ABSTRACT
Despite the fact that listening plays a crucial role in language learning, research in early second language (L2) aural skills has received little attention. In a first language (L1) context, a listener's task is to understand spoken language and the same holds for L2 learners; in both language learning processes the goal is to comprehend messages. Nowadays, 'listening has gained greater prominence in language teaching, but listening lessons have, until recently, being text-oriented and communication-oriented rather than learner-oriented'. Despite the lack of methodological support and instructional materials to teach children how to learn to listen, listening is not considered the 'Cinderella skill' in L2 learning. Babies develop their auditory perceptual skills and work on speech sounds, meaning, and the grammatical patterns of language(s) they hear before they actually begin to speak. To support a more explicit focus on listening skills, teachers should set aside time for listening and incorporate activities that provide multisensory and multimodal language input in the curriculum.
