Learn French: Elle écoute qui ? - Who is she listening to?

In everyday spoken French, it is very common to keep the normal statement word order (Subject + Verb) and put the question word exactly where the answer would go. Instead of saying 'Who is she listening to?', this structure literally says 'She is listening who?'.

The English translation says 'listening to', but there is no French word for 'to' here. Why?

In English, you listen 'to' someone, but in French, the verb écouter connects directly to its object. You simply 'listen someone'. Because of this, you do not need an extra preposition like à (to) before qui.

Does qui always mean 'who'?

Yes, qui is specifically used for people, meaning 'who' or 'whom'. Also, unlike some other short French words, the 'i' in qui is never dropped or replaced with an apostrophe, even if the next word starts with a vowel.

Is it okay to put qui at the start and say 'Qui elle écoute ?' instead?

If you move the question word to the front, French speakers usually add est-ce que right after it, making it Qui est-ce qu'elle écoute ?. However, keeping qui at the end (like in this sentence) is the most natural and common way to ask this in casual spoken French.