Listening by Thomas g Devine

7/29/2019 Listening by Thomas g Devine

1/7

CHAPTER IVListening

THOMAS G. DEVINE

The importanceof listening in communicationhas long been recognized.Althoughlistening is seldom taught in the schools, researchers and educa-tors have been aware that more time is spent in listening than in othercomponentsof the communicationprocess, and that most school instruc-tion occurs in a speaking-listeningcontext. Researchin listening has beenextensive, though generally atomistic, uncoordinated, and repetitive. Atrend of recent studies in listening has been to re-examine previouslystudied topics; and although some have explored new topics, all havecontributed n one way or another to an evolving general theory of listen-ing. Discussions and reviews of research pertinent to an evolving theoryof listening were conducted by Dixon (1964), Duker (1965), Hollings-worth (1964), and Russell (1964).

Teaching of ListeningResearch in listening in the last three decades has been concerned,directly or indirectly, with some phase of instruction. One assumptionwhich may be made from this research is that listening ability can beimprovedwith instruction. Recent researchhas supportedthis assumption.A representative tudy is that of Fawcett (1963), who createdand usedexercises to develop listening ability at fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-gradelevels. She comparedpre- and post-test scores on the Sequential Tests ofEducational Progress: Listening comprehensiontest of this group withscores of a matchedcontrol group which received no instructionin listen-ing. Analysis of her data (using analysis of covarianceand t-tests) showedthat students who received instruction in listening scored significantlyhigher on the listeningtest.This type of study, one of several investigationson the teachability of listening, suggests that general listening ability ispositively affectedby instruction.Lundsteen(1963) investigatedthe effects of instructionon discriminat-ing, or critical listening. She isolated and taught to fifth- and sixth-grade

students three specific, critical listening skills: (a) detecting a speaker'spurposes, (b) evaluatingpropaganda n a speaker's presentation,and (c)evaluating arguments. She then compared their performance on a testconstructed for the experiment with that of students who had receivedno instruction and found, as in other studies, a statistically significantgain by the groupwhich receivedinstruction.152


2/7

April 1967 LISTENINGLundsteen (1965), in a follow-up of her earlier study, investigated the

degree of permanenceof learnings and the amount of transferto in-schooland out-of-school activities. One year later she administeredthe test usedin the previous study to students from the original experimentaland con-trol groups, and requestedthat students in the experimentalgroup writeanonymously of the ways in which they had used the critical listeninglessons during the year. She found that the group which had receivedinstruction still scored significantly higher on the experimental test andthat students in this group reportedinstances of transfer of learnings.

Factors Affecting the Teaching of ListeningSeveral recent studies explored factors which affect the teaching oflistening and the listening process in general. The effect of teaching prac-tices was studied by Van Wingerden (1965), who found that teachers saythey spend more time teaching listening than they actually do, that theyrely more on incidental than on direct teaching, and that they work withfew aids and instructional materials and without pre- or in-service assist-ance. The effect of age was studied by Farrow (1963) and by Condon

(1965), who noted that objective scores on listening tests increase withage. The influence of seating was investigated by Furbay (1965), whofound that scatteredseating in a room (as opposed to compact seating)resulted in listeners' tending to shift toward the thesis of the speaker'stalk. Brooks and Wulftange (1964) studied the effect of interest on listen-ing comprehensionand found that interest in the materials presented andthe personalityof the speakeraffectedlistening comprehension.The effectof position in and size of family was studied by Brown (1965), who foundthat children with older and younger siblings were not better listenersthan oldest or youngest children and that children from small familieswere not better listeners than those from large families.The effect of televiewingwas studied by Edinger (1964) and by Brown(1965). Edingerfound that televised lessons in listening and critical think-ing were effective in improvingscores on a standardized istening test, butnot on a test of critical thinking abilities. Brown found that elementaryschool students who watched commercial television regularlyscored higheron a listening test than those who did not, but found no relationship be-tween the number of hours spent watching television and scores on thelistening test.Recent studies have also investigatedthe influence of personality factorson listening. Higgins (1964) analyzed scores made by the same group ofsubjects on two listening tests and two anxiety scales and found that (a)listening was influencedneither negatively nor positively by anxiety and(b) no substantialrelationshipexistedbetweenlistening ability and anxiety.Ross (1964) compared istening test scores of good and poor listeners,who153

