II. The Concept and Application of the Four Skills
2.1 The Concept of the Four Skills
2.1.1 Listening Skill
    In learning English or any other language, listening is the foundation of learning. It is a social skill for man to understand and absorb oral message. Generally speaking, listening is the ability to recognize and understand others’ speaking. In the process of listening comprehension, the listener accept two main sources of information, they are system or language information and schema or nonverbal information. Language information includes language knowledge, such as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Language skill is the mastery and application of listening skills. Non-verbal information includes learners’ cultural background knowledge, emotional factors and listening materials. The skill of listening is passive to accept, listening event is a mechanical, passive understanding process. The application of listening in English is meaningful. As is known to all of us, somebody wants to use English skillfully, he should understand what others say, it is the most basic requirement. If you can not hear then maybe you can not speak. 英语听说读写四种技能的关系剖析(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_24390.html