So far, I have argued strongly in this book for an approach to L2 listening which builds the skill incrementally. But there is a problem with any developmental approach of this kind. At the same time as learners are acquiring the relevant processes, they also need to make use of the skill. In the case of ESL learners, they may have to survive in the world outside the classroom; in the case of EFL learners, they may be confronted with examples of the target language which they wish to access. It is therefore important to balance the gradualistic approach recommended here with one that equips learners as early as possible to deal with everyday listening encounters in L2. If we do not do this, the learner is likely to feel a strong sense of frustration and even to conclude that the effort put in to small-scale exercises is not feeding through into listening competence.

The remainder of the book tackles the issue of how we can equip a learner with limited linguistic knowledge to meet the challenge of real-life listening. In this chapter, we consider an issue that has been touched upon a number of times but not discussed in depth: the role of recordings that expose the learner to the unscripted speech of the world outside the classroom.