature

B« Ignores any o u ts id e o r unnecessary d is t r a c t io n s

I ? . E x erc ises em otional c o n tro l during l i s te n in gA. Postpones p e rso n a l w o rriesB. Does n o t p e rm it an immediate d is l ik e fo r a

speech o r a speaker to i n te r f e r e ; w a its u n t i l th e th e s i s i s f u l l y comprehended

V. S tru e tu ra liz e s the p re s e n ta tio nA. Recognizes conven tiona l com positional te c h

niquesB. A djusts h is system o f n o te - ta k in g to the

o rg a n iz a tio n a l p la n of the speech

VI. S tr iv e s always to grasp th e c e n tra l id e a s in the p re s e n ta tio n

A. Focuses on c e n tra l id e a s and ten d s to recogn ize th e c h a r a c te r i s t ic language in

60

which they are s ta te dB. Has th e a b i l i t y to d isc rim in a te between f a c t

and p r in c ip le , id ea and example, evidence and argument

V II. E x p lo its f u l ly the r a te d i f f e r e n t i a l between thought and speech

A. Demands continuous a t te n t io n — a s tay in g on the tra c k w ith the speaker

B* Does th eses m ental a n t ic ip a t io n o f each o f the speaker*s p o in ts , id e n t i f i c a t io n o f the techn iques used in the development o f each p o in t , and m ental r e c a p i tu la t io n of p o in ts a lre ad y developed

V III . Seeks f re q u e n t experience in l i s te n in g to d i f f i c u l t e x p o sito ry m a te r ia lA. I s acquain ted w ith such programs ass “I n v i ta

t io n to L ea rn in g ,” ”Jfeet th e P re s s ”B. Has experience in l i s te n in g to d i f f i c u l t

m a te r ia l (17 s 21-22)

CHAPTER I?

TEACHING AND TESTING LISTENING SKILLS

I . METHODS OF TEACHING LISTENING

The l i t e r a t u r e concerned w ith teach ing l i s te n in g s k i l l s

dem onstrates t h a t th re e g en e ra l methods have been employed i n i n -i

s t ru c t io n . Since each of th e th re e methods are u se fu l o r adaptab le ■

to the high school l e v e l , th ey w i l l be rep o rte d in t h i s s e c tio n asI

suggestions f o r te a c h e rs who are in co rp o ra tin g l i s te n in g s k i l l s in to

the read ing improvement program . The th re e methods employed to te a ch

l i s t e n in g s k i l l a re s th e la b o ra to ry approach, th e d i r e c t approach,

and th e coo rd ina ted approach. Each method w i l l be se p a ra te ly des

c r ib e d .

L is ten in g la b o ra to ry . Many read ing programs a re conducted in

rooms w ith sp e c ia l equipment which f a c i l i t a t e s in d iv id u a l in s t ru c t io n

and p ra c t ic e and sm all group in s t r u c t io n . F requen tly some of th i s

equipment w i l l be found to be e q u a lly as u se fu l when employed fo r

teach ing l i s t e n in g . E s s e n t ia l ly the combined l is te n in g - re a d in g la b o r

a to ry re q u ire s a supply o f recorded in s t r u c t io n a l m a te r ia ls on tape o r

d is c in a l l su b je c t a re a s . Proper equipment fo r p lay in g and record ing

such m a te r ia ls i s re q u ire d . I t i s d e s ira b le t h a t th e l i s te n in g and

read ing be done in a c o u s t ic a l ly t r e a te d c e l l s o r c u b ic le s , i f poss

i b l e , a lthough the use o f l i s te n in g cords and headphones in an

a c o u s t ic a l ly t r e a te d room u su a lly p rov ides a s a t i s f a c to r y s u b s t i tu te .

S tr ick lan d f e l t th a t p u p i ls should l i s t e n n o t only to p ro fe s s io n a l

m a te r ia ls o r teacher-m ade m a te r ia ls , h u t should tfh ear th e i r own

speeches, r e p o r ts , o r o r a l read in g p l^ re d back to them . . • M

(50sl5ii) T h is , in tu rn , s t im u la te s and guides self-im provem ent, and

g iv es s tu d e n ts something to work f o r . N ichols and Lewis (33 sit-5)

b e liev e th e l i s te n in g la b o ra to ry i s most e f f e c t iv e as supplem entary

p r a c t ic e o f d i r e c t o r coo rd ina ted l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n . The la b o r

a to ry , th ey h o ld , should be a v o lu n ta ry a c t iv i t y a v a ila b le during a |

studen t* s f r e e tim e, should be organ ized to prov ide p e rio d ic t e s t s o f i

l i s te n in g e f f ic ie n c y , and should have in s t r u c t io n a l m a te r ia ls system -i

a t i c a l l y o rgan ized f o r s e q u e n tia l development from e a s ie s t to most

d i f f i c u l t . The m a te r ia l should be so organ ized as to p rov ide a m axi- 1

mum of ,fdo i t y o u rse lf ** and a minimum of c lo se tea ch e r su p e rv is io n .

in 1 i f f (1 7 :2)4.) d e sc rib e s a h igh school l i s t e n in g la b o ra to ry which in

i t s e s s e n t ia l s compares fav o rab ly w ith th e N ichols and Lewis recom

mendations d e sc rib e d . An a d d itio n a l u se fu l fe a tu re th a t h igh school

te a c h e rs w i l l want to co n sid er i s the use o f s tu d e n ts as la b o ra to ry

a s s i s t a n t s . These a s s i s t a n ts c o rre c te d a l l t e s t s , kep t re c o rd s , and

m ain tained ru le s f o r o rd e r ly f i l i n g o f m a te r ia ls by o th er s tu d e n ts and

f o r system atic c a re fu l use o f equipm ent.

Ih re c t approach. The second method o f teach in g l i s te n in g i s

th e d i r e c t approach, sometimes termed a l i s te n in g comprehension

co u rse . (13*50) This method re q u ire s t h a t s p e c if ic time be s e t

a s id e f o r in s t ru c t io n in p lanned u n i ts o f l i s te n in g . The planned

a c t i v i t i e s in c lu d e l i s te n in g to le c tu r e s o r read in g a r t i c l e s e x p la in

ing the im portance o f l i s te n in g e f f i c i e n t l y and:

63

• • . • s o c ia l iz e d r e c i ta t io n s designed to develop re s p e c t f o r t h i s medium o f le a rn in g ; d isc u ss io n s o f th e s k i l l s necessary to e f f e c t iv e perform ance; classroom e x e rc is e s to develop th ese s k i l l s ; d e ta i le d c o n sid e ra tio n s o f c o n ce n tra tio n in l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n s ; p e rio d ic p ro g ress t e s t s ; and f i n a l ly , b e fo re -a n d -a f te r te s t in g to measure th e in flu e n ce o f t r a in in g . (33 si*) ( \

I t i s n o t inconce ivab le t h a t a d i r e c t l i s te n in g course could

be in co rp o ra ted in to the h igh school read ing improvement program i f

a c e r ta in p e rio d o f weeks were to be s e t a s id e fo r ex c lu siv e l i s t e n

ing in s t ru c t io n . The guiding concept here would be in te n s iv e r e

tr a in in g in l i s te n in g through assignm ents whose p rim ary emphasis

would be upon m otivated p ra c t ic e and perform ance o f l i s te n in g ta s k s .

As in c o rre c tiv e read in g , th e concept o f le a rn in g by doing would

appear to pre-em pt a l l o th e r concep ts . O its id e o f th e classroom

assignm ents would p robably engage p u p i l s 1 penchants f o r l i s te n in g to

rad io and te le v is io n . S tr ic k la n d advocates supplem enting d i r e c t

classroom in s t r u c t io n w ith s tu d ie s o f speech b ro ad c as ts o f e v e r t s

to note s ty le s o f speech, v o ice , en n u n cia tio n , p ro n u n c ia tio n , rhythm,

and o ra l p u n c tu a tio n .

