In other words, exercises that involved listening normally used the skill only as a vehicle to produce accurate linguistic forms in writing or speaking. Listening was seldom, if ever, used for receiving new or unpredictable information. The type of listening taught in the classroom is therefore as non-authentic as the texts used to teach the skill. The chapter illustrates the multi-faceted nature of listening by a list of authentic listening activities in everyday situations. For the classroom, the second part of the chapter offers several suggestions for authentic classroom listening activities. In active guessing, for example, students use linguistic clues to decipher what they do not know in a listening text. The chapter also suggests that classroom participants should replicate the roles of native speakers. The chapter concludes that authentic listening is an essential part of providing and adequate ELT environment that students...

I was not fully aware of the importance of authentic listening, and the role it could play in the transfer of skills. Students enrolling in courses to help them speak English do so trusting that teachers can help them to more easily assimilate with their local society. This is simply not possible if authentic texts are not provided.
I am amazed at the wealth of possibilities that authentic listening can provide. It provides a vehicle not only for effective language learning, but also for a sense of excitement and enjoyment in the classroom. From experience, I can say that it is much easier to learn a new skill when one is excited about it than when one is bored. Authentic listening exercises provide a vehicle for such excitement and can then lead to effective language learning.