Less than two decades ago, Alderson and Bachman (2001, p. x) observed: " The assessment of listening abilities is one of the least understood, least developed and yet one of the most important areas of language testing and assessment. " The same was also true of research on listening in general and second language (L2) listening in particular. Because of this lack of understanding, listening was considered the Cinderella skill in L2 learning for many years (Nunan, 2002). Unlike the other three skills of speaking, writing, and reading, listening was not given a prominent place in the L2 curriculum. In recent years, however, research has provided sufficient empirical evidence that demonstrates the important role of auditory input in language acquisition. Research has also shown that systematic listening instruction can help improve students' ability to comprehend spoken language, which in turn can help enhance the acquisition process. The growing body of theoretical and empirical research on L2 listening has elevated the status of the language skill in and out of the classroom. Listening is now a key feature in most language programmes, where it is offered as a stand-alone course or integrated with a speaking course. Because of its central role in the L2 curriculum, listening is customarily included in high-stakes language tests and examinations (for example, university admission tests, standardized international tests such as TOEFL and IELTS). This collection provides a comprehensive overview of L2 listening and is divided up into four sections according to the predominant focus of each entry. The first section, Theorizing Listening, examines the theoretical construct of L2 listening and includes entries that discuss the linguistic, cognitive, affective, and social factors that influence L2 comprehension. Entries in this section also deal with the nature of L2 listening processes, different types of listening, macro-and micro-listening skills, the roles of metacognition and working memory in listening, and knowledge sources needed for successful comprehension. The second section, Researching Listening, provides a synthesis of findings from L2 listening research in varied learning contexts and on different aspects of