L is ten in g to study c e r ta in c le a r ly understood p o in ts should prove in te r e s t in g and enjoyable homework.CELder c h ild re n can g ive sp e c ia l a t te n t io n to vocabulary and to methods of ca tch in g and hold ing i n t e r e s t . (5U:15>U)

Most of the le s so n s would be l i s te n in g to s tru c tu re d speech

to check comprehension improvement. P ronvost (36 :10) emphasizes the

n e c e s s i ty fo r p rov id ing sy stem atic in s t ru c t io n in d i r e c t l i s te n in g .

Only in t h i s manner w i l l s tu d e n ts rec e iv e needed p ra c t ic e in l i s t e n

ing in a l l c o n te n t a reas and in l i s te n in g to the v a r i e t i e s o f spoken

forms such as o ra l rea d in g , e x p o s itio n , n a r ra t io n , problem so lv in g ,

f p o e try , drama, f i c t i o n , e tc .

Bishop (6:102-103) d iscu sse s d i r e c t l i s te n in g as c o n tro lle d

le s so n s designed s p e c i f ic a l ly to improve l i s t e n in g . She recommends,

f o r example, read ing aloud s h o r t , f a c tu a l s e le c tio n s to be follow ed

, by immediate and unaided r e c a l l in th e form o f w r i t te n r e a c t io n s . As

' experience i s gained w ith t h i s type o f le s s o n , th e unaided r e c a l l i s

delayed w ith a c o n s ta n tly in c re a s in g span of tim e occu rring between

read ing and response . Such le sso n s a re designed to improve l is te n in gi| and l i s te n in g memory.

The s e le c tio n o f o r a l read ing m a te r ia l s u i ta b le fo r thei! d i r e c t method o f teach in g l i s te n in g has concerned some re s e a rc h e rs ,

i Lewis (27:92) re p o r ts th e suggestion t h a t r e a d a b i l i ty might be used as

j a g ro ss p re d ic to r o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f a p rose passage . R ead ab ility

form ulas such as the F lesch form ula were a p p lie d b u t d id n o t t e s t ou t

j to be f u l l y u se fu l i n p re d ic tin g l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f p rose m a te r ia l fo ri

h ig h school s tu d e n ts . S trang (1*7 s9 2 ), Bale (15:128-129)* and Smith

(U l:l8 7 ) are u rg en t about re tu rn in g o r a l read in g to th e language a r t s

program and a l l o f f e r suggestions fo r teach in g and using o ra l re a d in g .

In a d d itio n to o ra l re a d in g s , N ichols (33*xi) u rg es th e use o f

s tu d e n t c r i t iq u e s f o r ach iev ing a f u l l e r use o f s tu d e n t time and to

make a l l s tu d e n ts c lo se l i s t e n e r s . Bishop (6 :102) th in k s d i r e c t

l i s t e n in g should invo lve a complete classroom e x p lo ra tio n of the tim e

l o s t in re p e a tin g assignm ents, e x p la n a tio n s , and d ir e c t io n s , and u rges

t h a t s tu d e n ts keep reco rd s o f such l o s t tim e to dram atize th e need fo r

improved l i s t e n in g . Choral read ing i s s t i l l an o th e r technique to be

used in d i r e c t l i s te n in g a s a c re a tiv e ex p erien ce . (30:282-289) Not

only i s i t a v a lu ab le experience f o r p u p ils to choose v o ices by

l i s te n in g , b u t they le a r n , to o , t h a t the vo ice q u a l i ty i s expected to

r e f l e c t an a u th o rfs meaning and mood.

C oordinated l i s t e n in g . The th i r d method o f teach ing l is te n in g

has probably th e w id est a p p l ic a b i l i ty of the th re e methods. Coordin

a ted l i s te n in g i s the d o v e - ta il in g o f l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n and

assignm ents in to ro u tin e s a lread y e s ta b lis h e d in co n ten t su b je c ts such

as the language a r t s c la s s e s , in drama, speech, l i t e r a t u r e , and read

in g . L is ten in g assignm ents a re designed to accompany o th e r s k i l l s in

c o n te n t a re a s w hile developing one o r more of th e underly ing s k i l l s

in h e re n t in e f f e c t iv e a u ra l a s s im ila tio n . (33 5^) Cashman, an advocate

of t h i s method o f combining l i s te n in g t r a in in g w ith an o th er su b je c t,

s t a t e s : f,There i s no rea so n why the use o f l i s te n in g concepts should

n o t be ap p lied to any teach in g assignm ent w ithou t undue in te r fe re n c e

w ith the normal classroom r o u t in e .11 (1 3 :5 l)

Cashman (13:£2-53) a lso o f fe r s a most u se fu l o u tlin e o f fo u r

techn iques th a t app ly to teach ing l i s te n in g when co o rd in a ted w ith a

su b je c t a re a . The e s s e n t ia l elem ents a re abridged h e re :

1 . Make l i s te n in g a p le a su ra b le experience f o r s tu d e n ts .The tea ch e r must express a p o s i t iv e a t t i tu d e about l i s te n in g .

2 . Use l i s te n in g games. They add enjoyment and p rov ide p r a c t ic e .

3 . Combine l i s te n in g e x e rc is e s in the classroom w ith o th e r a c t i v i t i e s . Request a sh o rt summary f o r each o ra l rep o rt^ answer an o ra l r e p o r t e r ’s f iv e to te n q u estio n s a f t e r the repo rt} each s tu d en t to l i s t e n fo r f iv e main p o in ts o r th ree su g g estio n s, e tc .} l i s t th e words t h a t a f f e c t you em o tionally .

li. Keep l i s te n in g h a b its i n mind when developing qu izzes o r t e s t s . O ccasionally s la n t th e t e s t toward what i s s a id in c la s s .

JO.so advocating the co o rd in a ted approach to l i s te n in g in s t r u c

t io n i s the N ational Council o f Teachers o f E ng lish (31:267-269)* who

recommend i t in a l l c la s s e s as a developm ental program, the e s s e n t ia ls

o f which a re p resen ted here adapted to h igh school u se :

1 . Each tea ch e r p rov ides l i s te n in g experiences o f graduated d i f f i c u l t y . R e in fo rce . R epeated p ra c t ic e of the same s k i l l i n f r e s h , w e ll m otivated s i tu a t io n s f ix e s permane n t l i s t e n in g h a b its .

2 . L is ten in g i s tau g h t as r e la te d to a l l school a c t i v i t i e s and n o t as a th in g a p a r t .

3 . C arefu l a n a ly s is o f s k i l l s i s needed in each l i s te n in g s i tu a t io n .

km Give s tu d e n ts s p e c ia l p re p a ra tio n f o r in s t r u c t io n a l le v e l l i s t e n in g .

5 . I n t e r r e l a te speaking and l i s te n in g a c t i v i t i e s fo r two- way m utual h e lp .

6 . R e la te what i s tau g h t to o u t o f school l i s te n in g a c t i v i t i e s o f the s tu d e n t.

7 . Set up a program of e v a lu a tio n so s tu d e n ts can d isco v er p ro g ress made in l i s t e n in g .

