English Listening Courses: A Case of Pedagogy Lagging behind Technology

Of the four English language skills that are often taught separately, listening requires more efforts from both course developers and learners. Unlike courses for other skills, which are mostly paper-based, listening courses are a combination of paper-based materials in the form of a course book, and sound-based materials in the form of audio on tapes/compact discs. However, learners get to keep only the course book, and can access the course audio only in class, which essentially prescribes teacher-centered lessons. Learner autonomy, if it is to take place at all, necessitates a different delivery mode. The web seems to be the perfect candidate for an alternative mode. Jakob Nielsen (2003) states that information technology is maturing. When it comes to the multimedia capabilities of the web, we can probably argue that the technology is mature. However, listening course developers are reluctant to venture to the web and are still clinging to traditional ways of conducting listening classes. This paper discusses issues behind educators' apparently slow uptake of advances in web technologies that can be incorporated into the teaching of listening skills in a straightforward manner, and attempts to propose interim approaches as solutions.