Sociosemiotic approach to teaching foreign language listening: linguodidactic implications of adopting views on interrelation of verbal and non-verbal semiotic resources in communication.

Abstract

The following article raises the issue built around teaching foreign language listening by the restrictions imposed by the theory of oral activity that influences the view on the nature of communication and human social behavior. In particular, the conducted analysis of the theoretical underpinnings of social semiotics and multimodal approach to human communication gives scientific credence to assuming the meaning-making potential of non-verbal language comparable to the one of verbal language. In addition to that, it becomes evident that non-verbal language has a tendency to complicate inferencing the meaning of the verbal activity rather than merely simplify it. As a consequence, the linguodidactic basis of teaching listening necessitates revision in this vein. Grounded on multimodal and sociocognitive approaches, the idea is put forward to interpret foreign language listening as a constituent part of sociocognitive activity, the distinguishing features of which are embodied perception and orientation to embodied meaning-making. On the basis of aforementioned, the article enriches psycholinguistic theory of listening with aspects of aural-visual (multimodal) perception as well as offers a view on the alignment of semiotic resources to produce meaning. As a result, there were formulated a set of specific methodological principles intended to govern the teaching process of intertwined aural-visual perception and inferencing of cross-mode meanings and subsequently ensure high performance in foreign language listening in the context of multimodal communication.