Freeman ex p la in s the use o f o ra l read ing o f su b je c ts o f

tim e ly i n t e r e s t to youth in c o n te n t f i e ld s as a means o f developing

improved l is te n in g , comprehension. He found th a t o ra l re - re a d in g a f t e r

a pane l d isc u ss io n o f how l i s te n in g s k i l l s can be improved r a is e d

l i s te n in g comprehension by s ix ty p e r c e n t. The panel d isc u ss io n

method produced the fo llow ing p o in ts as im portan t to l i s te n in g

e f f i c ie n t ly :

1 . Being reminded o f the im portance o f l i s te n in g .

67

2. Being te s te d over m a te r ia l j u s t heard*

3* Being ab le to hear -without d is tra c tio n s *

U. Being ab le to comprehend what i s heard*

5 . Connecting what i s heard w ith what i s l i s te n e d to*

6* Being ab le to r e t a in what i s heard .

7 • Being ab le to f i x and keep a t te n t io n on what i sh eard . (18:573)

Adams (2 :15) decided th a t a good co o rd in a ted l i s te n in g le s s e n

had th re e p a r t s : p r e - l i s t e n in g , which in c lu d e s the p re p a ra tio n of the

m a te r ia ls , e s ta b l is h in g m in d -se ts t h a t p repare to t ie -u p w ith what i s

a lread y known and a how -w hat-questioning a t t i tu d e ; a c tiv e l i s te n in g ,

which in c lu d es what we are to h e a r, what we should look f o r , and why

we a re l i s te n in g to t h i s ; p o s t - l i s te n in g , which i s d isc u ss io n by

q u estio n in g and ev a lu a tin g what was heard .

S tra t to n (U9:5U3) b e lie v e s t h a t coo rd ina ted in s t ru c t io n in

c ludes te a c h e r a le r tn e s s in d isco v erin g m a te r ia ls and o p p o rtu n itie s to

te a c h l i t e r a t e l i s te n in g i n school and o u t. He su g g ests classroom

p re p a ra tio n f o r l i s te n in g to assembly program s, d eb a tes , forum d is

cu ss io n s , classroom ta lk s by v i s i t o r s , speeches and arguments read

aloud by the te a c h e r , and c la s s ta lk s on a p p ro p ria te su b je c ts . He

recommends th e technique o f g iv ing s tu d e n ts an o u tlin e o f th e main

p o in ts o f what th ey are to h e a r , when t h i s i s p o s s ib le , and having

them f i l l i n supporting d e ta i l s a f t e r the l i s te n in g a c t .

W ilson (53 j367) suggests the untapped p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f l i s t e n

ing from a c a lc u la t io n o f the person to person r e la t io n s h ip i n the

classroom by u sing the Bossard form ula: X eq u als the number of

p e rso n a l r e la t io n s h ip s 5 T eq u als the number of pe rsons; X equals

(Y2 - Y )/2 . He s ta te s !

D espite many v is u a l m odels, you th s t i l l le a rn s much o f h i s b a s ic s o c ia l behavior a t f i r s t hand* Many o f th e s o c ia l r o le s th a t you th has to le a r n he le a rn s by e a r . He o f te n r e l i e s on re a c tio n s o f o th e rs l ik e h im self to check th e adequacy o f a d u lt d i r e c t io n . They may le a rn a l o t from each o th e r in c la s s as w e ll as o u t. In a group of 30 s tu d e n ts , each one has 2 9 o p p o r tu n itie s to le a rn from o th e rs o f h i s peer group a t f i r s t hand. The p o ss ib le p e rs o n - to - pe rson r e la t io n s h ip s in such a c la s s t o t a l 1*3 5 . (5 3 *3 6 7 )

S tr ic k la n d (50:183-181|.) suggests t h a t l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n

i s an e x c e lle n t way o f b u ild in g vocabulary through co n tex tu a l clues*

This i s p a r t i c u la r ly im portan t when i t i s r e c a l le d th a t th e speaking

vocabu lary ten d s to be c o n sid erab ly d i f f e r e n t from e i th e r th e read ing

o r w r it in g vocabulary o f th e same p u p il . Young i s re p o rte d by

G affrey (1 2 :12i|) to have d iscovered th a t the g r e a te s t g a in s i n read ing

vocabulary sco res were made by s tu d e n ts who read p ra c t ic e m a te r ia ls

aloud and th e sm a lle s t g a in s were made by those using auding a lo n e .

Most s tu d ie s emphasize the dynamics o f l i s te n in g and tend to

dep lo re p a ss iv e l i s te n in g in developing language power* W ilt* s l i s t

in g o f b a s ic p r in c ip le s in c lu d e s :

Purposefu l c r i t i c a l l i s t e n in g should be a concom itant of many classroom le a rn in g ex p erien ces . * . • More tim e should be devoted to group d isc u ss io n and problem so lv ing • • • • A wide v a r ie ty o f l i s te n in g experiences should be in tro d u ced in to classroom s . . . (5U*lU5 )

S tr ic k la n d (50:152) b e lie v e s t h a t the fundam ental p r in c ip le

i n a l l o ra l work i s th a t the te a ch e r i s concerned f i r s t of a l l w ith

communication, and secondly , w ith the a r t o f in te r p r e ta t io n . In

s h o r t , what a p u p il in te n d s to say has p r i o r i t y over how b e s t to say

i t from the p o in t o f view o f l i s te n in g accuracy .

69

I I . TEACHER RESOURCES

M ateria l s p e c i f i c a l ly designed f o r teach in g l i s te n in g by any

o f th e th re e methods exp lo red in t h i s se c tio n have n o t been developed

to any e x te n t . The b e s t suggestion th a t can be made to te a c h e rs who

! w ish to in co rp o ra te l i s t e n in g s k i l l s in to the read in g improvement p ro -

! gram i s to u t i l i z e the w ealth o f graded m a te r ia ls r e c e n t ly developed»

“ f o r teach in g s i l e n t and o ra l rea d in g . E sp e c ia lly u s e fu l a re the

numerous workbooks and manuals which o f f e r s h o r t s e le c tio n s t h a t can

be re a d o r a l ly to the c la s s and which a re fo llow ed by th e o b je c tiv e

type of comprehension q u e s tio n s . The f i r s t s ig n i f ic a n t s te p towardi; developing m a te r ia ls fo r combined l is te n in g - re a d in g in s t r u c t io n i s toi

be found i n the read in g la b o ra to r ie s developed by Science Research

• A sso c ia te s . The te a e h e r 's handbook accompanying th ese la b o ra to ry k i t siI (3£s35>-U5>) p rov ides m a te r ia l to be read o r a l ly to a c la s s f o r purposes

o f p ra c t ic in g l i s te n in g comprehension s k i l l .

In a d d itio n to the l i s t i n g of the audio re so u rce s o f a school

o r school d i s t r i c t which a re probably a v a ila b le to te a c h e rs , no known

sources of reco rded m a te r ia ls e s p e c ia l ly p repared f o r classroom

in s t r u c t io n a l purposes was m entioned in th e l i t e r a t u r e . The sources

o ffe r in g h ig h -q u a lity reco rded m a te r ia l on a purchase b a s is a re e a s i ly

a v a ila b le through reco rd in g company c a ta lo g s . One source o f f e r s

a d d it io n a l tap e s and d isc s on a r e n ta l o r purchase b a s i s . L is te n in g

L ib ra ry (28) has c o lle c te d v e ry s ig n i f ic a n t m a te r ia ls , most o f which

a re adap tab le to l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n . Included a re reco rded

f i c t io n , p o e try , drama, l e c tu r e s , e ssa y s , c r i t ic i s m , and modern

I' docum entaries. Comprehension checks w i l l , o f cou rse , have to be

dev ised by the te a c h e r .

