Justifying the study of aural skills

[will]

1. How can a teacher justify the teaching and importance of aural skills to a student?

The aural skills I refer to are those where the student must aurally recognise: intervals, quality of chords, inversions of chords, chord progressions etc.

2. How do your aural skills improve your everyday musical activities? (performing, accompanying, composing etc)?

[Brian Healey]

Studying aural skills (ear training, sight singing) improves every aspect of your playing, I think. It helps gets the music off the page and into your head, where it belongs. Music is a language, and the more you attune your mind to the language, the easier it will become for you to interpret things in a musical way. Especially if you're an improviser, developing your ear is probably the most important thing you can do.