IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING SKILLS OVER OHER SKILLS

Abstract

One of the important causes for miscommunication is poor listening skills. It is a fact that if a person does not
listen to the speaker effectively, then there are more chances that he is not communicating properly; as a result, he may not
understand the speaker’s message. The same applies with the second language learning. Of the four linguistic activities,
Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing; Listening is the most important skill to be acquired but it is ironical to note that this is
only the skill being overlooked. Records say that Listening occupies 45 per cent of the time spent in communication where
speaking accounts for 30 per cent, and reading and writing, which make up 16 per cent and nine per cent respectively.
Despite its importance, students (and even teachers) often fail to pay attention to Listening. . This is all the more remarkable
as learners often say that listening is the most challenging of all the skills in any language. Unfortunately the tasks for
Listening are not practiced in the labs unlike for the speaking skills. More emphasis should be given on listening skills which
can be taught through direct, integrated, incidental, eclectic and dialogue approaches.