The authors and series editors Introduction Section One: Explanation - Research into listening 1 What is listening comprehension? 1.1 Introduction 1.2 What is successful listening? 1.3 One view of listening: the listener as tape recorder 1.4 An alternative view of listening: the listener as active model builder 1.5 The relationship between listening and speaking 1.6 The relationship between listening and reading 2 Listening skills in native speakers 2.1 Introduction 2.

2 Speech perception 2.3 The acquisition of listening skills in childhood 2.4 Developing listening skills in young native speakers 2.5 The influence of task and context 3 Listening skills in foreign learners 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The role of comprehension in L2 learning 3.3 Background problems 3.4 Language problems 3.

5 Listening problems 4 Graded development of listening skills 4.1 Introduction 4.2 What makes listening easy or difficult? 4.3 Relevant features of listening input 4.4 Relevant factors in listening tasks and contexts 4.5 Summary Section Two: Demonstration - Listening materials 5 Listening in the L2 classroom 5.1 Introduction 5.2 What counts as 'listening'? 5.

3 Teaching listening or testing listening? 5.4 Listening or remembering? 5.5 Orientation of questions 5.6 Types of response: learner involvement 5.7 Task materials 6 Approaches to grading L2 listening 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Grading through text characteristics 6.3 Grading through task factors 6.

4 Grading complexity, or the complexity of grading 7 Samples from a graded listening programme 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Background to the materials 7.3 Diagrams 7.4 Maps 7.5 Narratives 7.6 Conclusion Section Three: Exploration 8 Investigating listening in your classroom Glossary Further reading Bibliography Appendices Index.