CCERBAL Research Forum: L2 Listening Teaching and Testing: Making it More Authentic
Oct 23, 2025 — 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning (CCERBAL) warmly invite you to its next research forum titled L2 Listening Teaching and Testing: Making it More Authentic, presented by Associate Professor Elvis Wagner, from Temple University.
Abstract
Listening is almost universally recognized in the field of applied linguistics as a vital component of L2 proficiency and interactional competence. Researchers have made real progress in how we understand the L2 listening process, and in how L2 listening can and should be taught and tested. In addition, technology now allows L2 listeners to have virtually unlimited access to target language spoken texts. Yet it is unclear the extent to which L2 listening pedagogy and materials have actually improved in the 21st century, and listening is often the skill that many L2 teachers feel the least prepared to teach.
This talk provides an overview of the current understanding of the construct of L2 listening, and how that construct is (or is not) operationalized in L2 classroom teaching materials and on L2 listening assessments. In the talk, I argue for the use of more authentic listening texts and tasks, in which the spoken input is similar to and representative of real-world spoken language. I will also explore why publishers seem to be reluctant to include authentic spoken texts in L2 textbooks and tests. Finally, practical suggestions for teaching and testing are provided.
Featured presenter
Elvis Wagner
Associate Professor of TESOL at Temple University
Elvis Wagner is an Associate Professor of TESOL at Temple University, where he coordinates both the PhD in Applied Linguistics program and the World Languages Education program. His current research focuses on how L2 listeners process and comprehend unscripted, spontaneous spoken language, and how this type of language differs from the scripted spoken texts L2 learners often encounter in the classroom and on tests. He is the co-author (with Gary Ockey) of L2 Listening Assessment: Moving Towards Authenticity, and was co-editor (with Evelina Galaczi and Aaron Batty) of the Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Listening. He is currently the co-editor of Language Assessment Quarterly.