Because I am supposedly an “expert” on listening — well, certainly I have studied listening for a long time— I am often asked for my definition of listening.
Uh-oh… (They’re looking for some magic bullet!)
For me, it is impossible to give a concise verbal definition of listening, although I do have a clear “concept” of what listening is. (Language is not precise enough to describe dynamic processes, at least not in a snapshot fashion.) The concept involves cognitive networks, attention, intention, and coordination.
Here is the most concise verbal definition I can come up with: Listening is the perceptual and cognitive process of receiving, comprehending, and interpreting auditory information from the environment. This includes spoken language signals and nonspeech sounds, many of which are integrated with visual or other sensory modalities! Listening involves actively attending to and processing incoming sounds (and associated stimuli) in order to make sense of the signals conveyed by speakers or the environment.
What are the key words or phrases here? Actively attending and making sense.
As we all know, particularly if we are listeners in two or more languages, effort alone is not sufficient to listen well. We need cognitive and emotional support that is built up through hours and hours of exposure and practice which actually change the way our brains work. Listening is supported by coordinated operations within interconnected neural networks throughout the brain.
What are these networks?
• reception (hearing function)
• transmission (real time sensitivities)
• coordination (mutual activation of language, memory, and emotion)
• comprehension (connecting incoming information with prior known information)
• agency (sense of intention, engagement, and personal relevance)
• attention (focus and mental effort)
• connectivity (memory capacity)
• interpretation (identification of patterns and relationships)
While they are of course interconnected, each one has its signature neural network.
Although all humans possess the same basic neurological structures, there are wide individual variances in functioning. These variances include processing speed, memory capacity, phonological awareness, and the extent and patterns of neural plasticity.
Is it essential for language teachers or language learners, or even language researchers, to understand the details of neurological processing?
No, of course not.
But it is useful for language teachers and applied linguists to understand the nature of neurological processing in order to develop more informed instructional and research approaches. A better understanding of neurological processing allows us to identify and work with natural tendencies and limits and to adapt to individual differences.
