A CASE FOR LISTENING
COMPREHENSION

by
James R. Nord

Historically the written form of the language has been considered very important. Knowledge of the written form of the Japanese language is still considered very important by the Japanese. On the other hand, in America, the written form of the language, English, is no longer considered as important as the sound form of the language. People in America speak and listen to English far more than they read or write the language. The trend toward the greater and greater use of the sound form of the language is caused by modern technology. This trend will become evident in Japan as well, in the near future.

Most Japanese students spend six years studying English, and some study as long as nine years to master English. But most of this effort is directed to learning the written form of the language. The result is often that the Japanese student, even after nine years of study has a difficult time understanding a native speaker of English. With the increased trend toward the use of the sound language in the future, it appears important for the Japanese school system to consider some changes in the goals as well as methods of teaching English. It appears important for the Japanese Education System to consider a shift from the written form of English as the principal learning goal, to recognising the sound form of English as the primary learning goal of the educational system.

Already some discussion within the Japanese Educational System has taken place. Some recommendations for changes in the curriculum have been made. Some of these recommendations have included a suggestion that more emphasis should be placed on the speaking of English. These recommendations have not however, been broadly incorporated into the school system. One reason for the retention of reading and writing as the primary goals in English classes has been the University Entrance Examination which normally tests only the written form of English.

In this paper, recommendations for changes from the written form to the sound form will be discussed. A case will be made for considering listening comprehension as a primary focus of English language teaching, rather then speaking. Arguments will be presented to support the contention that the proper sequence of foreign language teaching should be first listening comprehension, then reading, then writing, and finally speaking. Finally, a major recommendation will be made concerning the role of the university in its teacher training capacity. This will include suggestions concerning both the practice of faculty members during their teaching, and suggestions concerning use of the University Entrance Examination to change the practices in the school system. A major recommendation will be to include a listening comprehension test as one part of the University Entrance Examination.

For the past several hundred years, the written form of language has been considered very important. It has been considered important because it is a permanent record. Once a thought or an idea is written down, it remains there for long periods of time. Books which were written two or three hundred years ago, are still read by people today. The thoughts of people long since dead, are preserved in the written form of language. This makes the written form of language appear important to many people. In addition, the written form of language is easily reproduced. Once something is written, it can be duplicated in hundreds of thousands of copies. Thus many many people are able to have access to the thoughts and ideas of one person, once those thoughts and ideas are written down. For this reason also, people have considered the written form of the language as important.

The educational level of nations has been measured by the number of people within its borders who can read the written form of its language. Literacy, the ability to read and write, is very high in Japan. It is a mark of educational status and prestige that Japan can claim one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The literacy rate in the United States is low by comparison. Between 12 and 15 nations lead the United States in literacy rate. In present day America, there are many efforts to improve the literacy rate, because of the belief in the importance of the written form of language by many traditionalist. Other analysts of the American Educational System indicate however, that the reason the literacy rate is going down is because the written form of the language is no longer as important. Modern technology has given people the freedom to use either the written or sound form, and more and more are choosing the sound form, and the written form is becoming less and less important.

These people argue that literacy in the old sense is no longer as important as it once was. The invention of the tape recorder with its capacity to make the sound language permanent is becoming increasingly recognised as an important new form of communications. While the invention is less than 50 years old, it has already created a revolution in communications. Whole new libraries are being developed to house the "oral history" of the Black Movement in the United States. Tape recordings of stories, speeches and conversations as well as music and plays are becoming an intregal part of other libraries which normally house only books. The permanence of the tape recordings in the White House of the United States during the Nixon administration caused historic events to occur in America.