The Significance of Listening Comprehension in English Language Teaching

Listening is a significant language skill to develop in second language learning. Despite its importance, language learners consider listening as the most difficult language skill to learn. Since the role of listening comprehension in language teaching has been repeatedly emphasized, many teachers do not pay enough attention to its importance in their classes. In this paper, the researchers review some important issues concerning listening comprehension to provide a basis for developing listening skill in English language teaching. It starts with a definition of listening and listening comprehension, a brief discussion of reasons for listening, followed by reviewing listening comprehension process, the importance of listening, teachers’ roles in listening comprehension, and discuss strategies, techniques, and goals of listening. The review of literature indicated that learners can improve their listening comprehension through the help of teachers, using suitable materials and activities, and practicing a lot.