Effective Listening

Effective Listening

read the following slides and answer the questions that follow. This is graded.

Strategies for Effective Listening

We take it for granted that we all know how to listen, that listening is a natural skill requiring no work at all. The truth is, listening is a difficult task and very few people know how to do it well. Have you ever been in the midst of a conversation with someone, nodding your head in agreement, and suddenly found yourself unable to respond to a question they've just asked? While you may have technically heard him, you weren't listening to him. How about when someone tells you his name and within moments you have forgotten it?

Why is listening so difficult? One reason is that students and adults confuse hearing with listening. Hearing is passive; it means some sound has reverberated in your ear, whether or not you wanted it to, and there’s been a noise. Listening, on the other hand, is an active process. It implies that you must do something to accomplish it. It takes action and, often, work to listen well.

Open Ended

Define passive. (2 pts)

Open Ended

The passage states, “students and adults confusing hearing with listening”.

What does this statement mean?

Answer below in complete sentences. (5 pts)

For example, pretend you are sitting on a crowded train talking with a friend.

You hear the noise of the train, the chatter of passengers around you, the iPod echoes blasted by a kid next to you and, somewhere in all of that, you even hear your friend.

But to understand what your friend is telling you in all that, you need to do something; you need to listen to distinguish her words from all the background noise.

The same applies to classroom lessons.

There may not be the same amount of noise in a classroom as on a crowded train (although there is plenty of distractions from moving around, coughing, typing on chromebooks), but you still have to work hard to listen to the teacher's words.

Open Ended

Answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What is the point of learning about listening? Give at least 2 reasons. (4pts)

Open Ended

2. Do you find yourself hearing or listening to the teacher? How can you tell the difference? (6pts)

Open Ended

3. Are there any classes you find that you listen to better than others? Which ones and why? (5pts)

Open Ended

4. Do you think you an active listener? Explain. (5pts)