LISTENING AS A COMPONENT OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Many scholars have tried to give a definitive meaning to communication.The general view of communication is that it is an interaction within a social context.Giffin & Patten (1996) state that communication is the process of creating meanings as well as ascribing is.It is the exchange of ideas and interaction among members.The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (Hornby 2004) defines communication as the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information.Within this process, listening has a central and indispensable role.It is not merely a passive act of hearing sounds, but an active, complex process that involves receiving, interpreting, evaluating, and responding to spoken messages.Effective listening enables individuals to understand intentions, emotions, and nuances of meaning that are often conveyed beyond words.In communicative situations, successful interaction depends not only on the ability to speak clearly but also on the ability to comprehend others accurately.Listening is widely recognized as a component of communicative competence, which includes linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competences.Through listening, learners acquire language input, develop pronunciation awareness, internalize grammatical structures, and expand their vocabulary.Moreover, listening supports the development of intercultural understanding, as it requires sensitivity to context, tone, and cultural norms.Therefore, listening should be viewed as a foundational skill in language learning and communication.Its development enhances overall communicative effectiveness, promotes meaningful interaction, and contributes to successful participation in social, academic, and professional environments.Listening as a component of communicative competence ensures that individuals can interpret messages appropriately within linguistic, social, and cultural contexts, making interaction both accurate and meaningful