April 1967 LISTENING


3/7

REVIEW OF EDUCATIONALRESEARCH Volume XXXVII, No.2were identifiedas the upperand lower extremesof his test population,withother variables, e.g., reading, arithmetic,personal and social adjustment,socioeconomicfactors, and hearing. He found a high positive relationshipbetween listening and all factors studied except hearing and personality(correlations between listening and personality test scores ranged from-0.28 to 0.18). Lundsteen (1965) comparedscores on a personality testand scores on her experimentaltest of critical listening and found no sig-nificantrelationship.Several studies investigated rate of presentationand listening compre-hension. De Hoop (1965a) found that speaking presentationsof 210 wordsper minute (wpm) yielded better results for mentally retarded studentsand for students with limited sight; and, in a second study (1965b), that175 wpm yielded significantly better results for cerebral palsied students.Spicker (1963) found that 125 wpmand 175 wpmyielded betterresultsforboth mentallyretarded and intellectuallynormal students.A study by Orr,Friedman, and Williams (1965) gave added support to the widely heldassumptionthat speaking rates can be increased without loss in listeningcomprehension.They found that time-compressedspeech at rates up to475 wpm producedno significantloss in comprehension.

Listening and ReadingIt has long seemed apparentto many investigators that a relationshipexists between listening and reading. These behaviors are related as eachis concerned with the decoding half of the communication process andseems to be a complex of related skills components, e.g., reading for mainideas or transitionalelements,and listening for main ideas or transitionalelements. Further, it is possible to demonstrate a statistical relationshipbetween listening and reading test scores. This relationship was stressedby Hollingsworth (1964) and Townsend (1964) in reviews of research.Devine (1964) postulatedthat the same higher mental processes underlieboth facetsof the languageartscomplex,andHollingsworth(1965) pointedto the need for planned programsto exploit the relationshipfor teachingpurposes.However, recent studies did not completely support the assumptionthat listening and reading are related. Reported correlation coefficientsbetweenlistening and reading were positive and high: Ross (1964) founda coefficient of 0.74; Brown (1965) found coefficientsof 0.82 at fourth-

grade level, of 0.76 at fifth-grade level, and 0.77 at sixth-grade level;both Condon (1965) and Fawcett (1963) found "high" correlations;Duker (1965) reportedan averagecoefficientof 0.57. Other recent studies(not reportedhere) of tests used to establish such correlations suggestedthat the tests may be measuring something else than, or in addition to,listening ability. It may be advisableto delay further correlationalstudies154

REVIEW OF EDUCATIONALRESEARCH VolumeXXXVII, No. 2


4/7

April 1967 LISTENINGbetweenlistening and reading until instruments for measuring pure listen-ing ability are available. It may also be wise to interpret coefficientsofrelationshipbetweenlistening and readingwith the limitations of listeningtests in mind.Reeves (1965) investigatedthe effect of specific instruction in listeningon reading performance.She used recorded listening lessons with fourth-grade students and found no significant differences betweenmean gains oflistening and reading scores of the experimentalgroup, which had instruc-tion in listening, and the matched control group, which had no listeninglessons. Lewis (1963) used listening exercises with college freshmen andfound no significant differencesbetween listening and reading scores orbetweenthe reading scores of those who had instruction in listening andthose, in a matched control group, who did not. Hollingsworth (1965),working with eighth-gradestudents, found no significant differences be-tweenreadingscores of fhose who had listening instructionand those whodid not.

Still, a relationship between listening and reading does seem to exist,and despiterecent studies to the contrary,it certainlyseems worthwhile tocontinue the investigations into the nature and extent of this relationship.Future studies might explore the relationships between specific listeningskills (e.g., listening to follow the speaker's plan of organization, or listen-ing to recognize a speaker's inferences) and specific reading skills (e.g.,reading to follow a writer's plan of organization, or reading to recognizea writer's inferences). Research in this area of listening seems to havebarely scratched the surface.

Other Correlational StudiesThe apparent relationships of listening and speaking and of listeningand intelligence also need further study.Lawson (1964) stressed the relationship between listening and speakingand suggested that the development of the listener function in an individual

"probably plays an important role in the ultimate development of his skillas a speaker in being able to order verbal behavior." Brilhart (1965)found no evidence of positive correlation between certain kinds of listen-ing and speaking activities. She found that the ability to tell listeners howto draw certain geometric figures was unrelated to the ability of the samesubjects to listen to spoken directions for drawing geometric figures.

Support for the assumption that listening is related to intelligence re-mained, in recent studies, at the level of test score correlations. Ross (1964)found correlations of 0.76 between listening test scores and verbal intelli-gence scores and of 0.25 between listening scores and nonverbal intelligencescores. Brown (1965) reported correlations between listening and intelli-gence ranging from 0.82 at the fourth-grade level to 0.76 at the fifth-grade

155



5/7

REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Volume XXXVII, No. 2level and 0.77 at the sixth-grade evel. Andersonand Baldauf (1963) founda correlationcoefficientof 0.58 between isteningandintelligencetest scores.

