Listening Skills GST 111 PDF

LISTENING SKILLS MAJOR SUB-TOPICS DEFINITIO THE TYPES OF N OF LISTENING LISTENING LISTENING PROCESS STRATEGIE LISTENING BARRIERS S FOR SITUATION TO...

LISTENING SKILLS MAJOR SUB-TOPICS DEFINITIO THE TYPES OF N OF LISTENING LISTENING LISTENING PROCESS STRATEGIE LISTENING BARRIERS S FOR SITUATION TO EFFECTIIVE S/SETTING EFFECTIVE LISTENING S LISTENING G  Definition of listening i. Listening which as the first language skill acquired in life is defined as the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process ii. It is also defined as the ability to receive meaningful sounds, understand the sounds so received, interpret them and respond to the demand made through those meaningful sounds. Listening is a complex process which requires the listener’s active participation in order to understand what is being said and since one’s ears play an active role during listening, one must be well positioned to fully grasp what is being said. The Listening Process The Listening process includes: Receiving ii. Understanding iii. Reacting iv. Evaluating v. responding i-Receiving This is the very first process which focuses on getting a speaker’s message. The ears are usually the primary organs involved in this stage of the listening process. ii. Understanding means to you iii. Remembering Remembering is a major key to effective listening. Listening cannot be said to have taken place if the listener cannot remember what he has listened to. NOTE: There are exceptional cases however, where a listener might find it difficult to comprehend or remember what he/she has listened to despite listening attentively. Several factors such as the level of difficulty, delivery of the message by the speaker etc may account for this. In such situations, highly developed listening skills messages by a listening which determines how he/she reacts to what is being listened to. Evaluation of the same message can vary widely from one listener to another such that for instance, what may be offensive to a particular listener may not be same for another. The brain is involved in this process and not the ears. v. Responding Responding which is sometimes referred to as feedback has to do with a listener’s reaction to a message. This reaction or  Difference Between Listening and Hearing Listening and hearing are two different acts. Listening is an active task which requires an individual’s mental ability/concentration or careful attention to sound waves with the aim of understanding the message being conveyed by such sound waves which may be in form of words, sentences etc. Hearing on the other hand is a passive reception of sound waves which may not require one to pay serious attention to thus one can hear without making sense out what is being heard simply because the hearer did not pay attention to that which was heard.  Listening Settings/Situations There are three types of communicative settings or situations in which listening is takes place. These situations or settings include the following:  Interactive Setting: In this type of setting or communicative event, the listener is able to provide an immediate response in between the communication. The interactive situation allows for interruptions from the listener for example for clarification when necessary. It is characterised by alternative roles of listening and speaking. Examples of interactive listening include: face-to-face communication, telephone conversation etc.  Non-interactive Setting. This is the communicative event or situation in which the listener is unable to interrupt the speaker as a result of either the distance or lack of direct access to the speaker such as in the cases of television or radio broadcasting, movies, sermons etc where there is no room for a listener to seek clarification or repetition of what has already been said. Consequently, the level of attention required from the listener is very high and more demanding than that which is required in the interactive setting.  Partially Interactive Setting In this situation, the listener is not allowed to some certain extent to interrupt the flow of communication until when the speaker stops speaking or gives the listener(s) the opportunity to ask questions. Examples of this type of listening situation include lectures, seminar presentations, public speaking etc. The level of concentration and attention required during the partially interactive setting is usually high just like in non interactive settings. Consequently, in order to achieve the purpose of listening under this setting, the listener needs to have writing materials so that notes, observations and questions can be written down and asked at the appropriate time.  Types of Listening Different communicative situations require different levels of involvement and concentration while listening. This brings us to the four different types of listening based on the purpose or intention of the listener. These include: i. Courteous listening ii. Active listening iii. Critical listening, iv Discriminative listening  Courteous Listening: This kind of listening entails listening without concentrating or paying attention to what is being said. Here, the listener pretends to be interested in what is being said or discussed while in the actual sense, he or she is only trying to be polite, courteous or only trying to show concern to the emotions of the speaker. It is a pretentious kind of listening. A courteous listener has no specific aim or purpose for listening. He/she is usually absent-minded. This kind of listening is employed when listening to an uninteresting story, unnecessary complaint, a boring or familiar story etc.  Active Listening This particular type of listening requires full concentration. The level of involvement is very high. The listener is expected to focus his/her mind and attention on what is being said. An active listener has a specific aim or purpose for listening. Examples of this type of listening are: listening for direction, listening to lectures, instructions, how to perform a tedious task etc  Critical Listening: Like active listening, critical listening requires a great deal of involvement and attention. The purpose of critical listening is to acquire knowledge, understand the message and then pass judgement. In critical listening, the listener can either accept or reject the message or information being passed across after evaluating the content of such a message or information being passed. Examples of critical listening include: listening to advertisements, political speeches/campaigns, debates etc. Discriminative Listening Discriminative listening is sometimes referred to as listening for discernment because it involves listening for specific sounds. Here we engage in listening to scan and filter what to absorb and what not to. Barriers to effective listening Some common barriers in the process of listening include: i. Having a form of bias or prejudice against the speaker. ii. Claiming to know more the speaker. iii. Arriving late for a speech, presentation or lecture. iv. Judging the speaker by his/her mannerisms, voice, appearance, accent, etc instead of focusing on the content. v. Lack of concentration/interest. vi. Avoiding listening to difficult, boring or complex information and selectively listening only to what is considered interesting. vii. Distractions viii. Medical challenges such as deafness. ix. etc Techniques for Effective Listening  Secure a comfortable position since listening involves the ears and to some extent the eyes. This will enable you grasp all that is being said  Identify the purpose or benefits of listening. Convince yourself that you can get something new and important from that which you are listening to. This will no doubt motivate you to listen attentively.  Concentrate on making meaning out of the speaker’s words, logic or viewpoint.  Avoid any form of bias against the speaker or the topic. Do not be put off by a speaker’s mannerisms or content of the message except where such a message is offensive to your beliefs or convictions. Avoid prejudice.  Avoid interrupting the speaker or completing the speaker’s sentences before he/she completes them.  Avoid ‘’aggressive’’ listening; listening with the purpose of attacking the speaker’s points or views/ideas except in a debate or argument. Do not watch out for pitfalls and mistakes of the speaker in order to mock him or her.  Avoid all forms of distractions e.g. chatting on social media or with friends, making/receiving calls, listening to music, etc.  Avoid superficial listening which entails not paying attention to what is being said or being carried away by the speaker’s physical appearance, pronunciation etc.  Create a connection between ideas and words or between ideas and images through association of names, numbers, places with what you are already familiar with.  Empathise: Put yourself in other people’s positions/shoes.  Ask Questions