Which section directly assesses listening skills in the DLAB?

The section that directly assesses listening skills in the Defense Language Aptitude Battery is indeed the listening comprehension section. This part of the test is specifically designed to evaluate a test-taker's ability to understand spoken language. It typically presents a series of audio recordings followed by questions that require the listener to grasp the main ideas, specific details, and nuances of the dialogue or narrative presented.

Listening comprehension is a critical language skill, as it involves not only recognizing words but also understanding their meaning within context, inferring information, and processing spoken language at various speeds and accents. This makes the listening comprehension section essential for determining a candidate's aptitude for learning languages effectively, as much of language acquisition relies on the ability to listen and understand spoken communication.

The other sections, while valuable for assessing different aspects of language proficiency (such as reading, grammar, and vocabulary), do not focus specifically on listening skills and therefore do not fulfill the same function.