Adventures in intercultural listening

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: Introspective, exploratory study of how two American English teachers living abroad managed or resolved the cognitive, affective and socio-cultural challenges they encountered when listening to Japanese, Chinese, Acehnese, or Indonesian.

Findings and Conclusions: The intercultural listeners in the study most often recorded listening episodes in which they were addressees in the conversations, occasionally they were in more passive listening roles as well. The purpose of conversation was quite frequently transaction, in which the listener exchanged information with their hosts at work, in stores, in hospitals, and in restaurants. Sometimes, the listener was in an instructional setting; less frequently, the listener was engaged in conversation solely for the purpose of social interaction. Although the listeners differed in many ways regarding the challenges they faced and the strategies they employed, they did have some challenges and strategies in common. Common challenges to their comprehension included word recognition and fatigue. The most useful strategies for facilitating comprehension included using a dictionary, asking for a translation, predicting from scripted sequences and context cues, and relaxing. This study recommends that ESL teachers create a comfortable affective environment, facilitate the use of active listening roles, and increase their students' knowledge, experience, and strategy awareness.