Important Factors in the Development of English Listening Skills in EFL Classes (Essay Sample)

Getting input is an essential component of learning English as a foreign language since it provides numerous benefits. The listening skill, in particular, should be focused on developing with the aim of learning rules and words within the context along with being exposed to the correct pronunciations. Otherwise, some word usages may be difficult for students to grasp, and incorrect pronunciations can be earned, which will be hard to correct later. Therefore, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers of young learners should not miss the chance to help their students improve listening skills in an early period. There are, however, some complications to pay attention in order to maintain this process flawlessly. In fact, three factors should be considered in the development of listening skills in EFL young learner lessons: differences among learners, students' psychological states while listening and different ways of listening.

The first factor that should be regarded in the development of listening skills in young learners is considering that each student has their own pace and learning style. As Linse (2005) makes clear in her book, students mostly prefer one method of learning and understand better while employing this; therefore, a teacher who can adapt the lessons according to the different learning styles can make a considerable effect on young learners’ development of listening skills. Students also have their own pace of understanding and solving things. For that reason, maintaining the lessons according to these differences and making needed amends are significant in classes. For example, while performing activities, teachers can repeat listening several times as it is more beneficial for many types of learners including slow-paced ones (Field, 2001 as cited in Harmer, 1998; House, 1997). On this basis, it is inferred that learning style and pace differences among the young learners affect the listening development process and should be taken into consideration in the lessons.

Another element that is essential in EFL learners’ process of developing English listening skills is the psychological states of students while listening to any material or doing activities. As Lowes and Target (1998) states in their book, students have a tendency to stop listening and feel anxious in case of missing a part. Therefore, it is the job of the teacher to inform students that they do not need to understand everything word for word and teach them how to fill missing parts by using the general context. In order to accomplish this, learners can be assigned gap-filling tasks as homework since doing assignments in a place where no one can judge will give them a sense of comfort. Additionally, making kids work in pairs during class activities can be preferred since sharing the responsibility of answers with a peer also can relieve students and increase the efficiency of the task (Harmer, 2001). As a result, it should be acknowledged that the psychological conditions of young learners have a significant impact on the development of listening abilities and should be taken into account by teachers.

The final factor that should be considered in the development of the listening skills of EFL young learners is being aware of different listening skills. Turning to Lowes and Target (2007), one finds that listening is classified under two skills that should be separately developed which: intensive and extensive listening. While extensive listening is used to get only a general idea, intensive listening means listening carefully to learn something. As both of these skills are equally valuable, teachers should prepare suitable activities and observe the development of both skills in students closely. For example, to improve extensive listening skills, teachers can contact students’ parents and provide listening materials for their children. In this way, learners can be accustomed to listen in outdoor and share his/ her thoughts about the tape in the class. In addition, teachers also can tell a story to the learners and ask them related questions in order to develop intensive learning skills (Harmer, 2001). Concisely, it should be noted that intensive and extensive listening are two essential skills that should be developed with different activities.

Upon considering all the facts, one can conclude that for young EFL learners, developing the listening skill in the early period is significant since it provides several benefits in the process of learning English; however, some elements should be considered in the classes, such as differences among learners, psychological state of students while listening and teaching ways of different listening styles. Therefore, teachers should take the responsibility of paying attention to these aspects and make necessary changes in the lessons.