Indicators of listening instruction at elementary level: Evidence from national language curriculum of some developed countries and Iran

Usually listening is considered to be the same as hearing. However, they are different. Listening consists of hearing and comprehension of oral texts. Hearing is a biological gift that needs no formal instruction. However, comprehension of oral texts requires serious instruction. The first aim of this research was developing the indicators of listening instruction in national language curriculum at elementary level. The second aim was clarifying the strengths and weaknesses of “the guide to Farsi curriculum of Iran at elementary level” according to the developed indicators of listening instruction. To achieve these aims, the content of the language arts curriculum at elementary level of America (the state of New Jersi, 2004), England (2007), Singapore (2006) and Iran’s (2009) were qualitatively analysed. Findings showed that within the framework of “the guide to Farsi curriculum of Iran” at elementary level,listening is something that is taken for granted, as there is no obvious definition for it and also its sub-skills are not introduced. The lack of conceptual framework for this language art leads to ambiguous and inconsistent educational objectives for elementary educational level. Careful analysis of this curriculum showed that, here listening instruction is not planned in accordance with context (situation). Also, it is not planned to be instructed critically, and if formally considered, there is no operational definition for it and no practical strategy is introduced for its instruction. Finally, listening is not planned to be instructed using information and communication technology.