Listening

Listening is an essential part of the communication process. Students spend the majority of each school day listening and much of what students know is acquired through listening. It is essential that students have opportunities to practise the behaviours of effective listeners.

Listening is more than hearing; comprehending spoken language involves process-oriented thinking skills. Because listening involves the use of language and thought, the ability to listen effectively develops as students' language abilities develop and mature.

Developing effective listening abilities cannot be left to chance. Active listening experiences should be structured into daily English language arts activities. Students learn to value listening when it is given a prominent role in the English language arts classroom and when it is meaningfully integrated with their speaking, writing, and reading experiences.

Exposure to oral English is very important for ESL students, who need to hear the language spoken in meaningful contexts in order to acquire it. Their receptive (listening) language abilities precede their expressive (speaking) language abilities, so they need to spend a great deal of time listening before and as they develop their speaking abilities.

Students become active listeners when they deliberately attend to the speaker's message with the intention of immediately applying or assessing the ideas or information. For example, students may take notes if they wish to refer to the information; they may offer words of agreement or ask questions if they are part of a conversation; they may formulate questions to ask the speaker; or they may evaluate the message, determining the speaker's motive and what is fact and what is opinion.

Characteristics of Effective Listeners

Effective listening requires the listener's participation. The effective listener wants to understand what is said and actively tries to assign meaning to the speaker's verbal and nonverbal language. The effective listener responds appropriately to what is said and fosters a productive exchange. The meaning generated depends upon the listener's desire and ability to engage in thinking and listening, as well as on prior knowledge of the speaker's language use and topic. Effective listeners are able to:

• value listening as a means of learning and enjoyment
• determine their own purpose(s) for listening
• recognize their responsibility to the speaker and listen without distracting the speaker
• concentrate and not become distracted
• send appropriate feedback to the speaker (e.g., restate directions and explanations, ask questions)
• prepare to react or respond to what the speaker says
• make connections between their prior knowledge and the information presented by the speaker
• evaluate the speaker's message and motive
• try to predict the speaker's purpose and determine the speaker's plan of organization
• identify transitional/signal words and phrases, and follow the sequence of ideas spoken
• observe and interpret the speaker's nonverbal cues (e.g., smiles, frowns, body movements) and use them to enhance their understanding of the speaker's message
• recognize the speaker's main point(s) or idea(s) and identify the supporting details and examples
• distinguish fact from opinion
• determine bias, stereotyping, and propaganda.

The listening process is recursive in nature. Students may hear sound from a stimulus, attend to it, evaluate it, and continue to listen. Students may attend to a speaker's message and respond to it without choosing to remember or evaluate it. The listening purpose and context, and the student's listening maturity will determine the level of listening. The chart on the following page outlines three levels of listening: literal, interpretive, and critical and describes the factors that influence listening abilities at each level.

Developmental Levels of Listening

Levels of Listening		Factors That Influence Listening Abilities
Literal Level (hearing, receiving, attending)	refers to hearing or the actual physical awareness of sounds and language caused by stimuli (e.g., words, verbal and nonverbal cues) includes hearing, but involves the listener's ability to focus attention on the speaker or on the verbal and nonverbal language without becoming distracted; requires motivation, desire, and effort on the part of the listener	physical factors (e.g., hearing loss, hyperactivity, limited attention span, inability to sit still, easily distracted) physical environment (e.g., comfort of listener, location of listener in relation to the speaker) emotional and psychological factors (e.g., environment and conditions of trust that exist, listener's self-concept) fluency in English
Interpretive Level (remembering, responding, assigning meaning)	refers to the process that listeners engage in as they assign meaning to the stimuli; depends upon prior knowledge of the topic and the language of the speaker, and the context of the listening situation, as well as on the listener's schema as it relates to the speaker's schema refers to the selective storage of information in the listener's mind for retrieval at another time	insufficient language development: limited personal language that makes it difficult for listener to make sense of other's language impaired speech that limits reproduction of sounds and hence accurate listening ability
Critical Level (evaluating, judging, reacting, responding)	refers to the judgements made by the listener as a result of interpreting the speaker's ideas using critical thinking skills includes evaluating, but refers to the expression of judgements and interpretations, as well as to seeking clarity of understanding	perception of the importance and value of the message pre-formed opinions and attitudes toward the speaker or the message inability to make connections between new ideas and prior knowledge inability to process oral language in a meaningful way