Several E ng lish and speech t e x t books examined mentioned th e

im portance o f l i s te n in g , b u t few prov ide e x e rc is e s fo r in s t r u c t io n a l

purposes a t th e h igh schoo l l e v e l . The te x t s o f the E nglish a t Work

; s e r ie s (11) c o n ta in s p e c if ic classroom l i s te n in g a c t i v i t i e s which can ,

■ be used and en larged upon.f

! IH. TESTIMG LISTENING SKILLSi!s In s tru c t io n in l i s te n in g re q u ire s d iag n o s is o f s tu d e n tI- a b i l i t i e s , measurement, and e v a lu a tio n to th e same e x te n t th a t re a d -

i ing b e n e f i ts by such measurement. In s p i te o f a c o n s ta n tly growing

re c o g n itio n o f the im portance o f developing l i s te n in g s k i l l s in the

c lassroom , the e a r l i e s t s ta n d ard ize d t e s t s d id n o t appear u n t i l 195>3*

. (1:261) D escrip tio n s of experim en tal a ttem p ts to develop s ta n d a rd ize d

’ t e s t s o f l i s te n in g appear in the l i t e r a t u r e , b u t few t e s t s have been

| p u b lish ed . Undoubtedly improved in s t r u c t io n a l program s, as w e ll a s an

in c re a se in th e number o f l i s te n in g programs a t th e h igh school l e v e l ,

aw ait a c o l l a t e r a l e f f o r t i n t e s t development.i

S tandard ized t e s t s o f l i s t e n in g . The l i t e r a t u r e in d ic a te s

| th re e t e s t s c u r re n t ly a v a ila b le and s u i ta b le f o r use in h ig h sch o o ls .

The f i r s t of th ese i s th e C a lifo rn ia Auding T est (9) which in v o lv es

no read ing o r w rit in g on th e p a r t o f the s tu d e n t and i s designed fo r

use w ith grade seven through tw elve . C affrey (12:130-131) summarizes

the l i t e r a t u r e about t h i s t e s t and re p o r ts th a t ;

71

t h i s t e s t appeared to measure an acqu ired s k i l l more c lo s e ly r e la te d to m easures of knowledge and in fo rm a tio n th an to m ental age, read ing a b i l i t y , read in g vocabu lary , or q u a n ti ta t iv e th in k in g .

A second s tan d a rd ized t e s t in ten d ed f o r h igh school p u p ils and

co lleg e freshm en i s th e Brown-Carlson L is te n in g Comprehension T est

(10 ), which has n a tio n a l norms fo r g rades e leven through fo u r te e n .

The t e s t c o n s is ts o f f iv e p a r t s : immediate r e c a l l , fo llow ing

d i r e c t io n s , recogn iz ing t r a n s i t i o n s , recogn iz ing word m eanings, and

le c tu re comprehension. The t e s t re q u ire s about f i f t y m inutes o f

working tim e, which makes i t p o ss ib le to complete i n the u su a l d a ily

h igh school in s t r u c t io n a l p e rio d . P u b lic a tio n o f the t e s t in two

e q u iv a le n t form s, Am and Bm, makes t h i s t e s t a u se fu l in strum en t fo r

p r e - in s t ru c t io n and p o s t - in s t r u c t io n te s t in g o f l i s te n in g a b i l i t y .

U n fo rtu n a te ly , the t e s t y ie ld s only a t o t a l l i s t e n in g sco re , b u t a

d iffe re n c e * o f te n p o in ts o r more on th i s t o t a l score and th e score of

a read ing achievement t e s t o r m ental a b i l i t y t e s t i s re p o rte d to be

s ig n i f ic a n t . (1:261) One summary (27:92) re p o r te d a ga in from

th ir ty - s e v e n th p e rc e n t i le to the f i f ty - s e v e n th p e rc e n t i le on t h i s

t e s t . The su b je c ts were h igh school s tu d e n ts , and th e t r a in in g was

c a r r ie d over a p e rio d o f seven months. Most r e p o r ts o f g a in on th e

Brown-Carlson L is ten in g Comprehension T est a re h ig h er than tw enty

p e rc e n t i le p o in ts . There i s need f o r more s tu d ie s o f th i s -type since

re p o r ts of t h i s n a tu re may s tim u la te teach in g a tte m p ts . (27:92)

The th i r d and most r e c e n t s tan d ard ized t e s t o f l i s te n in g com

prehension i s the S eq u en tia l T est o f E ducational P rogress (U0), more

commonly r e fe r r e d to as the STEP L is te n in g T e s ts . Forms 2A and 2B a re

e q u iv a le n t and are in ten d ed f o r te s t in g " ty p ic a l" s tu d e n ts i n g ra d e s_

72

seven through n in e . The t e s t s may be machine o r hand scored . T ests

re q u ire approxim ately n in e ty m inutes o f working tim e, b u t th ey can be

co n v en ien tly d iv id ed in to two se ss io n s o f f o r ty - f iv e m inutes each.

The t e s t s do re q u ire read in g f o r answers to the o r a l passages and the

marking of answ ers. C affrey (12:130) r e p o r ts th a t some re se a rc h e rs

emphasize Mth a t auding t e s t s should p ro p e rly re q u ire no read ing o r

w r i t in g , s in ce th ese v a r ia b le s may o f f s e t s c o re s .ff Other r e s e a rc h e rs ,

Spaehe (1*5)* Biggs (£ ) , H ichols and K e lle r (3W> and Dow (16) r e p o r t

e f f o r t s to e s ta b l is h o th e r l i s te n in g t e s t s by experim en ta tion . One ;. . . i

t e s t which was n o t s ta n d ard ize d b u t which was used to conduct an

in v e s tig a t io n by H all (20) o f the l i s te n in g a b i l i t y o f f i f t h grade '

s tu d e n ts may prove a u se fu l example to te a ch e rs s in ce i t i s a success

f u l a d ap ta tio n o f a s tan d ard ized read ing t e s t fo r the elem entary

g rades. C affrey (12) r e p o r ts t h a t most auding t e s t s appear to be

a d ap ta tio n s of read ing t e s t s . Such a d a p ta tio n s are u se fu l models o f

in form al d ia g n o s tic t e s t s o f l i s t e n in g s k i l l s .

Inform al classroom te s t in g of l i s t e n in g . D espite the prom is

ing beginning o f a few p u b lish ed l i s te n in g t e s t s and th e con tin u in g

e f f o r t s o f re se a rc h e rs to expand and r e f in e these t e s t s , no subscores

a re y e t a v a ila b le on any t e s t o f l i s te n in g comprehension. The d iag

n o s is of se p a ra te l i s te n in g s k i l l s m ust, f o r the p re s e n t , be determ ined

s u b je c tiv e ly by th e te a c h e r . (1:263) H all (20:162) b e lie v e s the V \■■V

te a ch e r needs two m easures o f l i s t e n in g , one o f p u p il comprehension

a b i l i t y and a second, f o r m easuring the l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f classroom

m a te r ia ls . Measures o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y have to da te been l i t t l e more

73

than ex ten sio n s of r e a d a b i l i ty form ulas and have proved to be lim ited*

Teachers who d e s ire a s s is ta n c e in making l i s te n in g t e s t s may*

p r o f i t from adap ting th e suggestions o f s tan d ard ized t e s t p u b lish e rs

such as those inc luded in Making the Classroom T est (29) and from

standard works on measurement and e v a lu a tio n ( i s 228-250) which gener

a l l y include a se c tio n o r ch ap ter on the c o n s tru c tio n of classroom

te s ts * E L iff (1 7 :2 3 ), f o r example, dev ised a system o f inform al

te s t in g in which th e s tu d e n ts made o u t th e i r own t e s t s o f the m ate ri

a l heard a f t e r having com pleted the teacher-m ade m u ltip le choice

t e s t . The students* t e s t s on the same m a te r ia l d e a l t w ith immediate

r e c a l l , fo llow ing d i r e c t io n s , recogn izing t r a n s i t i o n s , recogn iz ing

word m eanings, l e c tu r e comprehension, and s p o tt in g c o n tra d ic tio n s .

