Important of Listening

It is generally recognized that listening comprehension, which can be understood as the ability to identify and understand what others say, plays a key role in facilitating language learning. Gary (1975) said that giving pre-eminence to listening comprehension, particularly in the early stage of second language teaching and learning language.
Firstly, listening is one of the basic sources of information. It is easy to see that all L2 learners want to understand target language, or they want to be able to access the rich variety of oral and visual L2 texts available today via network-based multimedia, such as on-line audio and video, YouTube, podcasts and blogs. Moreover, as infants, we have the unique ability to listen to sounds and understand them. The first words that a child learns are by listening to parents, understanding and then reproducing these words. Growing older, a large part of our lives is spent in school or college where we learn primarily by listening to what our teachers say. We complement the listening process by asking questions and increasing our knowledge.
Secondly, listening is an important language skill to develop language. For example, when we need to learn a second language, the first thing that we do is to study the grammar and syntax behind the language. However, knowledge of grammar and syntax alone will not improve our command over the language. We need to practice using the language. How do we practice using a second language? We need to read, write and listen to the language. It is only after practice that we will become fluent in using the language. Learning a non-native or a second language requires listening to that language. A non-native English speaker for example, needs to learn to listen to the language in order to understand its nuances. Learning English listening helps to improve command over the English language. Listening and understanding spoken English helps non-native speakers of the language to gain confidence.