The practice of playing taped spoken French just before the beginning of a regular foreign language class rests on the premise that regular exposure to unedited foreign speech sensitizes one to its unique intonation, rhythm, and sounds. It is hypothesized that the ability to identify a language may be the first step in listening. A review of literature in psychology and in music supports the hypothesis. Because both speech and music are structured, listeners may become aware, after much listening experience, of certain patterns and relationships. Such initial listening is of a special kind, devoid of effort to comprehend. The controversy among linguists and psychologists about the basic unit of speech perception suggests that the immediate perception of the auditory signal is the first processing stage, one that is not governed by consciousness. Exposure of students to songs and poems in the foreign language and playing tapes of segments of unedited foreign speech might well sensitize the students to the rhythm of the foreign language. What is suggested is not intended to be a complete method, but one approach to be used in conjunction with other approaches. (AMH)