Active Listening: Implications for Successful Language Learning and Communication

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Active Listening: Implications for Successful Language Learning and Communication

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Overview
Do you ever hear things but cannot remember what was said? How would you view listening, as an active or passive skill? Do you think people would classify you as a good listener even in your first language? How about in English, how are your listening skills?

Whether improving your listening skills is a goal for you during this course or not, there are a few important items to mention about listening before going much further in the course. First, listening is too often viewed as a passive skill.  However, listening is very active whereas hearing can be seen as passive.   In fact, there are many different ways we go about listening, and this reflects how much we actually hear and understand. 

The following overview of the types of listening is intended to help you understand the different ways in which we listen. Most importantly, it aims to have you think about how you can make listening a more active part of how you will learn in this course. At the end of the day, we hope this information will assist in guiding you to make active listening an important learning tool in this course.

Types of Listening

Reception

One type – reception- is simply hearing without actually thinking, and it is very passive
Frequently in class, students listen by paying attention, but this is passive. No effort is made to connect what is being said to outside materials.

Definitions

Definitions are the lowest level of active listening.  Meaning is given but there are no connections made. 

Integration

Moving up the continuum of listening, integration is relating new information to old information. .

Interpretation

Interpretation is what we frequently do when we share information.  We put information into our own words.

Implications

Drawing conclusions is called implications. This means we formulate our own thoughts on something based on the information that has been presented to us.

Application and Evaluation

The two most active parts of listening are application and evaluation.  Applying and using information in new situations and evaluating information for accuracy and relevance are the highest forms of listening. When your professor asks you to complete an assignment related to lectures or videos, this is the very purpose of completing such work. Ultimately, it is an indication to your professor if you are clear on concepts or not.

Implications for Your Learning

What does all this mean for your work on this course? Simply, you need to work on becoming an active listener by:
q  taking accurate notes;
q  formulating your own opinions;
q  expressing your opinions in peer discussion rooms or in assignments;
q  coming up with questions about the information presented in the lecture or from classmates;
q  participating in peer discussion work with classmates;
q  being open to constructive feedback from professors and classmates;
q  completing all assignments;
q  reviewing your notes and ideas presented by other students in peer discussions after the lesson is complete; and always be looking for connections to ideas presented in class outside of class, For example, in English online publications such as www.fareasterneconomicreview.com

By actively doing at least half the items on the above list, you will guarantee yourself an active learning experience online. However, keep in mind that it is really up to you – THE LEARNER – to work on being an active listener. By doing so, your learning will be rich and your knowledge of business content combined with English will be enhanced. It is easy to fall into the trap of playing the role of receptor, and much more challenging to interpret, offer your own opinions, apply and evaluate what you have learned. We challenge you to make the most of this learning experience, and we wish you every learning success!

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