Listening vs. Reading

The new poll is on, which means it’s time we analyzed the results of the most recent one. Actually, they came as a surprise. I don’t mean the fact that listening beat them all astonished me. No, I kind of agree with those 48% of participants who believe it to be the most difficult skill to master. And I do not imply that speaking shouldn’t be on the second line of the chart as 40% of respondents insist. Writing came third with 12% in its favour, which is again not that astonishing. What got me stunned was the fact that nobody voted for reading.

In my humble opinion reading is definitely underestimated. It is a fantastic source of vocabulary and grammar. Unlike listening, reading appeals to understanding based on our knowledge of vocab items and structures in which they are used. And if we fail, the tasks become a guessing game. However, success in Reading fully depends on us and our knowledge.

The same cannot be said about listening, of course. Performing listening tasks we might get frustrated because of the accent we don’t get, the speed of speech which is too fast to follow. Basically, what I mean to say is Listening is definitely hard, but Reading is sort of “silent listening”. Working hard on Reading can become a halfway through to mastering the Listening skill.

Both reading and Listening skills along Writing and Speaking are tested in all serious international exams, like the most widespread ones – IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge Exams (FCE, CAE, CPE etc.) Obviously the structures of the exams are difficult but they all aim to check the knowledge of English as deeply as possible. That’s why listening to advice professionals give to exam-takers is worthwhile.  If you are interested in what they suggest students do to master the skills and as a result succeed in tests, please check out the British Council LearnEnglishProfessionals Reading and Listening tips.