Belarusian Listening Comprehension for Chinese Students: A Teaching Experience

Abstract

This article is dedicated to a specific type of speech activity – listening comprehension (auditory perception). It focuses on the peculiarities of teaching this component of the Belarusian language as a foreign language, particularly to Chinese learners, taking into account numerous linguistic and psychological aspects. Given the direct connection between listening and verbal communication within the communicative approach to foreign language teaching, the need to develop listening skills is beyond doubt. This necessity becomes especially acute in the absence of a Belarusian-speaking environment. The aim of the study is to develop and test a pedagogical and methodological manual for listening comprehension for Chinese learners. Different types of listening serve specific functions, are used at different stages of learning, and manifest differently across various educational contexts. The content of the manual is based on a three-level system for teaching listening comprehension. At the first level, the perceptual base of listening is formed—that is, basic auditory and pronunciation skills. At the second level, core listening skills as a type of speech activity are developed. At the third level, the learner who has mastered oral communication becomes an active participant in verbal interaction. Drawing on their own teaching experience, the authors of this article propose that listening involves the intense activity of all mental and cognitive processes, and that this type of speech activity must be taught purposefully, with attention to its specificity and the complexity of its mechanisms.