Measures of Listening AbilityResearch studies in listening are generally predicated on the assump-tions that (a) listening ability can be measuredand (b) effectivemeasur-ing instruments exist. Recent studies raised serious questions about theresearch use of the two most widely used standardizedtests of listening.Anderson and Baldauf (1963) analyzedthe Sequential Tests of Educa-tional Progress: Listening (Form 4), and they came to the conclusionthat estimates for reliability fall below minimal acceptablelevels for testsused for individual evaluation. Also, heavy loadings in verbal compre-hension suggestedthat achievementon the test may be a matter of verbalcomprehensionand not listening as a distinct ability, and that the test hadno general utility in an overall standardizedachievement battery. Theypointed to the need for valid, reliable measures of listening comprehen-sion. Langholz (1965) studied the Brown-CarlsenListening Comprehen-sion Test and reportedthat listening efficiencyscores on the test reflected,

in part, the difficultyof the individual item, that interpretationof listen-ing test scores should be based upon the difficulty ndex of test items, andthat the test can be improved by the applicationof basic question refine-ment techniques to decrease item difficulty by increasing the clarity andcomprehensionof items. Kelly (1965) in a study of both tests concludedthat the constructvalidity of each was questionablebecause the two testsfailed to correlatesignificantlyhigher amongthemselvesthan with readingand intelligencetests.In general reviews of listening research, Dixon (1964) noted the lackof adequatetests in listening and pointed out that more effective measuresare mandatoryin evaluating methods, materials, and programs in listen-ing; while Russell (1964) suggestedthat a sourceof such tests is in unpub-lished theses and dissertations in which individuals have constructedtestsbut not carried them beyond one or two revisions.

Summary and CommentsRecent studies in listening have further explored previously studied

questions. Their value, generally, has been to support and refine existingassumptionsabout the teaching of listening and the listening process. Itseems increasingly clear that (a) listening ability can be improved byinstruction; (b) listening is affectedby such factors as maturity, rate ofpresentation, and the intrinsic interest of materials presented; and (c)listening is, in some way, related to reading. Recent studies have found156

REVIEW OF EDUCATIONALRESEARCH VolumeXXXVl, No. 2


6/7

April 1967 LISTENINGthat (a) learnings in listening can be permanent; (b) personality factors(i.e., those revealed in various tests) do not influence listening, seatingin a room does affect listening, position in the family does not affect it,listening comprehension can be influenced positively by televiewing; and(c) correlations between listening and speaking may be negative. Otherrecent studies have raised serious questions about the validity and reliabil-ity of widely used tests of listening comprehension.Still needed are more studies of (a) critical listening, (b) the relation-ships between specific listening and reading abilities, (c) ways of exploit-ing possible relationships for teaching purposes, (d) teaching techniquesand materials, (e) personality factors which may influence listening, (f)ways in which listening instruction affects behavior, and (g) measuringdevices in listening.

Investigations of the relationships between listening research and linguis-tic research are needed. Topics which should be investigated are listeningand regional dialects, listening and cultural-social levels, listening andsyntax, and listening and transformational grammar.Recent studies have contributed much toward an, evolving theory oflistening, but many questions remain unanswered. Indeed, certain signifi-cant questions about listening may still remain to be asked.

BibliographyANDERSON,HAROLDM., and BALDAUF,ROBERTJ. "A Study of a Measure of Listening."Journal of Educational Research 57: 197-200; December 1963.BRILHART,ARBARA . "The Relationship Between Some Aspects of CommunicativeSpeaking and Communicative Listening." Journal of Communication 15: 35-46;March 1965.BROOKS,KEITH, and WULFTANGE,SISTERI. MARIE. "Listener Response to Oral Interpre-tation." Speech Monographs 31: 73-79; March 1964.BROWN,CHARLES . "Three Studies of the Listening of Children." Speech Monographs32: 129-38; June 1965.CONDON, DWYNA ORSYTH. n Analysis of the Differences Between Good and PoorListeners in Grades Nine, Eleven, and Thirteen. Doctor's thesis. Lawrence: Universityof Kansas, 1965. 146 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 26: 3106; No. 6, 1965.)DEHOOP,WIETSE. ffects and Interaction Effects of Speaking Rate, Visual Limitation,and Intelligence Level on Aural Acquisition and Retention of Sentences. Doctor'sthesis. Athens: University of Georgia, 1965. 76 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts26: 3752-53; No. 7, 1966.) (a)DEHOOP,WIETSE. "Listening Comprehension of Cerebral Palsied and Other CrippledChildren as a Function of Two Speaking Rates." Exceptional Children 31: 233-40;January 1965. (b)DEVINE,THOMASG. "Listening: The Neglected Dimension of the Reading Program."Improvement of Reading Through Classroom Practice. International Reading Associ-ation Conference Proceedings. (Edited by J. Allen Figurel.) Newark, Del.: theAssociation, 1964. Vol. 9, pp. 119-20.DIXON,NORMANR. "Listening: Most Neglected of the Language Arts." ElementaryEnglish 41: 285-88; March 1964.DUKER, AM."Listening and Reading." Elementary School Journal 65: 321-29; March1965.

