Resumen

COVA JAIME, Yaritza. Listening compehension. Letras [online]. 2012, vol.54, n.87, pp.98-109. ISSN 0459-1283.

Oral communication is the essential form of human sociocultural interaction. It is an activity that allows them to satisfy their cognitive, affective and social needs, from a series of verbal and non-verbal resources (Castillo, 2007; 2008) that must be interpreted in order to be comprehended. We speak with the purpose of being listened to. Thus, listening validates and gives sense to what we say. Listening is the first communicative skill that takes place in the development of both humans and other living beings. Listening leads communication (Echeverría, 2005; 2006). Therefore, the development and consolidation not only of speaking, but also of listening must be of paramount importance in both familiar and educational contexts. This paper is supported on the above premise. It aims at systematizing information about listening, with the purpose of proposing that it is an active and complex process as it is reading. Thus, it is also possible to speak about listening comprehension.

Palabras clave : Listening comprehension; oral communication; communicative skills.