Four o r f iv e s tu d e n ts would form a group, s c ru t in iz e a l l o f th e t e s t

item s c o n tr ib u te d to the group, choose th e b e s t i te m s , and p la n a

t e s t p re s e n ta tio n fo r th e e n t i r e c la s s to ta k e .

Adams and Torgerson (1:266) exp la ined the tw ofold resp o n sib

i l i t y o f te a c h e rs as t h a t o f c o rre c tin g the underly ing c a u sa l f a c to r s

o f poor l i s te n in g and th u s m eeting th e studen ts* s p e c if ic r e t r a in in g

needs through in s t r u c t io n . I t i s d i f f i c u l t to determ ine how te a c h e rs

are to do th i s in the a re a o f l i s te n in g u n le ss th ey can develop th e i r

own d ia g n o s tic and achievem ent t e s t s .

The N ationa l Council o f Teachers o f E ng lish p o in ts to how

much re se a rc h must be done in developing t e s t s so th a t te a c h e rs may

“tak e the f i r s t s te p s in the b u ild in g o f a developm ental and rem edial

program of l i s te n in g a c t i v i t i e s from k in d e rg a rte n through c o l le g e .11

(31:31*6-31*7)

Ik

Walker (£l:3U 6) d e sc rib e s th e a c t i v i t i e s o f the te a c h e rs o f

an e n t i r e c i t y school system in an e f f o r t to iirprove l i s te n in g s k i l l s

and h a b i ts . The tea ch e r-d ev ise d l i s te n in g t e s t s were developed to

t e s t the a b i l i t y to l i s t e n to th ree ty p es o f m a te ria ls? n a r r a t io n ,

e x p o s itio n , and d i r e c t io n s . Bach t e s t c o n s is te d o f l i s te n in g passages

fo llow ed by te n q u estio n s to be answered True, F a lse , or No-inform

a tio n . The q u es tio n s attem pted to diagnose s p e c if ic l i s te n in g

a b i l i t i e s , namely: to g e t th e main id e a s , to use co n tex t c lu e s , to

c a tc h the g en era l s ig n if ic a n c e , to understand time sequence, to note

d e ta i l s , and to draw conclusions o r in fe re n c e s . The l i s te n in g t e s t s

dev ised were tra n s c r ib e d and adm in istered through rec o rd in g s . Com

panion read ing t e s t s were a lso dev ised and ad m in iste red . The t e s t s

were found to be a u se fu l d iag n o s tic in stru m en t f o r d e te c tin g the

need f o r l i s te n in g in s t r u c t io n among many s tu d e n ts . More im portan t

s t i l l , th e in fo rm al t e s t s le d to the o rg a n iz a tio n o f te a c h e r-

committees to study and w rite a p r a c t ic a l l i s te n in g curricu lum gu ide.

S t i l l an o th er re s e a rc h e r , Heilman (21:302-308), d e sc rib e s

an experim ent t h a t tends to show t h a t in fo rm al d iagnosing , in s t r u c

t io n , and classroom t e s t s a re e f f e c t iv e in in c re a s in g the e f f ic ie n c y

of l i s t e n in g . Success o f in form al t e s t in g i n th e classroom should

g ive im petus to the re se a rc h a ttem p ting to develop s tan d ard ized

in strum en ts capable o f analyzing th e l i s te n in g s u b - s k i l l s . Enough

has been done, b e lie v e s th e N ational Council o f Teachers o f E n g lish

(30:3U7), to in d ic a te t h a t d iag n o s is o f l i s te n in g s k i l l s can be

c a r r ie d on as su c c e s s fu lly as i n read in g , speech, o r w r it in g , th a t

75

s tu d e n ts can improve under d i r e c t in s t r u c t io n in l i s t e n in g , and th a t

e f fe c t iv e in stru m en ts can be dev ised f o r m easuring the amount and

kind o f improvement made*

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

FOE

PAST I I

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams^ G eorgia Sachs, and Theodore L. Torger son, Measurement and E v alu a tio n f o r the Secondary School Teacher! Hew YorkT The Bryden P re s s ," 1956. 658 pp.

The book a ttem p ts to b rid g e th e gap between th eo ry and th e p ra c t ic e o f measurement and evaluation* I t i s a fu n c tio n a l approach w ith emphasis upon the s tu d e n t and h is le a rn in g problem s.

Adams, E arlen M.,. “Learning to Be D iscrim inating L is te n e rs , “ E ng lish Jo u rn a l, 36:11-15, January , 19U7.

TETS~report s p e c if ie s the reasons f o r improving l i s t e n in g , why i t must be tau g h t in th e sch o o ls , l i s t s th e c h a r a c te r i s t i c s o f good l i s te n in g , and examines and i l l u s t r a t e s th e th re e p a r t s of a good l i s te n in g le s so n .

Anderson, Harold A*, "Teaching the A rt o f L is te n in g ,11 School Review, 57:63-67, February , 19U9.

The f i r s t ta s k o f the schoo ls in t r a in in g s tu d e n ts i s to he lp them become i n t e l l i g e n t c r i t i c a l l i s t e n e r s , re a d e rs , and th in k e rs . L is ten in g deserves and demands th e same in te n s iv e study t h a t read ing has rec e iv e d .

B aird , A. C raig , and F ran k lin H. Knower,. Chapter 16, “C r i t ic a l L is te n in g ,” General Speech. Hew York: MbGraw-Hi.il BookCompany, I n c . , 19^9* 5.00 pp.

The im portance o f p o ssessin g a knowledge o f th e common f a l l a c i e s and schemes of p ro p ag an d ists i s emphasized in th i s c h a p te r . The propaganda dev ices are d e sc rib e d .

Biggs, B ernice P . , “C onstruc tion , V a lid a tio n and E valuation of a D iagnostic T est o f L is ten in g E f fe c t iv e n e s s ,“ Speech Monographs , 23:9-139 March, 1956.

The au tho r co n s tru c ted and v a lid a te d a l i s t e n in g comprehens io n t e s t which seemed to measure t r a i t s independent of those measured by t e s t s o f read ing e f fe c t iv e n e s s , b u t n o t independ en t of those t r a i t s measured by t e s t s of s c h o la s tic ach ievement.

Bishop, K. V ., “Spheres of In fluence and E ducational P a t te r n s ,” Claremont College Reading Conference, 23:87-106, 1958.

This conference concerned i t s e l f w ith th e a re a s o f the language a r t s . This a r t i c l e d e sc rib e s th e a rea o f l i s t e n ing as a sphere o f in flu en ce in which th e educato rs must t r a i n them selves and th e s tu d e n ts . Four k inds o f l i s te n in g and reaso n s fo r le a rn in g each k ind are s ta te d .

79

i 7 . Bond, Guy L*, and M ie s A. T inker, Reading D i f f i c u l t i e s : T heir ‘ D iagnosis and C o rrec tio n , lew York: Apple ton -C en tu ry - C ro fts , I n c . , 19577 1*86' pp.

This book i s in tended to a id classroom tea ch e rs and c l in ic ia n s to recogn ize and so lve some of the w idely v a ry ing problems in read ing d i s a b i l i t y . I t c o n ce n tra te s on form ative s ta g e s .

8 . Brembeck, W inston, and W illiam Howell, Chapter lU , ’’G etting and M aintaining A tte n t io n ,” P ersuasion . Hew York: P re n tic e -H a ll, 1952. 1*88 pp.

