Listening: The forgotten mode

Given that students spend a lot of time using their ears to listen to their friends, their teachers and most importantly their music, it may seem obvious to point out that listening is certainly an important part of every student's day. However, whilst students are listening frequently in their daily lives, I believe that teaching listening has somehow been neglected in the English classroom. I wish to argue that listening, as an end in itself, is not valued in the classroom. In fact, listening is always the 'wall flower' of all the modes as it is often simply tacked on to assessment task handouts as part of a viewing task. Thus, the act of listening is relegated to being a part of watching a documentary or film or YouTube clip but not the complete experience in itself. In this article, I would like to highlight the importance of listening and suggest some useful ways that the skill can be incorporated into learning.