Getting Students In on the Action: 6 Tips for Promoting Active Listening in Class

Listening requires many skills – accurately processing auditory

information, recognizing the vocabulary and grammar in the spoken

content, and determining the intent behind what was said just to name

a few.

If we think listening is a passive activity, we are wrong. And letting our

students think listening is a passive activity is even worse. That’s why the best

ESL teachers make a point to teach their students to listen actively. Active

listening is a learned skill in which the listener pays close attention and feeds

back information that they have heard to the speaker. In so doing, the two

have better communication and fewer disagreements, especially those based

on miscommunication. You can teach your ESL students to be active listeners

by going over the following skills essential to the process.

6 Tips for Promoting Active Listening in Class

1. 1

Be Quiet

You can’t be a good listener if you don’t know how to be

quiet. Pauses in conversation are a natural part of speech, even for

first language learners. Help your students understand that they can

be quiet and think when they are speaking and that they should also

allow their conversation partner silent moments to think before they

speak. While you are teaching this, you might also want to teach your

students the words and phrases English speakers use

as “conversation holders”, cues that they are not finished talking.

These include um, like, er, and ah.

2. 2

Show That You Are Listening

Physical clues are very important in a conversation. The best

active listeners show their partner that they are listening with a variety

of body language. Look at the person. Make eye contact. Nod or show

that you understand in other ways. Smile when appropriate. Listeners

who do not communicate that they are paying attention might look

around the room, look at their watch or their phone, or might not

maintain eye contact with the person who is speaking. It is important

to point out to your ESL students how different cultural values come

into play when it comes to body language and conversation. Give your

students a chance to share what is appropriate in their cultures and

give them plenty of opportunities to practice correct English speaker

body language that might feel uncomfortable for them.

3. 3

Restate What You Have Heard

Giving information back to the person you are listening to is a

great way to avoid misunderstandings. It also happens to be an

active listening strategy. By telling a speaker what you heard or

understood, you ensure that you fully get what they are trying to say.

This skill is useful for your ESL students because they are sure to

have occasions when they do not understand what the other speaker

has said due to grammar, vocabulary, or other things. In such cases,

your students should repeat the phrase they need clarified to the

speaker. What do you mean by X? Can you explain X? What does X

mean? Your students can also paraphrase what they think the person

has said, that is say the same thing with different words. So when you

say X you mean...When your students can use this technique correctly

and comfortably, they will no longer have to worry about not knowing

certain vocabulary or grammar structures. They can always check with

their conversation partner to confirm they are receiving the correct

message.

4. 4

Interpret More Than the Words

When a person is actively listening, they are trying to understand

more than the words that are being said. They are trying to

understand how the speaker feels as well. You can help your students

by challenging them to ask this question as they listen to an English

speaker. What do I think this person feels about this? In some cases it

is easy to answer this question. In other cases, the answers don’t

come as quickly. But the closer a person listens, the better chance

they have of answering that question correctly. Teach your students

useful phrases such as, “So it sounds like you feel…about X.” The

speaker can then confirm how he really feels about the topic. Trying to

understand how a person feels about a topic and then asking for

confirmation of your conclusions tells the speaker that you care about

what he is saying. It’s important to help your students understand

assuming how someone feels might be very dangerous. It is much

better to listen to what is being said and then base your conclusion on

evidence you see and hear rather than your own instinct or feeling.

5. 5

Ask Questions

Good listeners do more than ask questions when they don’t

understand vocabulary or grammar. They also ask probing

questions that encourage the speaker to give more information. But

there is a right and a wrong way to do this. Help your students

understand English discourse by pointing out lulls in the conversation

are the best time to ask questions. Wait for the speaker to pause and

then ask supportive questions not challenging ones. Point out to your

students that open-ended questions are better than yes/no questions.

This means that questions starting with who, what, where, when, why,

and how are better than those starting with do or did.

6. 6

Don’t Rehearse Your Answer

It can be tough for anyone to avoid practicing what they will say

next in their head while someone else is speaking, and it’s even

more of a challenge for your ESL students. Help them understand

that paying attention to a speaker is more important than having

perfect grammar or pronunciation when they get a chance to speak.

Encourage your students to listen fully to their conversation partner

and then, when it is their turn to talk, wait three seconds to compose

their answer before speaking. When anyone is concentrating more on

their answer than what another person is saying, miscommunication is

sure to ensue.

Active listening isn’t just a skill that your ESL students need.

It is one that you need, too. The best teachers listen carefully to their students

and make their students feel that they understand what is being said. Use

these techniques yourself, and you will see that your students feel valued and

appreciated no matter what their language level is.