Module Name; ENGLISH LAGUAGE SKILLS

Module Code; GST 05202

LISTENING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES

This module provides an overview of the key concepts and issues that will recur throughout our
discussion of listening process. The main things to be understood at this module are;

1. The definition of listening

2. Stages of listening as a mental process
3. Purposes of listening
4. Principles of effective listening
5. Importance of listening
6. Types of listening
THE CONCEPTS OF HEARING AND LISTENING

Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing is regarded as the physical process of detecting sounds
while listening is a mental process that adds to hearing the dimension of understanding. You will listen
effectively if you think about what you are listening. Listening involves ears as well as the brain.

Johnson defines listening as ‘’ the ability to understand and respond effectively to oral
communication’’. Thus, we can state at the context that hearing is not listening. Listening requires more
than hearing, it requires understanding of the communication received.

Differences between hearing and listening can be summarized as follows;

Hearing listening
1. It is a physical process 1. It is a mental process
2. It requires only ear 2. It requires the use of ear, brain and
eyes to understand
3. It is a passive process 3. It is an active process

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 4. It involves only perception of sounds 4. It involves making evolution ad
judgment of thoughts
5. Hearing is effective from hearing only 5. No effective listening without hearing
with ears

PURPOSES OF LISTENING

We may listen to what the lecturer is speaking, to what the boss is talking, to news broadcasting on
the radio or television, prayer at the church or mosque, or to what your friend is talking to you.

The following are the main purposes of listening;

 For enjoyment or entertainment

 To gain information
 To understand information or an explanation
 To evaluate or form an opinion
 To make the speaker aware of the importance of his/ her presence
 Convince the speaker that you are interested on his/her talk

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD LISTENING

Some of the basic principles of good listening can be summarized as TRACK.

 T reminds you to THINK

Think about what the speaker is saying. Ask questions if you do not understand something. The
speaker is entitled to be heard, so think about what the speaker is saying even if the approach is wrong.

 R reminds you to REVIEW

Review the speaker’s main points in your mind. Is everything clear? Ask questions if you need help.

 A reminds you to pay ATTENTION

A good listener should pay attention to important words and to the points the speaker makes. Ask
yourself questions as you listen.

 C reminds you to CONCENTRATE

Block out distractions. Focus on each point. Keep your eye to the speaker and not somewhere else.
Don’t do some activities like playing with cellular phone that will reduce your concentration.

 K reminds you to KEEP UP

Keep up with the point the speaker makes. Think about what the speaker is saying.

Good listening process will help the listener to get the speaker’s full meaning and understand the
content of the message. This will save time, avoid misunderstandings, give the speaker the sense of self-
worth and interested to go on and help the listener to do the right thing at the right time.

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 THE PROCESS OF LISTENING

Listening means making an effort to get the speaker’s full meaning. It involves not only understanding
the content of the message but also understanding the feelings of the speaker. In order to be a good
listener, it is necessary to understand a various stages of listening. These are as follows;

1. Selection stage

The listener selects from among a multiple of stimuli, the only that seems important at the point of
time and converts it into a message. At this stage, the listener simply attends to the speaker to hear
their message. If we can repeat the speaker’s words, we have heard the message rightly.

2. Interpretation stage

The listener is engaged on the act of decoding the message. It is at this stage that the listener is
faced with multiple barriers that be semantic, psychological, emotional or environmental. If the listener
fails to interpret the words correctly, the message is misunderstood. People interpret message because
of varying knowledge, experience, attitude, culture and background.

3. The evaluation stage

At this stage the listener decides what to do with the received information. When you are listening
to a sales talk, you may choose to believe or not believe o what you hear. At this stage the listener
assigns a meaning to the message, draw inferences, taking overview of the message, and seek accuracy
of the information and evidence.

4. The responding state

This is the stage when the listener is ready to respond. In addition, this feedback stage is important
for a speaker. The listener’s non-verbal signals tell the speaker whether he or she has been understood
or not. The listener’s response may verbal or written. This response will also help the speaker to know
whether the listener has got the message or not.

5. The memory stage

This is the final stage of listening. Effective listening helps listeners to retain and recall chunks of
what they have heard. This is an important index to test how much the information has been stored in
the listener’s memory. Unfortunately, no matter how brilliant the speaker is, most of listeners can retain
only 10-25% of a talk or presentation the day after. This is why good speakers must always make it a
point to organize their matter sequentially, supported by good visual aids, so that the listeners have a
good recall rate at the end

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 SIGNIFICANCE OF LISTENING

The following are the importance/significance/benefits of listening;

At work

 Greater customer satisfaction

 Increase employee satisfaction
 Higher level of productivity
 Few mistakes
 Improved sales figures
 Greater innovation and creativity
 More information sharing

Personally

 Better family relationship

 Improved social networks
 Greater interpersonal enjoyment
 Improved self esteem
 Higher grades at school, college or university
 More close friends

TYPES OF LISTENING

1. Critical listening

Critical listening means analyzing and interpreting speaker’s message. It involves assigning meaning
to the message, draw inferences, taking overview of the message and seeks accuracy of the information
and evidence.

You can’t remember every word a speaker says. But if you listen critically, you can find the parts of
the speaker’s message that are important.

HOW TO LISTEN CRITICALLY

Find the main ideas What are the most important points?
List for clue words a speaker, might use, such as
major, main, most important, or similar words.
Identify significant details What dates, names of facts does the speaker use
to support the main points of the speech?
What kind of examples or explanations are used
to support the main idea?
Distinguish between facts and opinions A fact is a statement that can be proved to be
true. An opinion is a belief or judgment about
something. It cannot be really proved.
Identify the order of organization What order is the speaker using to arrange ideas-
time sequence or order of importance?
Note comparisons and contrasts Are some details compared or contrasted with
them?

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Understand cause and effect Do some events that the speaker refer to, relate
to or affect other events?
Predict outcome and draw conclusions  What can you reasonably conclude from
the facts and evidence you have gathered
from the speech?

2. ACTIVE/REFLECTIVE LISTENING

With active listening the listener is interested in understanding what the speaker is thinking, feeling
and wanting. Active listening involves more than the listeners keeping his/her mouth closed and waiting
until he/she can break in. The listener should always respond to the speaker. This feedback is what
distinguishes active listening and makes it effective.

3. EMPATHIC LISTENING

The goal of empathic listening is really hear the other person, to begin to see things as he she sees
them, rather than looking at what he/she is saying only from your own point of view.

Empathic listening means that listeners not only want to hear your message, but they also want to
know you as a fellow human being.

LISTENING TECHNIQUES

Listening for details

When you listen for information, you need to listen for details that answer the basic 5W-How questions.
Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How? For example, when you are asked to take messages on
the phone, you will need to get important details from the caller, such as;

 The caller’s name

 Who the call is for?
 The caller’s message
 The caller’s telephone number

Listen for instructions

Usually instructions are made up of a series of steps. When you listen to instructions, be sure you
understand all the steps you will need to follow;

1. Listen for the order of the steps. Identify words that tell you when each step ends and the next
one begins, such as first, second, next, then and last.
2. Identify the number of steps in the process. If the instructions are long and complicated take
notes.
3. Visualize each step. Try to get a mental image of what you should be doing at every step in the
process.
4. Review the steps. When the speaker is finished, be sure you understand the instructions.

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