Provide opportunities for careful, focused listening.
Listening skills are essential for learning since they enable students to acquire insights and information, and toachieve success in communicating with others. Life within and outside school affords many listening opportunities, but some students fail to seize them because they let their minds wander or they may concentrate on what they want to say themselves rather than on what a speaker is saying.
Teachers can show students why good listening is useful and even crucial in some situations. Poor listening can lead to unnecessary arguments and problems. As in the case of doctors, careful listening and questioning might even save lives.
Students’ listening skills may be enhanced and tested by asking them questions about what they have heard.
They may be given practice in note-taking and could be asked questions about the facts and inferences that may be made from their notes. They can be taught to recognize the difference between the main points and incidental or less relevant ideas and information.
Learners can also benefit from practice in recognizing the purpose of presentations and other information they
hear. It can be useful if they are taught to set goals for what they want to learn from a presentation and to monitor how well they accomplish their goals.
Students’ listening skills may be enhanced and tested by asking them questions about what they have heard.
They may be given practice in note-taking and could be asked questions about the facts and inferences that may be made from their notes. They can be taught to recognize the difference between the main points and incidental or less relevant ideas and information.
Learners can also benefit from practice in recognizing the purpose of presentations and other information they
hear. It can be useful if they are taught to set goals for what they want to learn from a presentation and to monitor how well they accomplish their goals.
Students can be taught to listen selectively for specific kinds of information, such as the main purpose, the
themes, the details and any implications. They can even be tested for their ability to identify the essential information in the presence of irrelevant material and distractions, as is the case in much of adult life.
themes, the details and any implications. They can even be tested for their ability to identify the essential information in the presence of irrelevant material and distractions, as is the case in much of adult life.
