ABSTRACT
In second/foreign language (L2) learning, listening has also emerged as an extremely important modality. The former language form-based approach – listening to repeat – has been completely abandoned. In the comprehension approach based on language acquisition theory, input plays a critical role in L2 acquisition, and listening comprehension becomes the focal methodology, particularly at the initial stages of language study. Language instruction is based on listening comprehension and delayed oral practice – listening to learn (Dunkel, 1986:99; 1991:435). In the current communicative approach, language is taken as a means of communication, and the goal of language study is the functional ability in each modality. So, listening is a distinct modality in which communicative competence must be “uniquely defi ned and acquired” – listening to communicate (Lund, 1990:105).