157



7/7

REVIEWOFEDUCATIONALESEARCHEDINGER,LOISVIRGINIA.he Effectiveness of Television Teaching in Developing PupilSkills of Listening, Comprehension and Critical Thinking. Doctor's thesis. Chapel

Hill: University of North Carolina, 1964. 157 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts26: 1509; No. 3, 1965.)FARROW, ERNLESLIE.An Experimental Study of Listening Attention at the Fourth,Fifth, and Sixth Grade. Doctor's thesis. Eugene: University of Oregon, 1963. 310 pp.(Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 24: 3146; No. 8, 1964.)FAWCETT,ANNABELELIZABETH.The Efect of Training in Listening upon the ListeningSkills of Intermediate Grade Children. Doctor's thesis. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University ofPittsburgh, 1963. 237 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 25: 7108-7109; No. 12,1965.)FURBAY, LBERT . "The Influence of Scattered Versus Compact Seating on AudienceResponse." Speech Monographs 32: 144-48; June 1965.HIGGINS,VANDUKE.An Empirical Study of Listening Related to Anxiety and to Cer-tain Other Measures of Ability and Achievement. Doctor's thesis. Los Angeles: Uni-versity of Southern California, 1964. 183 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 25:1745-46; No. 3, 1964.)HOLLINGSWORTH, AUL M. "Can Training in Listening Improve Reading?" ReadingTeacher 18: 121-23; November 1964.HOLLINGSWORTH,AUL M. "So They Listened: The Effects of a Listening Program."Journal of Communication 15: 14-16; March 1965.KELLY, CHARLESM. "An Investigation of the Construct Validity of Two CommerciallyPublished Listening Tests." Speech Monographs 32: 139-43; June 1965.LANGHOLZ,ARMIN P. A Study of the Relationship of Listening Test Scores to TestItem Difficulty. Doctor's thesis. Columbus: Ohio State University, 1965. 96 pp.(Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 26: 6912; No. 11, 1966.)LAWSON,REED."Verbal Sequencing Without Mediation." Journal of Communication

14: 98-104; June 1964.LEWIS,ROBERTFULTON, JR. Complementing Instruction in Reading Improvement ofCollege Students with Instruction in Auding. Doctor's thesis. Auburn, Ala.: AuburnUniversity, 1963. 128 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 24: 3204-3205; No. 8,1964.)LUNDSTEEN,SARA WYNNRICKEY.Teaching Abilities in Critical Listening in the Fifthand Sixth Grades. Doctor's thesis. Berkeley: University of California, 1963. 241 pp.(Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 24: 5247-48; No. 12, 1964.)LUNDSTEEN,SARAWYNN RICKEY."Critical Listening-Permanency and Transfer ofGains Made During an Experiment in the Fifth and Sixth Grades." CaliforniaJournal of Educational Research 16: 210-16; November 1965.ORR,DAVIDB.; FRIEDMAN, ERBERT.; and WILLIAMS,ANEC. C. "Trainability ofListening Comprehension of Speeded Discourse." Journal of Educational Psychology56: 148-56; June 1965.REEVES,HARRIETR. The Effect of Training in Listening upon Reading Achievement.Doctor's thesis. Tallahassee: Florida State University, 1965. 46 pp. (Abstract: Dis-sertation Abstracts 26: 7181-82; No. 12, 1966.)Ross, RAMON."A Look at Listeners." Elementary School Journal 64: 369-72; April1964.RUSSELL,DAVIDH. "A Conspectus of Recent Research on Listening Abilities." Ele-mentary English 41: 262-67; March 1964.SPICKER, OWARD. Listening Comprehension and Retention of Intellectually Normaland Retarded Children as Functions of Speaking Rate and Passage Difficulty. Doc-tor's thesis. Nashville, Tenn.: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1963. 112 pp.(Abstract: Dissertation Abstracts 24: 1925; No. 5, 1963.)TOWNSEND, GATHA."A Bibliography on Auding." Reading Teacher 17: 549-51;April 1964.VAN WINGERDEN,STEWART.A Study, of Direct, Planned Listening Instruction in theIntermediate Grades in Four Counties in the State of Washington. Doctor's thesis.Pullman: Washington State University, 1965. 88 pp. (Abstract: Dissertation Ab-stracts 26: 5310-11; No. 9, 1966.)

158

VolumeXXXVII, No. 2

Documents

Listening by Thomas g Devine