#102, Article: ‘Listening: An Important Soft Skill’ by Shoba Rao

ELTWeekly Vol. 3 Issue#102 | October 17 | ISSN 0975-3036

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Listening is an important component of communication and an activity which is much more than mere hearing. It involves more attention and aids in building relationships that can bring  success both in one’s personal or professional front. The fact  that we have two ears and one mouth shows that listening is a more difficult task than speaking. Therefore,  listening  needs to be developed and nutured from the primary level itself.

Listening is hampered when the listener does not have the knowledge of  the

• sound system of the language
• words order in the sentence and their meaning
• meaning of individual words and the relation between words in the sentence
• meaning and use of  language in a  particular situations
• information  conveyed through non-verbal means such as  facial expression,  eye contact, and  body posture

Just as speaking and writing are given importance as productive skills, reading and listening require special training for their development as they are resceptive skills.There is no doubt that it is an important soft that needs to be honed.

Effective and Ineffective Listeners in the Class

• Effective listners use both previous knowledge in processing the text which is called the top-down approach  and the bottom-up approach wherein  they listen to each individual sound and words to comprehend the text , whereas ineffective listeners use only bottom-up approach to comprehend.
• Effective listeners know when to divert from listening and read the text , whereas, ineffective listeners are perplexed by the words they come across and by the  length of the text.
• Effective listeners do not listen word to word to comprehend unlike ineffective listners.
• Effective listeners make use of  all the knowledge they possess to make sense of the message, but ineffective listeners do not  do so.
• Effective listeners participate actively in the listening process,whereas  ineffective listeners are passive and indifferent.

Training in active listening can help students become effective listeners.

A Word About Listening Tasks

1. Provide pre-listening tasks that are familiar to  learners so that they be prepared about  what they would be listening
2. Use authentic  speech for listening
3. Screen visual aids along with audio text to enhance listening skills whenever necessary.
4. Make the while listening task purposeful and meaningful to sustain interest in the learners.

Some Effective Listening Tasks that Involve Other Skills

1. Listen and do as instructed –write suitable titles, label, assemble parts, draw, colour, stick, arrange the sentences. (listening/writing/drawing)
2. Listen and write down the predictions and add a few more to the list. (listening/writing/critical thinking)
3. Listen to the text and then write what you have heard correctly.(listening/writing)
4. Listen to the text and state whether the following sentences are true or false. .(listening/writing)
5. Listen to the text and fill in the blanks. .(listening/writing)
6. Listen and answer the following questions. .(listening/writing)
7. Listen to a set of instructions and repeat it.(Listening/Speaking)
8. Listen to a part of the story/text and complete it meaningful. (listening/writing)
9. Listen to the text and complete the missing words. (listening/writing)
10. Listen to an important issue and have a class discuss. (listening/speaking)
11. Listen and have a simulation activity. (listening/speaking)
12. (Listening Game)Students listen and repeat what is said from the beginning and then add his/her sentence so that the next student who listens to the sentences repeats all the sentences and adds his/her sentence. In this way, the chain continues. The one’s who is not able to repeat the sentences correctly have to be dropped out of the game. (listening/speaking)

Sample Listening Task at the Primary Level

Pre-listening task:

It is rightly said that the face is the mirror of the heart. So talk to students about facial expressions and how we come to know about a person’s mood looking at his/her face.

While Listening Task

Draw while you listen

Instructions:

1. Draw a big circle in the middle of the page.
2. Draw three vertical lines on top of the big circle.
3. Within the circle, leave one inch from the top and draw two small circles, one besides the other.
4. Draw two small, dark circles within these circles.
5. On the outer big circle, on either side, draw a semicircle in line with the small circles.
6. Within this semicircle, draw another semicircle.
7. Below this draw a triangle with its apex facing the top.
8. Leave some space and below this, draw an arc.

The teacher needs to check if the students have drawn a smiling face or a sad face!!!

Instruct them to ALWAYS KEEP A SMILING FACE 🙂