The Case for unscripted listening comprehension materials

Abstract

In this paper it is argued that, despite the general acceptance of the need to teach listening comprehension on most EFL courses as part· of the communication process, not enough attention is given to this activity. In the first place, the emphasis on most courses is on teaching the learner to speak English. Secondly the learner's exposure to spoken English tends to be inadequate in quantity, context, and quality. As a result most learners experience great difficulty in understanding spoken English outside the classroom. Three factors in particular are isolated as contributing to this difficulty : (1) the speed at which native speakers speak; (2) unfamiliarity with the performance variables of natural spoken English; (3) the variety of native speaker accents. The reason for this is, in part, the inadequacy of the type of English to which the learner is exposed in the classroom. It is argued that, in most cases, the Spoken 'classroom' English of the teacher and of most recorded materials is phonologically and syntactically non-typical of natural speech. In addition, most recorded materials use a limited range of speakers with little variation in accent or voice quality. Finally, it is proposed that the EFL learner's aural fluency would be improved if part of his exposure to spoken English from the early stages of the learning process included unscripted recorded materials. Such materials would expose the learner to natural spoken English delivered at the normal speed and containing the characteristic performance variables. They could also encompass a wide range of speakers with different accents and voice qualities.