ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys instruction and research regarding the development of listening competence in the second language (L2), which is any language learned beyond the mother tongue or native language (L1). Section 1 introduces developments regarding L2 listening, followed by relevant theories in Section 2. Section 3 contains summaries and a tabular analysis of selected studies. Pedagogical implications (Section 4) and ideas for activities (Section 5) round out the chapter. The term target language refers to the L2 being learned, which could be a foreign or a second language. A foreign language is learned in a setting where it is not the main communication vehicle, as illustrated by English as a foreign language (EFL) learned in Greece or Russia. The term second language roughly refers to any language – second, third, fourth, etc. – that is, learned in a situation where it is the predominant communication mode, as in ESL learned in the United Kingdom. The distinction between foreign language and second language is still useful for discussing listening competence, although cultural changes (e.g., the Internet, global travel, and English as a worldwide lingua franca) could someday melt the distinction.
