In recent decades, the study of a foreign language has received special attention. Knowledge of any foreign language provides great opportunities for learning both in the native country and abroad, communicating with representatives of different cultures, travelling to various interesting corners of the world, moving up the career ladder, reading original literary sources and etc. Serious studies of a foreign language begin at school. One of the tasks a teacher has to face is the development of all types of students’ speech activity: reading, speaking, writing and listening. The last type of speech activity is considered the most difficult, so learning and teaching to listen requires serious preparation and work on the part of both the pupil and the teacher. The process of learning to listening is accompanied by performing various types of exercises, analyzing the information listened to, formulating one's own opinions and conclusions based on the listened material, speaking, etc. The following aspects are considered in the article: a description of the types of speech activity is presented; the viewpoints of the category «listening», proposed by domestic and foreign scientists and linguists are studied; some methodology of teaching listening at school in the People's Republic of China is analyzed; examples of exercises aimed at developing this skill are given; the difficulties associated with teaching listening at secondary school No. 12 in Harbin are enumerated.