While w r it te n f o r the speaker r a th e r th an the l i s t e n e r , th e ch ap te r d e sc rib e s th e p rocess invo lved in secu ring a t te n t io n from an audience* The ch ap te r i s an e x c e lle n t summary of s tan d a rd s fo r c r i t i c a l l i s t e n in g .

i 9* Brown, Don., C a lifo rn ia Auding T es t. Redwood C ity , C a lifo rn ia : ; Council on Auding Research, 1952. lU pp.

' This t e s t in v o lv es no read ing o r w rit in g and i s designed ,! to measure acqu ired l is te n in g s k i l l in grades seven through 11 tw elve .

; 10 . Brown, James I . , and G. Robert C arlson , Brown-Carlson L is ten in g Comprehension T est, T hird e d i t io n . Yonkers, Hew York:Ifcrld Book Company, 1951. 6 pp .

This i s rep u te d ly the only com m ercially p u b lish ed l i s t e n ing t e s t w ith n a tio n a l norms f o r grades e leven through fo u r te e n . The t e s t has two e q u iv a le n t forms and was design ed f o r use in grades n ine through th i r t e e n .

11. B ryant, M argaret M., e t a l* , E ng lish a t Work. New York:I S cribners Sons, 1953.i The t i t l e covers a s e r ie s which b eg in s w ith Course One

in tended f o r use w ith grade n in e . Two o f the s e r ie s ,Course Two and Gourse Four, have se p a ra te se c tio n s o f ex erc is e s and e x p lan a tio n s of l i s t e n in g . The le s so n s w i l l probab ly suggest to te a c h e rs how o th e r m a te r ia l m ight be adapted .

i! 12 . C affrey , John, 11 Auding, ” Review o f E ducational Research, 25:121-1 138, 1955. —

A comprehensive review of the f i e l d o f auding, o r th e comprehension of spoken language, has been prepared by C affrey , who has a lso dev ised a t e s t o f t h i s fu n c tio n .

13 . Cashman, P. H ., ^Techniques in Teaching L is ten in g S k i l l s , ” Conference and Course on Reading o f the U n iv e rs ity of P ittsb u rg h , I k :59-573 Ju ly , 1958.

The annual conference theme of ’’Reading in R e la tio n to Mass Mfedia” inc luded l i s t e n in g . Good l i s te n in g h a b its do n o t ’’n a tu r a l ly ” develop. Mich o f what s tu d e n ts le a rn i s

8 0

gained through th e e a r , so l i s te n in g i s of v i t a l im portance in education*

l lu Gashman, P. H., “What Research T e lls Us About th e Developmento f L is ten in g S k i l l s , 11 Conference and Course on Reading of th e U n iv e rs ity o f P ittsbu rgh* IU :31“U 2 ,J u ly , 195B*

This in tro d u c tio n to the p rev io u s a r t i c l e summarizes the re se a rc h upon -which teach ing l i s te n in g must re s t*

15>. B ale, Edgar, “R e la tio n sh ip of Reading to Other Forms o f Learnin g , “ Reading in G eneral E ducation* W ashington: AmericanCouncil on E ducation , 19h£U I4.6l4. pp*

Some of th e d e f ic ie n c ie s o f read ing when used a s th e ex c lu siv e communicator o f v ic a r io u s experience in g enera l educa tion i s exp lo red in t h i s c h a p te r . I t a ttem pts to show th e n e c e s s ity f o r and the advantages o f u sing a u d ito ry and a d d itio n a l v is u a l methods w ith read ing as c o r r e la t iv e avenues o f lea rn in g *

16* Dow, Clyde W*, “A L is te n in g Comprehension T est as a M otivationfo r L is ten in g I n s t r u c t io n , 11 Jou rna l o f Communication, h :6 l*~6 6 , Summer, 193>U*

A re p o r t on the use the au tho r has made o f h i s own unp u b lished t e s t o f l i s te n in g comprehension i s inc lu d ed i n t h i s d e s c r ip tio n o f th e a c t i v i t i e s in which h is freshman c la s s e s p a r t ic ip a te d in improving l i s te n in g s k i l l s .

17* E l l i f f , G ertrude, “A D irec t Approach to th e Study of L is te n in g ,“ E ng lish jo u rn a l , I4.6 : 20-27, February , 1957*

This i s an a r t i c l e o f concre te suggestions d e riv ed from th e a u th o r1 s “a c tio n s tu d y 11 i n teach in g l i s te n in g to drama and speech c la s s e s i n a h igh school. One o f th e most c re a tiv e a sp e c ts re p o rte d was having th e s tu d e n ts c re a te much o f the m a te r ia ls used ih p ra c t ic in g and te s t in g l is te n in g *

18 . Freeman, B ernice, “L is te n in g Experiences in th e Language A r t s ,” E ng lish Jo u rn a l, 38:572-576, December, 19k9•

Some classroom e x e rc is e s s u ita b le f o r use in a l i s te n in g u n i t are d e sc rib e d . The au tho r was a ttem pting to improve th e l i s te n in g s k i l l of h e r s tu d e n ts w hile improving h e r own a b i l i t y to te a ch l i s t e n in g .

19* G ates, A rthur I . , Psychology f o r S tudents o f E ducation , pp. 338- 3U0. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930. 612 pp.

This sh o r t passage rem ains one of the most lu c id explana tio n s to be found in tex tbooks on ed u ca tio n a l psychology on w hether read ing o r o th e r v is u a l p re s e n ta tio n of m a te r ia l produces le a rn in g su p e rio r to o th e r avenues*

8 1

20. B a ll, R obert 0 . , An E xp lo ra to ry Study o f L is te n in g o f F i f th -Grade P u p ils , Unpublished D octoral d i s s e r t a t io n , U n iv e rs ity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia , Los A ngeles, C a lifo rn ia , 1951u 22?PP.

Ey adap ting the Gates Reading T ests f o r elem entary grades th e in v e s t ig a to r produced a l i s te n in g t e s t which should be o f considerab le i n t e r e s t to te a c h e rs . The appendices g ive th e s c r ip t o f the reco rded t e s t and the forms used fo r answ ering.

21. Heilman, A rthur W. , “An In v e s tig a tio n i n Measuring and ImprovingL is ten in g A b il i ty , 11 Speech Monographs, 18:302-308, November,1951.

This a b s t r a c t o f th e au thor*s d i s s e r t a t io n b earin g the same t i t l e r e p o r ts on an experim ent t h a t ten d s to show th a t in s t r u c t io n i s e f f e c t iv e in in c re a s in g the e f f ic ie n c y o f l i s t e n in g . The au tho r a lso d e sc r ib e s the s ix tr a in in g le s so n s he developed f o r h is experim ental group.

i, 22. Hook, J . N ., Chapter 8 , “C reative L is te n in g , ’1 The Teaching of

High School E n g lish . New York: The Ronald P re ss , l£ 5 0 .k66 pp.t Here the need for teaching listening is urged, eight objec-

j tives of creative student listening to satisfy present andfuture needs are detailed, and ten techniques for improving listening at the high school level of instruction are described.

; 23. Jew e tt, Arno, e d i to r , C hapter 8 , “E valua tion and Needed Research” : E ng lish f o r the Academ ically T alented in the Secondary1 School, W ashington: N ational E ducation A sso c ia tio n , I960 .

1 2 8 pp .This r e p o r t in c lu d es the o b je c tiv e s o f l i s te n in g fo r th e

1 g i f te d s tu d e n ts which, in te r e s t in g ly , a re d e s ira b le amongstu d e n ts of a l l a b i l i t i e s .

2iu K egler, S. B ., “Teaching to Overcome th e P u p i l ’s L is ten in g L ag ,“ C learing House, 27ik97-k99s A p r il , 1953.

