Teaching Listening

This paper discusses available materials for teaching listening skills at various instructional levels. (1) Recordings--"Let's Listen," a recording of sounds, emphasizes stimulation, with one band allowing students to hear their own voices as well as other human voices. "Sounds and Images" permits students to listen to various recorded sound effects and after which they describe a scene which the sound suggests. (2) Books--David and Elizabeth Russell's book "Listening Aids through the Grades" presents 190 listening activities on a general instructional level. (3) Listening Programs--skill exercises in listening by SRA include specific listening activities for all levels, grade one through adult; "The Listen and Read Program" lists a series of thirty tape recordings and workbooks;"The Listen and Think Program" consists of fifteen tape recordings an integrated workbooks, plus teacher's guides, for each grade level from three to nine. (4) Standardized tests include the listening section of the Sequential Tests of Educational programs and the Brown Carlson Listening Comprehension Test, which attempts to measure immediate recall, following directions, recognizing transitions, recognizing word meaning, and lecture comprehension. The processes of listening, sensory perception, and cognition are also discussed. (SW)