We have established that effective listening comprehension involves integrating different levels of processing and mobilizing different types of knowledge.

Problems are often faced by second language learners either because of weaknesses at a particular level or because of their inability to integrate these different levels of processing sufficiently.

There seem to be two problematic approaches:

Bottom-up learners
Some learners seem to have problems in using top-down prediction skills in order to alleviate the load on their bottom-up processing (ie in identifying words quickly in the stream of sound). They have problems 'filling in' missing knowledge through intelligent guess-work. These are the learners who tend to feel that their task is to listen and note down every word.

Top-down learners
Many learners have developed very effective top-down prediction skills, but this may in fact cause them to neglect their bottom-up processing, and thus miss potentially important information. These are learners who 'guess' everything, but don't in fact listen carefully.