Which listening skill strategies are most important

Students can respond to questions about the story through writing, speaking in conversation, recording themselves speaking, or a combination. These guidelines are adapted from those developed by Michael F. Opitz, a professor emeritus of reading education from the University of Northern Colorado who has investigated numerous literacy topics, including listening, for over two decades.

His substantive research on teaching listening resulted in his book, Listen Hear! He is the author of and coauthor of numerous books, articles, and reading programs. Read his guest blog post about 5 reasons why you should teach listening. Log In Join Free. Set a goal. Build Background.

Prepare the Environment. Introduce Listening Strategies Introduce tools and strategies for successful listening see below. You need to practice active listening daily to get better at it.

It requires us to ask questions and give feedback. So here are four basic goals of good listening to consider when entering a conversation: - To understand someone - To enjoy someone - To learn something - To give help or solace Paraphrasing is a basic tool we often use to listen well.

We might use phrases like these: - In other words, did you mean…? Paraphrasing defines common ground, lets the other person know you understand what it is they are communicating, and it helps them feel understood and appreciated.

Listening is a leadership skill that is often overlooked. Listen with empathy. This requires us to recognize, accept and understand that we are doing the best we can and so are others. Try to understand where someone else is coming from and treat him or her with kindness as you take in the message.

Ask what difficulties the other person is experiencing, and this will help you hear his or her message. Pay attention to their body language, keep an open mind and be careful not to jump to conclusions. Be open as you listen. Be careful not to judge and put on your critical parent hat. Do not make your mind up too quickly as you take in the information. Give yourself some time to think and reflect. Try not to come to conclusions too quickly and develop a definitive position based on what you are hearing.

Allow yourself to consider different perspectives. Whenever possible have the meeting face to face, or with video conferencing if in person isn't possible, so that you can better understand their thoughts and feelings being expressed nonverbally. Speakers also convey ideas in nonverbal ways. The best way to fix things is to re-listen. Sometimes a quick backtracking and re-listening to a line or two can quickly clear up confusion.

This is especially important at the beginning of an audio assignment. Do you need to look up the meaning of some words, can you write down your questions, or should you try to summarize what you have understood so far? After-Listening Strategies. Respond What do you agree and disagree with? What parts do you like best? What parts are confusing? Use symbols, such an exclamation mark! Summarize Read your lecture notes several times before and after class all week.

In your head, summarize what the assignment was about and test yourself on your notes. Occasionally, you will be asked to write a formal summary. You will read your summary aloud or make a recording of it. Extend Read and listen to other sources for more information about the topic. Learning more information makes a topic more meaningful and interesting, especially if you share these ideas with others. One suggestion for a weekly listening log is included in the attached handouts.

With both log formats, students take part in weekly seat-hopping pair shares in which each pair shares what is in its logs for 2 minutes. When the 2 minutes are up, one student in each pair moves one or two seats to the left or right and each new pair shares information.

The goal is for students to be aware that they are in charge of keeping their attention strong and focused on complex listening tasks. Goh, C. Metacognitive instruction for second language listening development: Theory, practice and research implications. RELC Journal, 39 , — Vandergrift, L.

Facilitating second language listening comprehension: Acquiring successful strategies. ELT Journal, 53 , — Teaching L2 learners how to listen does make a difference: An empirical study.

Language Learning, 60 , — Rebecca Palmer is an instructor in the intensive English program at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA, where she teaches listening, speaking, reading, writing, culture, and grammar.

Her area of interest is in writing materials for L2 learners that strengthen and speed learning. Join in the conversation!

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