UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, ENUGU CAMPUS

FACULTY OF LAW

TOPIC: LISTENING SKILLS

AN ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR THE COURSE GSP 101, (THE USE OF ENGLISH)

BY:

GROUP FIVE MEMBERS

LECTURER: DR. OLUCHI CHRIS OKEUGO

JULY, 2024
 GROUP MEMEBERS

Marshal Victoria Chisom 2023/254903

Ezemmah Somadina Emmanuel 2023/252253

Paul Esther 2022/246487

Izundu Prisca Chinenye 2023/257399

Ikechukwu Onyinyechi Goodness 2023/255193

Williams Terrumun, 2023/254503

Jonathan Chidiebere Goodluck 2023/257359

Nwokeji Light Oluebubechukwu 2023/253606

Okafor kamsiyochukwu Benedict Jamb reg:202330336587FA

Agu Ifunanya Blessed 2023/253622

Mozie Henry Odinaka, 2023/257644.

 DEFINITION OF LISTENING SKILLS

According to Oxford dictionary, listening skills comprise the ability to pay attention and

effectively interpret what other people are saying. As one of the language skills, it is a natural

activity. It is crucial to note the distinction between listening and hearing. Hearing is merely the

processz function or power of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and passive. Listening goes

deeper; it means paying attention to a message in order to hear it, understand it and physically or

verbally respond to it. It involves the mind and not just the ears. Listening skills can be

developed. It is not an innate skill, but one that we develop over time. Because human beings

crave to understand and be understood in the best way possible, listening skills are indispensable.

THE LISTENING SKILLS DISCUSSED AS A RECEPTIVE AND RECIPROCAL

ACTIVITY

Since listening involves receiving information, it is a receptive activity. It is also reciprocal

in the sense that it gives the listener the opportunity to communicate with the speaker during the

communication process. It is only a person that has listened to what you have to say that can

communicate information back to you concerning what you have told him. It involves dialogue

in which the original listener and the speaker play alternating roles as the source and receiver of

information.

Receptive skills are sometimes known as passive skills. Listeners fo not need to produce

language to do these. Rather, they receive and understand it. However, the listening skills would

be incomplete if it were not also a reciprocal activity.

NATURE, TYPES, PURPOSES AND FACTORS THAT AFFECT LISTENING

 As said earlier, listening is a natural activity. It involves not just the ears but the mind as

well. Though it may seem to be nothing but passive activity, listening is just as important as

speaking, reading and writing.

TYPES OF LISTENING

1) Extensive listening

The goal here, is not to understand the whole content in full but to get a broad, general and

perhaps vague understanding of what you hear.

2) Intensive listening

It is the slow, careful listening of an audio in order to fully grasp it's full meaning and content. It

requires much more concentration than extensive listening.

Other types of listening include:

1) Appreciative listening: This is when one listens simply to appreciate what they are

hearing. It could be music, poetry or some kind of inspirational message. Some

researchers believe that there is therapeutic value in appreciative listening.

2) Comprehensive listening: Some people call it informative listening. This is listening to

comprehend, to learn, to absorb the content of what you're listening to. Anytime you

listen to a teacher, lecturer or an instruction of any kind, you have to be able to separate

the main ideas from the subtopics.

3) Empathetic listening: Here, one is listening to empathize with the speaker. Listening to a

friend to connect with that person and their emotions is a good example. There's an old

saying that “if you want more friends or deeper friendships, learn how to listen.” The

better you listen, the better your relationships are.

 4) Critical listening: This is listening to scrutinize message. We often have to listen critically

when someone is trying to sell us something, get us to do something or get our votes for a

position. For example, we listen to our class representative critically when he is

canvassing for our votes, to know if he is eligible for that position. A judge listening to

the cases of two lawyers must also adopt critical listening. As Law students, it is very

important to develop critical listening in order not to swallow everything we are told as

truth.

PURPOSE OF LISTENING

Effective listening has numerous purposes, it brings many positive effects in various aspects of

life.

● It builds stronger relationships, fosters trust, understanding and deeper connections with

others. This is because we tend to get attached to people who can listen to us

empathetically without judgement.

● It improves communication, facilitates clear exchange of information, reducing

misunderstanding

● Listening is indispensable in conflict resolution. To resolve disputes, there is need to

listen to the plight of bothe parties in order not to give an impartial or biased judgement.

● It enhances learning. A person who listened in class is more likely to understand the topic

taught than one who spent the lecture hours chit-chatting or daydreaming.

● Listening also improves our decision making skills. A person who is well informed due

to appropriate listening will make better decisions on his lifetime than one who

disregards important information.

 ● It improves customer service. Meeting customers and attending to them effectively is

facilitates when you're a good listener.

● Leadership development: A good leader is a good listener. It is only through listening that

a leader can understand the people he is leading .

● Listening also improves one’s language skills. You learn a new language or improve on

the one you know by listening to people speak in that particular language.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT LISTENING

There are three factors that affect listening. Namely;

a) The Listener

A listener 's psychological, physiological and intellectual state contribute greatly to the

effectiveness of his listening.

● Psychological state: This is enhanced mainly by the listener’s motivation to listen.

Examination is a major motivation for students to listen in class, but it is a long term

motivation. Chibueze (2015) states that “the short term motivation or purpose such as

listening to get the main points, to gather new information, to give answers to questions

raised etc are more effective motivators.” On the other hand, if one is in a state of fear,

anxiety, anger or little motivation, such a person cannot listen effectively. Therefore, for

you o listen well, you must be psychologically disposed.

● Physiological state: This has to do with the physical state of the listener. If he/she is tired,

hungry, sleepy, overfed, sick, or has hearing problems, he /she is not likely to pay rapt

attention.
 ● Intellectual state: This has to do with the listener’s intellectual status. For effective

listening to be effectuated, the listener should be familiar with the subject being discussed

and the language with which it is being done.

b) The Speaker

There are qualities a speaker posseses would buy out effective or ineffective listening. This

includes the extent of the speaker’s knowledge of the subject, how the speaker communicated

this subject, the perceived seriousness of enthusiasm in the speaker and the extent of familiarity

of the speaker with the audience.

c) The Environment

Effective or ineffective listening can be resulted from factors such as the place of learning, how

conducive the learning environment is, the extent of noise in the class, etc… If the class is

overpopulated and noisy, listening would be very difficult.

STRATEGIES AND AIDS FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING

There are strategies we can adopt to become great listeners . As stated earlier, the

skill of listening is something we can learn or develop.

1. Top-bottom process: Here the listener relies on sounds, words and Grammer to make

meaning. The listener makes use of his knowledge of words, syntax or grammer. This

applies especially to cases where one is learning a concept or topic for the first time.

2. Top-down strategy: Here, listeners rely on their previous knowledge of life, context and

language. It can be used in summary writing or listening merely for gist.

Other ways or strategies to improve listening include :

● Maintaining eye contact with the speaker

● Visualizing what the speaker is saying

● Do not interrupt, as this comes across as rude

● Wait for a pause to ask questions

● Empathize with the speaker

● Pay attention to non-vernal cues

In conclusion, effective listening skills are a vital component of successful

communication, relationships and personal growth. Through our exploration of the cognitive,

emotional and behavioral aspects of listening, it is clear that this skill is both complex and

essential.

By cultivating strong listening skills, individuals can build trust, resolve conflicts, foster

deeper connections with others…. In a world where communication is increasingly digital and

fragmented., the art of listening is more important than ever. As we thrive to become better

communicators and more empathetic individuals, let us prioritize the development of our

listening skills. By doing so, we can create more harmonious and understanding world; one

conversation at a time.