ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the mental processes involved in listening comprehension and examines the function of inner speech in listening comprehension. It identifies the relationships between language and thought. The chapter focuses on the principles and practices of understanding others. It also examines how students can improve their comprehension when listening in interactive settings. The chapter also examines the ways in which people can improve their comprehension of longer, largely one-way messages. It then recognizes the challenges of understanding messages received through other forms of text-based and mediated communication. Inner speech serves a variety of functions in the listening process and has been used to develop a theoretical perspective to explain how people assign or generate meanings while listening. Some people react so strongly to words that they have difficulty distinguishing between what is real—out there in the world—and the mental images elicited by the words used to describe objects and events. These are what are called semantic reactions.
