Literacy Listens

Episode 13: A Multicomponent Approach  In the final episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian discuss why listening comprehension cannot be addressed through a single strategy. Drawing on research and classroom examples, they outline a multicomponent approach that integrates lower- and higher-level listening comprehension skills. The episode brings the series full circle by connecting theory to...

Episode 12: Supporting Multilingual Learners Through Listening Comprehension In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian examine how listening comprehension supports multilingual learners as they develop language and literacy skills. They discuss why listening is a critical entry point for language development and how skills transfer across languages. The episode emphasizes strengths mult...

Episode 11:Assessing Listening Comprehension In this episode, Amber and Brian focus on why and how listening comprehension should be assessed alongside word reading. They explain what listening comprehension assessments should measure, how they differ from reading comprehension assessments, and why early identification of listening comprehension needs is critical. Listeners learn how assessment ca...

Episode 10 Literacy Listens: Zooming out: What've Learned About Listening Comprehension In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian pause to synthesize the big ideas from Episodes 1 through 9. Rather than introducing new content, this episode helps listeners step back and see how the components of listening comprehension fit together as a coherent system. They revisit the idea that listen...

Episode 9: The Role of Knowledge  In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian explore knowledge building and its essential role in listening comprehension and reading development. They explain how knowledge supports comprehension by giving students context for what they hear and read, and how listening comprehension is also one of the primary ways students build knowledge. Using clear exa...

Episode 8 Literacy Listens: Organizing Meaning — Text Structure Awareness In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian explore text structure awareness, a higher-level listening comprehension skill that helps students organize ideas, follow the logic of a text, and build coherent meaning from what they hear. They explain how text structure supports comprehension by helping students recogni...

Episode 7: Noticing When Meaning Breaks Down — Comprehension Monitoring In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian explore comprehension monitoring, a higher-level listening comprehension skill that helps students notice when something does not make sense and take action to repair meaning. Through classroom examples and everyday scenarios, they explain how comprehension monitoring shows...

Episode 6: Inference, Perspective Taking, and Reasoning — Unlocking Deeper Understanding In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian explore three interconnected higher-level listening comprehension skills: inference, perspective taking, and reasoning. Using everyday examples and a detective metaphor, they show how students construct meaning when ideas are not stated directly. The convers...

Episode 5 Literacy Listens: Building the Foundation — Vocabulary, Grammar, and Syntax In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian focus on the foundational language skills that sit at the base of listening comprehension: vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. Through classroom examples and practical teaching moves, they explore how students can hear the same sentence yet struggle for very diffe...

Episode 4: Unpacking Listening Comprehension — An Orchestra of Skills In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian zoom in on listening comprehension, one of the two central pillars in Dr. Young-Suk Grace Kim’s Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading (DIER). Using classroom examples and a musical metaphor, they explore listening comprehension as a dynamic system of interconnected lang...

In this episode of Literacy Listens, Amber and Brian explore why reading comprehension is more complex than it often appears and why that complexity matters for instruction. Building on the Simple View of Reading, they introduce Dr. Young Suk Grace Kim’s Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading (DIER) to show how multiple skills work together to support comprehension. Through classroom example...

Welcome back to Literacy Listens, the podcast where we dive into all things listening comprehension and its powerful role in literacy development. In this episode, Amber and Brian, unpack what “deep” comprehension looks like. Using the example of student understanding of a classic tale, they contrast literal recall with deeper, inferential comprehension. Listeners will learn how to guide students...

Literacy Listens - Episode 1: Introduction to Listening Comprehension: Explore the crucial role listening comprehension plays in literacy development. This episode highlights why this often-overlooked skill is one of the strongest predictors of reading success and how it allows children to engage with complex ideas long before they can decode written words. Key Takeaways What is Listening Comprehe...