One way of helping students to become aware of their own listening habits and abilities is to have them complete Listening Strategies Questionnaires or Listening Inventories such as those on the following pages. As well as informing the students about their own listening skills and understandings, the questionnaire or inventory can inform teachers about instructional needs. The questionnaire or inventory can be completed by individual students or can be used as a structured interview for pairs of students. Discussion in small groups or as a whole class is a useful follow-up activity; as students talk about what they know about their listening behaviours, they begin to develop understanding about what it means to be an effective listener. As well, discussion offers students the opportunity to share their successful listening strategies with others, and to gain knowledge of other students' strategies.

The Listening Process

Listening is a complex process in which listeners interact with a speaker to construct meaning, within the context of their experiences and knowledge. Understanding oral language is essential to the learning process, so students require strategies for becoming accurate, effective listeners. When students are made aware of the factors that affect accurate listening, the levels of listening, and the components of the listening process, they are more likely to recognize their own listening abilities and engage in activities that prepare them to be effective listeners. Students can extend their listening abilities most efficiently when listening instruction is integrated into their speaking, writing, and reading activities, and when it is structured as pre-listening, listening, and post-listening experiences.

Pre-listening: Setting the Stage

Effective listening requires that students be prepared for what they are about to hear so that their listening goes beyond the literal level. Pre-listening activities encourage students to listen at the interpretive and critical levels. Some purposes for pre-listening are listed below.

To spark interest and motivate students to attend to the spoken message:

• When students are able to relate the listening experience to their own lives, they are more willing to listen actively to what the speaker has to say.
• Using pre-listening activities, teachers can create an environment conducive to listening and encourage effective listening behaviours that are necessary lifelong skills.
• Adolescents often focus on themselves, and personal needs influence their level of motivation. Through involvement in pre-listening activities, students can develop an interest in the speaker's topic and become willing, active listeners.

To activate or build students' prior topical and linguistic knowledge:

• It is important for students to be able to relate what they already know to the speaker's content.
• When students' prior knowledge about the speaker's topic is activated or built by the teacher, students begin to predict what they might hear and make connections with what they already know, increasing the relevance of the information.
• The time to familiarize students with key concepts and vocabulary is before a listening experience.

To set purposes for listening:

• When students set purposes for listening, they become active listeners who listen for something, not to it. This enhances their comprehension and retention. Teacher guidance may be required at first to help students set purposes for listening.
• Students who have identified a purpose for listening are more willing participants, secure in knowing what is expected of them.
• Providing purposes for listening assists the teacher in making a meaningful assessment of student participation and comprehension following the listening experience. Some purposes for listening are to:
  • gather knowledge and information
  • follow directions
  • participate in discussion
  • interpret and analyze information
  • form an opinion or make a judgement
  • appreciate or enjoy
  • empathize
  • clarify ideas
  • share ideas, feelings, and information
  • state the main idea/theme and identify supporting details
  • determine what is fact and what is opinion
  • select descriptive vocabulary
  • determine bias, stereotyping, or propaganda.

Activities that prepare students for reading are often equally helpful in preparing them for listening. See the Reading section of this curriculum guide for examples of pre-reading scaffolds that can be used as pre-listening scaffolds.

Sample Listening Strategies Questionnaire

Sample Self-assessment Listening Inventory

Listening: Interpreting Speech and Constructing Meaning

Listeners who participate actively in the listening experience are more likely to construct clear, accurate meaning as they interpret the speaker's verbal message and nonverbal cues. During the listening experience students verify and revise their predictions. They make interpretations and judgements based upon what they know, assessing what more they need to know. Some purposes for listening follow.

To foster students' comprehension of the speaker's language and ideas:

• Active participation in the listening experience helps students comprehend the speaker's language and ideas, connecting them to what they already know about language and the topic.
• By monitoring their own understanding of the speaker's message (e.g., asking themselves "Does this make sense?"), students know when to request clarification of what they do not understand.