P sy ch o lo g ica lly the p ro cesses o f read in g and l i s te n in g have much in common a lthough m echan ica lly th ey d i f f e r . D irec t t r a in in g i s n ecessa ry in l i s te n in g as only a sm all amount of t r a n s f e r from read ing in s t r u c t io n can be expected .

25. Knower, F ran k lin H ., “Communication, L is te n in g , Radio, Speech, and R ela ted A reas, “ Review o f E ducational Research, 16:116- 119, A p ril, 19^6.

A review of th e re se a rc h in the f i e l d during th ree wartime y ears re v e a ls something o f the f a t e o f s tu d ie s in th e a reas of g en era l and l i b e r a l ed uca tion d u ring w ar. A few o f the s tu d ie s s tim u la te d by war needs b e a r some r e la t io n s h ip to h igh school teach ing o f language a r t s .

L em s, I rv in g G ., A Survey o f Management* s A ttitu d e s Regarding Oral Communication Meeds and P ra c tic e s in Large In d u s tr ie s o f Los Angeles County, Unpublished D octoral d i s s e r ta t io n , U n iv e rs ity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia , Los A ngeles, C a lifo rn ia , 195U. 2 3 2 p p .

L is ten in g i s so im portan t in b u sin ess and in d u s try th a t many la rg e e n te rp r is e s o f f e r t r a in in g cou rses to employees.

Lewis, T. R ., ‘‘l i s t e n in g , 11 Review o f E ducational Research,28:89-95 , A p ril , 1958. ‘

The t r i e n n ia l summary o f th e su b je c t in t h i s jo u rn a l i s u se fu l f o r concise d e s c r ip tio n s o f th e m ajor re se a rc h tr e n d s . The l i s t i n g s coup are unfavorably w ith th e 1955 re p o r t i n sheer numbers o f s tu d ie s undertaken and re p o r te d . N everthe less, some o f the s tu d ie s a re em inently v a lu ab le to th e h igh school te a c h e r .

L is ten in g L ib ra ry : A C atalog of Recorded L i te r a tu r e . Mew York: The L is ten in g L ib ra ry , I n c . , 1959* ”50 pp.

A. new v en tu re which w i l l a id te a c h e rs o f l i s te n in g s k i l l s , t h i s i s th e most com plete d e s c r ip tiv e l i s t i n g o f spoken l i t e r a t u r e com piled to da te and a v a ila b le from a s in g le source on a r e n t a l o r purchase b a s is . Every item i s reco rd ed on d is c s o r tape of s tan d ard s iz e s and speeds.

Making th e Classroom T e s t: A Guide fo r T eachers. Los Angeles:iSdueational T estin g S e rv ice , E valuation and A dvisory S erv ices S e r ie s , Mo. it, 1959* 28 pp .

"While n o t s p e c i f i c a l ly concerned w ith t e s t in g l i s t e n in g , t h i s b u l l e t in o f f e r s u se fu l suggestions f o r making in fo rm al t e s t s o f c o n te n t and language s k i l l s .

N ational Council of Teachers of E ng lish , Commission on theE nglish Curriculum , “The Program in L is te n in g ,” The E nglish Language A rts . New York: A pple ton-C en tu ry -C rofts, I n c . ,1952. 501 pp .

This c h ap te r i s an overview o f the t o t a l cu rricu lum in l i s te n in g a t a l l l e v e ls o f in s t r u c t io n . Concrete sugg e s tio n s f o r a developm ental l i s te n in g program a re o ffe re d .

N ational Council o f Teachers o f E n g lish , Commission on th e E nglish Curriculum , Chapter 8 , “Developing Competence in L is te n in g , ” Language A rts in the Secondary School. New York: A pple ton-C en tu ry -C rofts, I n c . , 1956. 1+88 pp.

L is te n in g s k i l l s in th e secondary school i s th e concern o f t h i s c h a p te r . The developm ental program i s d e sc rib ed along w ith many suggestions f o r teach ing and te s t in g l i s t e n in g .

N icho ls, Ralph G ., “L is te n in g In s tru c t io n in th e SecondaryS ch o o l,” B u lle t in o f th e N ational A ssoc ia tion o f Secondary

8 3

School P r in c ip a ls , 36:l58-17l|., May, 1952.The au th o r a s s e r ts th a t the l i s t e n e r ' s ta s k i s to develop

utm ost c o n c e n tra tio n . A ll the re se a rc h in th e f i e l d o f l i s te n in g a t th e secondary le v e l through 1952 i s summarized.

33* 9 Sonias E. Lewis, L is te n in g and Speaking; A Guide to%*££®ctive Oral Communication, Dubuque, Iowa: W illiam C.ferown, 1 9 5 h . 250 pp.

W ritten from th e communication approach to language, th i s t e x t p rov ides an ex p lan a tio n of the l i s te n in g s k i l l s and of ' th e d e ta i le d procedures which a re designed to a id the te a c h e r o f l i s t e n in g .

3U* _____ , and Robert J . Keller, "The Measurement of Communication -S lc il ls ," Ju n io r College Jo u rn a l, 21^:160-168, November, 1953#.

The p ro cess of adapting read ing t e s t s to measure auding o f c o lle g e s tu d en ts i s re p o rte d i n th i s s tu d y . The au tho rs s t r e s s th e im portance o f l i s te n in g to d i r e c t io n s .

35. P ark er, Don H ., SRA Reading L aboratory T each er's Handbook.Chicago: Science Research A sso c ia te s , 1957• 56 pp .

This i s a h ig h ly developed guide f o r using th e m u lt i - le v e l graded read in g s e le c tio n s con ta in ed in th e secondary e d i t io n ' o f the la b o ra to ry k i t . I t a ls o c o n ta in s th e complete te x ts of th e l i s te n in g comprehension e x e rc is e s .

36. P ronvost, W ilb e r t . , Chapter I , "Speaking and L is ten in g in theC urricu lum ," Teaching o f Speaking and L is ten in g in th e

. E lem entary School. New York: Longmans, Green ancl Company, il£ 5 9 . 338 pp .

Here a re to be found some e x c e lle n t suggestions adap tab le to th e secondary school program . The au th o r u rges l i s te n in g and speaking in s t r u c t io n in a l l c o n te n t su b je c ts .

37 . Rankin, Paul T ., "The Importance of L is te n in g A b i l i ty ," E ng lishJo u rn a l, College E d itio n , 17:623-630, O ctober, 1928.

This i s p robab ly th e f i r s t in v e s t ig a t io n to d i r e c t a t te n t io n to l i s te n in g as th e mode o f language most used by a d u l ts . The m ajor f in d in g s have been co rrobo ra ted by o th e r inve s t i g a to r s •

, "L is ten ing A b il i ty : I t s Im portance, Measurement, and ISiyelopment,« Chicago School Jo u rn a l, 12:177-179, Iil7-ii20,1930.

These b a s ic a r t i c l e s are c i t e d in p r a c t ic a l ly every study on th e teach ing o f l i s te n in g s in ce th ey f i r s t appeared. Rankin was f i r s t to command a t te n t io n by h is s tu d ie s which p o in ted to th e overwhelming use o f l i s te n in g in d a i ly l i f e .

Robinson, H. A*, “D irec ted L is te n in g A c t iv i ty ,” Conference and Course on Reading o f the U n iv e rs ity o f P ittsb u rg h , 13:79-87* 19577”

Most o f th e s k i l l s tau g h t in read ing can be tau g h t in l i s te n in g excep t a few b a s ic word a n a ly s is techniques* L is ten in g can emphasize as o f equal im portance w ith rea d in g : vocabulary developm ent, comprehension, in te r p r e ta t io n , and the study s k i l ls *

S equen tia l 'Pests o f E ducational P ro g re ss : The l i s te n in g Comprehension T es ts* Los A ngeles: Cooperative T est D iv isio n , E ducational T esting S erv ice , 1957.

