The purpose of this chapter is to consider the ways in which the comprehension approach affects the dynamics of the classroom and to put forward suggestions on how some of the teaching practices with which the approach is associated might be made more effective. We consider the impact of the CA upon the teacher and upon the learner before going on to explore ways in which second language listening can be made more individual.

The individual and the group

A major theme of the chapter is the tension between the nature of the listening skill, which is personal and internalised, and the whole-class teaching situation, where the teacher is obliged to consider the needs of a whole group and to pace the lesson accordingly.

In some respects, listening is a very individual activity. A speaker does not implant a message in the listener's mind. The listener has to remake the message: trying to gauge what the speaker's intentions are and extracting from the message whatever seems relevant to the listener's own goals. The message is a product of the individual listener, not something which a group of listeners hold identically in common. Second language listeners also vary in how they approach the challenge of making sense of input that has only been partly understood.