Module 2 – Teaching Listening

Good listening skills are essential to the academic and social development of children. For learning to take place in second language (L2) classrooms, primary school students must be able to listen to and comprehend their teacher’s instructions in that L2. We could say that listening is ‘the door’ to learning, as it is the initial stage in first and second language acquisition. According to Sharpe (2001), the promotion of children’s speaking and listening skills lies at the heart of effective learning in all subjects of the primary curriculum. Therefore, L2 teachers have to make the development of children’s listening skills, a key aim of Primary teaching and equip them with the best strategies for effective listening.

The good news is that, like anything else, listening skills can be improved with practice. In this module, you will revise the basic theoretical concepts and learn about effective tasks and activities with different materials to be applied in an L2 class with young learners.