ABSTRACT
Semantic processing encompasses the listening processes involved in comprehension, inferencing, learning, and memory formation. This chapter:
outlines the processes of comprehension, in terms of given and new information, and updating mental models;
discusses the concept of knowledge activation, the notions of schema and constructive memory;
examines the process of inference, which is central to all language understanding, and presents different systems of inferences;
presents fundamental concepts of memory that are used during listening, including phonological loop or echoic memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory;
provides an overview of how listening relates to learning.