Four forms o f t h i s t e s t a re designed f o r use a t th e secondary l e v e l . E q u iv a len t forms a re p rovided fo r bo th the ju n io r and the se n io r h igh school te s t in g program s.

Sm ith, Mila B ., American Reading I n s t r u c t io n * San F ra n c isco : S i lv e r , B urde tt and Company, 193lu 287 pp .

An in te r e s t in g , l iv e ly h is to ry o f in s t ru c t io n in read ing in America from C olon ial schoo ls u n t i l 193h* E ducation a ttem pted to meet th e demands of each h i s to r i c a l p e rio d by th e read ing methods employed.

Sm ith, Dora V ., Communication, The M iracle o f Shared L iv in g *New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955* 10^ pp .

Communication, th e au tho r a s s e r t s , in v o lv es bo th im press io n and ex p re ss io n . C r i t i c a l exam ination of what i s heard o r read i s as im p o rtan t a s p re c is io n and in te g r i t y i n one*s own use of language.

Sondel, Bess# Are You T elling Them? New York: P re n tic e -H a ll,I n c . , 191+7. 2 9 F p p .

C onversation and speeches a re c o lla b o ra tiv e experiences i n which the most o b s tru c tiv e b a r r ie r s to success a re comp e t i t io n f o r le a d e rsh ip o r f o r a t te n t io n . L is te n in g i s p a r t o f t h i s c o lla b o ra tiv e p rocess o f shared experience in the communication p rocess advocated in t h i s unusual book.

j , Speak Up* A New Approach to Communication, Seconde d i t io n . Chicago: U n iv e rs ity o f Chicago B ookstore, 19l*lu70 pp .

L is ten in g i s s t r e s s e d as an im portan t f a c to r i n the person- to -p e rso n communication p ro c e ss . Communication i s d esc rib ed as su c c e ss fu l, i n t e l l i g e n t c o lla b o ra tio n between speaker and l i s t e n e r .

Spache, George, “The C onstruc tion and V a lid a tio n of a Work-Type A udito ry Comprehension Reading T est, ” E ducational and Psychol lo g ic a l Measurements, 10:21*9-253# No. 2, 1950.

This i s a r e p o r t on the a u d ito ry comprehension se c tio n s o f th e D iagnostic Reading T ests which were designed f o r second-

8 5

a ry g rades. S tudents must read much o f th e m a te r ia l .

1*6. S tran g , Ruth, Constance McCullough and A rthur E. T ra x le r .Problems in th e Improvement o f Reading, Second e d i t io n .New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 19551 1*26 pp.

This tex tbook i s a thorough d e s c r ip t io n o f every a sp e c t o f a h igh school read ing program , in c lu d in g th e developm ental, rem ed ia l, and a d m in is tra tiv e a sp e c ts . This m a te r ia l i s req u ire d read in g f o r te a c h e rs in te r e s te d in improving studen ts* rea d in g . (

1*7. , and F lorence Rose, Chapter 10 , “How to Improve Gompre-K ension ,11 Problems in the Improvement o f Reading i n High School and C ollege, Revised e d i t io n . L an cas te r,P ennsy lvan ia : Science P ress , 19l*0. 1*23 pp.

In t h i s c h ap te r on read ing w ith understand ing , the comp le x i ty of comprehension i s a sse ssed . Also o ffe re d i s an ex p la n a tio n of how comprehension may be improved through h a b it r e t r a in in g . L is te n in g comprehension i s in te r e s t in g ly c o n tra s te d w ith read in g comprehension.

1*8. S tra tem eyer, F lorence B ., e t a l , C hapter 5, 11 The L ife S itu a tio n s L earners F a c e ,11 Developing a Curriculum f o r Modern L iv ing . New Yorks Teachers College Bureau o f P u b lic a tio n s , 19V?.558 pp .

Included among th e b a s ic c o n s id e ra tio n s i n making an a n a ly s is o f p e r s i s t e n t l i f e s i tu a t io n s a re th e communication s k i l l s . L is te n in g i s f i t t e d in to the g en e ra l p a t te rn o f language s k i l l s .

1*9. S t r a t to n , CELlie, “Techniques f o r L ite r a te L is te n in g ,11 E nglish Jo u rn a l, 37:51*2-51*1*, December, 191*8.

This r e p o r t d e sc rib e s classroom e x e rc is e s su i ta b le f o r use in a l i s t e n in g u n i t o f work as developed by the au tho r w ith h igh school c la s s e s .

50. S tr ic k la n d , Ruth, Language A rts in th e E lem entary School.Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 195 l . 370 pp.

Developmental language teach in g i s d isc u sse d from the g en era l educa tion p o in t of v iew . The au th o r p laces comm unication ahead o f in te r p r e ta t io n as th e c h ie f p r in c ip le o f teach in g re a d in g , w r i t in g , speaking , l i s t e n in g , observ ing , and s p e l l in g . The book i s an e x c e lle n t a id to secondary te a c h e rs in te r e s te d in a r t i c u la t in g th e developm ental p rograms a t a l l l e v e l s .

51. W alker, L a l la , “N ashv ille Teachers A ttack th e Problem of L is te n i n g ,” E ducation , 75:31*5-31*7, January , 1955.

This a r t i c l e d e sc rib e s what the te a c h e rs o f one c i t y school system d id to study and so lve th e problem of poor l i s te n in g a t a l l the grade le v e ls through tw elve . Forced to

w rite t h e i r own d ia g n o s tic instrum ents* th e te a ch e rs came to no conclusive g e n e ra liza tio n s* A world o f p r a c t ic a l advice i s offered* however.

Weksell* Wesley* "Communication Courses in S e lec ted C olleges and U n iv e rs i t ie s * " Jo u rn a l o f Communicatjon* 1:27-29* May* 1951*

Much can be le a rn e d about the teach in g of l i s te n in g from re se a rc h in to the methods of teach in g reading* L is ten in g i s n o t , however* in a l l re s p e c ts analagous to reading* '

Wilson* C. E ., and Alexander F razie r* '’Learning through L is ten ing to Each O ther*” E ng lish Journal* 39:367-373* September, 1950.

Some methods o f c o r re la t in g t r a in in g in l i s te n in g and w riting* reading* and speaking i n term s o f th e developm ental a re a s in which th ey f a l l a re d esc rib ed in th e r e p o r t . This i s teach ing l i s te n in g through co-action*

W ilt* Miriam* "Teaching o f L is te n in g and Why,” E ducational Screening* 31:li4i.-lU6* .A pril, 1952.

In t h i s a r t i c l e o r ig in a l ly w r i t te n f o r a tex tbook p u b lish e r ’s monograph* th e au tho r s t r e s s e s the audio o f teach in g .

W oelfel, Norman* and ly ie r I . K eith , Radio and th e School.Yonkers, New York: The World Book Company, 19h^l 35*8 pp .

This guidebook f o r te a c h e rs and a d m in is tra to rs was p re pared a f t e r f iv e y e a rs of in v e s tig a t io n by a s t a f f o f broadc a s t e v a lu a to rs to c l a r i f y th e p o s i t io n of ra d io l i s te n in g in educa tion . The p o te n t ia l of F. M. broadcasting* which c u r re n t ly prom ises ra p id expansion* may make t h i s book again s ig n i f ic a n t f o r te a c h e rs d e sp ite the c u r re n t te le v is io n monopoly o f s tu d e n t tim e.

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