A Survey of Listening Instruction in the Basic Speech Course

This survey of 498 institutions seeks to learn how institutions teach listening in the basic speech course. Respondents included community colleges and four year colleges, with and without degree programs. The results reveal most schools offer some listening instruction in the basic course, averaging 7% of a semester course (approximately three hours). Less than 50% of this time is devoted to skill development. The dominant methods of instruction are lecture and listening activities. Methods of modeling, role playing and the use of audio/video tapes and listening tests increase, as the emphasis on skill development increases. Typically, those who teach the basic course have had little specific training in listening. However, there is a positive correlation between the training of the senior faculty and junior faculty.