Abstract:

Listening skill is one of the least researches skills although it is acquired while still in the womb. Listening is the first skill used in acquiring other skills, particularly academic skills. Such an important skill develops spontaneously in neurotypically developing students. However, like students with learning disabilities, some students cannot acquire this skill without additional support. The aim of this study was to compare the listening comprehension and reading comprehension skills used in the acquisition of academic skills in terms of students with learning disabilities. For this purpose, the listening comprehension and reading comprehension scores of 21 students with learning difficulties and 21 fifth grade neurotypical students were compared. Analyses were carried out on the types of questions and the scores obtained from all questions. The Mann Whitney U Test was used in the analysis of this study where the comparative descriptive design was used. According to the research results, it was found out that students with learning disabilities outperformed their neurotypically developing peers in implicit and inference questions and total scores of listening comprehension. In addition, students with learning disabilities performed lower in reading comprehension skills than their peers in total scores and question types other than inference questions. The variables that might cause the findings and the results of other studies were discussed within the framework of the literature and suggestions are given.

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