Listening vs Reading

[Bex]

I have been reading a lot online about how reading is very important when learning a language, 1 million words gets used a lot.

But then on any learners Podcasts they drone on about listening skills being the golden key to unlocking language skills.

It seems to me that there's a lot of marketing behind these messages but as a novice language learner I would like to know if either have any truth behind them.

And is one more important/useful/better than the other?

[smallwhite]

LLorg thread Reading or listening? Which is more efficient?

LLorg thread Link between reading and listening skills

[Bex]

LLorg thread Reading or listening? Which is more efficient?

LLorg thread Link between reading and listening skills

I did try searching before posting but I couldn't see anything of relevance, thanks for the links smallwhite.

[reineke]

I hope this is useful.

[Bex]

[rdearman]

:shock:

My feelings exactly.

[lichtrausch]

Listening comprehension is more difficult than reading for most foreign language learners, so it's helpful to use it as your metric for overall progress. This is not unrelated to the fact that comprehensive input reading is the best learning tool we have.

[iguanamon]

I have been reading a lot online about how reading is very important when learning a language, 1 million words gets used a lot. But then on any learners Podcasts they drone on about listening skills being the golden key to unlocking language skills.
It seems to me that there's a lot of marketing behind these messages but as a novice language learner I would like to know if either have any truth behind them.
And is one more important/useful/better than the other?

It is not an "either/or" dichotomy. Each skill informs and reinforces the other. Developing skills in a language has a lot to do with what a learner wants to do with that language. If a learner lives in a TL country, there may be a lot of need to develop all of the skills. If a learner lives outside a TL country then, skills such as speaking and writing may lag behind reading and listening.

No one skill in itself is more important than the other, in my experience. Exceptions being non-written languages, "dead languages" and languages learned solely for using one skill, like reading. Good luck finding a dubbed version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in Latin! In general though, each skill informs and reinforces the other. My reading makes me a better listener. My listening makes me a better speaker. My speaking makes me a better writer. My writing makes me a better speaker. My reading makes me a better speaker and writer. My listening makes me a better reader, etc.

Listening can be done while doing other things- walking, driving, eating. It only requires auditory attention, whereas you can't read and drive or read and walk safely. Reading requires more focused attention. When a monolingual adult is starting to learn a new language, listening is difficult because of its ephemeral nature. In listening without the ability to pause and rewind, speech is there in an instant and then it's gone. Reading is always there. A learner can take their time with reading to figure things out. As a consequence, it is usually easier for most learners.

Listening is relatively harder to do and, as a result, often gets neglected. Because it gets neglected it becomes more difficult to do which is a self-reinforcing dilemma- "I don't want to work on listening because I can only pick out a few words". So, with that attitude listening gets even more neglected to the point that learners get so frustrated that they give up on developing better listening skills- which makes them worse at speaking, worse at writing. It can also make a learner worse at comprehension ability because having comprehension come at you from two different sources helps to build better ability to understand by creating more associative pathways in the mind- at least in my experience.

Learner podcasts, of course want you to keep using their service, so, yes, there is a certain amount of persuasion going on there. To that extent, as I've detailed above, yes, the podcasters are right for the majority of their clientele. (You don't have to use a learner podcast to train listening. There are other ways.) Many learners neglect their listening skills and as a result, they forego the benefit of listening to their overall language development. My advice to you, since you live in Spain, is to try to work at least some on all of the skills. You don't have to develop each skill equally but you should be at least able to handle yourself in each one. You'll find that, by doing this, it will help you a lot with your most important skills, which are probably speaking and listening. Working some on each skill will help create more connections in your mind.

[Bex]

Listening comprehension is more difficult than reading for most foreign language learners, so it's helpful to use it as your metric for overall progress. This is not unrelated to the fact that comprehensive input reading is the best learning tool we have.

Strange because I find reading much, much harder than listening...why would that be?

[lichtrausch]

Strange because I find reading much, much harder than listening...why would that be?

What are you reading and what are you listening to?