Listening Skills 17th

October, 2022
Listening is the first language skill to be acquired by
normal/healthy language users.
Definition of Listening
• 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.
• It is also defined as the ability to accurately
receive and interpret messages in a
communication process.
Listening is a complex process which requires the
listener’s active attention in order to understand
what is being said and since one’s ears play an active
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 through
such sound waves which may be in form of words, phrases,
sentences, etc. The ears play an active role in listening.
• Hearing on the other hand is a passive reception of sound
waves which may not require one’s serious attention thus one
can hear without actually making sense out what is being heard
simply because the hearer did not pay attention to that which
was said.
Listening Settings/Situations
There are three types of communicative settings or situations in
which listening 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 such as he or she needs clarification, repetition
of a point etc. In this type of setting, the roles of the
speaker and the listener are alternated in what is called
‘’’’turn taking’’ Turn-taking occurs in a conversation
when one person listens while the other person speaks.
As a conversation progresses, the listener and speaker
roles are exchanged back and forth (a circle of
discussion)..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 the non interactive
setting. 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 three different types of listening
based on the purpose or intention of the listener. These
include:
i. Courteous listening ii. Active listening iii. Critical
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.
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 the 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.