To focus students' attention on such things as the speaker's organizational patterns:

• When students have been prepared to consider the organization of the speaker's talk (e.g., an introductory and concluding statement, transitional words and phrases), they are likely to comprehend more and acquire an understanding of some of these patterns for use in their own speaking experiences.

To encourage students' critical reactions and personal responses to the speaker's ideas and use of language:

• Students who listen attentively, jotting notes, questions, and responses are better prepared to interact with the speaker during or after listening.

Scaffolds, such as partner journals and prediction points (see the Reading section of the curriculum guide), which engage students in text during the reading process are also useful during listening activities.

Post-listening: Responding, Reflecting, and Reconstructing Understanding

Follow-up activities to listening experiences are critical because they extend students' learning, encourage students to understand that there are purposes for listening, and emphasize that the information gained will be useful to them. Post-listening activities are most effective when implemented immediately after the listening experience, becoming a direct extension of it. Well-planned post-listening activities offer students opportunities to connect what they have heard to their own ideas and experiences, and encourage interpretive and critical listening and reflective thinking. As well, post-listening activities provide opportunities for teachers to assess students' comprehension, check their perceptions, and clarify their understandings. Some purposes for post-listening are listed below.

To examine relationships between prior knowledge and experience, and new ideas and information gained from the speaker or discussion:

• Students' comprehension can be enhanced and extended through activities that encourage them to make connections between what the speaker says and their own knowledge and experience.

To invite and encourage student reflection and response:

• Students develop a greater understanding of what they have heard if they are asked to summarize their ideas and respond to what they have heard through discussion, writing, drawing, drama, music, or dance.

To clarify and extend comprehension beyond the literal level to the interpretive and critical levels:

• Students who engage in response to talk by discussing or writing are actively engaged in constructing their own meaning.
• Through analysis, synthesis, organization, and expression of the speaker's ideas, listeners interpret, evaluate, and determine meaning.

To check comprehension, correct inaccurate concepts, and clarify tenuous learning:

• Students who engage in active listening activities are prepared to question the speaker and verify their understandings.
• Through discussion and response activities, students are able to develop a clearer understanding of the topic and of the listening experience.

To give students the opportunity to apply new information immediately:

• When students are called on to apply what they have gathered from the message, they tend to be more attentive listeners.

It is important to encourage students to reflect, and to clarify and extend their thinking about what they have heard by making concrete responses which may be written, spoken, visual, or dramatic. Many of the same means used to help students extend and clarify their reading experiences can be used to extend and clarify their listening experiences.

Supporting and Managing the Listening Process

Creating separate instructional listening situations may be useful occasionally; however, it is more effective when listening instruction permeates the school day. Isolated listening instruction is artificial and does not foster transfer to students' real life. To practise listening in meaningful contexts, students require opportunities to engage in open dialogue with peers in such informal situations as writing conferences and literature circles. They also need practice in more formal situations such as listening to student prepared speeches and guest speakers.

Some ways that teachers can promote effective listening and help students develop as mature, active listeners include the following:

  model effective and active listening

  regard what the student has to say as important

  integrate listening into daily speaking, writing, reading, representing, and viewing experiences

  plan opportunities for students to practise active listening for a variety of purposes in a variety of contexts (e.g., face-to-face, social situations, formal situations)

  adjust the length of listening time to the maturity of the students

  emphasize and explain effective, active listening behaviours using lists of specific criteria relevant to the situation

  plan for listening by using pre-listening, listening, and post-listening activities

  assess listening as a process within daily language experiences.

The following should be observed in the classroom on a day-to-day basis:

  the teacher modelling effective listening behaviours for students

  the teacher using brief mini-lessons to instruct students about effective listening practices and behaviours for a variety of situations and purposes

  the students listening in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes (e.g., one-on-one conversations, group discussions, formal speeches, oral reading, student presentations)

  the students developing their social skills through listening (e.g., attending to speaker, questioning for clarification, using and interpreting nonverbals, summarizing, and paraphrasing to demonstrate understanding)

  the students using listening effectively as a means of learning and connecting to prior knowledge

  the students and the teacher assessing listening practices and behaviours using checklists or anecdotal notes.

Assessment of learning should be continuous. A variety of assessment techniques which consider students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be used. Assessment suggestions are provided with each of the speaking and listening activities that follow