By Dr Vincent Uguma & Dr Gladys Ukume
Abstract
The essence of teaching is to impart knowledge to learners at whatever level the teacher is engaged in. This purpose cannot be successfully achieved if the teacher does not employ the appropriate strategy in this process of making the learners change their behaviour due to exposure to what the teacher wants them to learn. Language refers to a communication system. It is either spoken or written as agreed upon by members of the speech community. In the formal setting, it is taught; in the informal setting, it is acquired. If taught, the learners grasp the art of speaking through listening to the teacher. The success of the teaching, to a far extent, depends on the ability of the teacher to adopt the right approach to teaching. Three of these approaches are bottom up, top-down, and interactive teaching strategies or approaches. This paper therefore explores the concept of teaching and how these three strategies could help listeners (learners) in coming to terms with what the teacher is teaching. It draws a conclusion that the three approaches are essential in teaching listening. It also recommends that language teachers should utilize these strategies for effective teaching/learning of listening comprehension in schools.