Listeningand Speaking Skills

7/27/2019 Listeningand Speaking Skills

1/6

Listening Skills

You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like

other skills, listening takes practice.

What does it mean to really listen?

Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps.

Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For

example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the speaker mentioned that no

two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said.

Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard

and understand it in your own way. Let's go back to that report on zebras. When you hear

that no two are alike, think about what that might mean. You might think, "Maybe this

means that the pattern of stripes is different for each zebra."

Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think aboutwhether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might think, "How

could the stripes to be different for every zebra? But then again, the fingerprints aredifferent for every person. I think this seems believable."

Tips for being a good listener

Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window or at

what else is going on in the room.

Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think

you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your

mind wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker'swords.

Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to

say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it

looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.

Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if you are

busy thinking about what you want say next.

Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to

get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of

times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as "My point is..."

or "The thing to remember is..."

Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is

a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sureyour understanding is correct. For example, you might say, "When you said that no two

zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are different on each one?"


2/6

Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to

show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be

silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening. Remember,you listen with your face as well as your ears!

Thinking fast

Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts move about four times as fast as speech. With

practice, while you are listening you will also be able to think about what you are

hearing, really understand it, and give feedback to the speaker.http://www.infoplease.com/homework/listeningskills1.html

Listening and Speaking Skills As They Relate to ReadingNov 4, 2000 - Arden Davidson

Most people define oral communication narrowly, focusing on speaking and

listening skills separately. Traditionally, when people describe speaking skills, they

do so in a context of public speaking. Recently, however, definitions of speaking

have been expanded to include school plays, dramatic recitals and group activities.

Even when the majority of the class has mastered basic listening and speaking

skills, it is important to keep in mind that not every student learns effective verbal

communication or skillful listening abilities at the same rate. Those students who

are not "catching on" as quickly as the rest of the class, are not so much unskilled

as they are undisciplined. The skills that can make the difference between minimal

and effective communication can be taught, practiced, and improved.

Those experts and researchers who maintain that the process of learning to read is

different than the process of learning to speak assert that most children in cultures

with writing systems have had to be taught to read. Moreover, they contend that

learning to read is not a natural developmental phenomenon, since numerous

cultures throughout history never developed writing systems on their own. On the

other hand, whole language educators have identified at least two important

parallels between learning to speak one's native language and learning to read.

First, in both cases the child is most concerned with meaning; adult speech and

adult accuracy in reading are mastered only gradually. In other words, children

learning to talk begin with the "whole" of what they want to communicate, and onlygradually master the parts. Similarly with reading: it is easiest for most children to

recount or even memorize familiar texts, then learn more and more of the words

and the letter/sound patterns within them. A second important point is that both

learning to talk and learning to read are facilitated when adults treat children as

"meaning-makers" and focus on meaning first.

The fact is, spoken language and reading have a lot in common. If the printed words
http://www.infoplease.com/homework/listeningskills1.htmlhttp://www.suite101.com/daily.cfm/2000-11-04http://www.infoplease.com/homework/listeningskills1.htmlhttp://www.suite101.com/daily.cfm/2000-11-04


3/6

can be efficiently recognized, comprehension of connected text depends heavily on

the reader's oral-language abilities, particularly with regard to understanding the

meanings of words that have been identified and the syntactic and semantic

relationships among them. Indeed, many early research reports called attention to

the differences between good and poor readers in their comprehension and

production of structural relations within spoken sentences.

The copyright of the article Listening and Speaking Skills As They Relate to

Reading in Children's Poetry is owned by Arden Davidson. Permission to republish

Listening and Speaking Skills As They Relate to Reading in print or online

must be granted by the author in writing.

Read more at Suite101: Listening and Speaking Skills As They Relate to Reading

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056#ixzz0kNRwfh2e

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056

Objectives

Students will

Learn how to be a good listener. Learn how to be a good speaker.

Practice listening and speaking skills with classmates.

Materials

Listening and Speaking Strategies video

Pencils and erasers

"Have You Ever..." search paper, 1 copy per student (see Procedures below)

Computer with Internet access (optional)

Procedures

1. Before beginning the lesson, create a "Have You Ever" search paper bydividing a piece of white paper into 16 equal squares: Draw four columnsdown and four rows across the sheet of paper. At the bottom of each squarewrite something that at least one student in the class may have experiencedor a quality at least one student may have, such as "broken a bone," "loves

pizza," "speaks two languages," "has been on an airplane," or "good dancer."Photocopy one copy of the search paper for each student.2. To being, play a few rounds of telephone with the class to demonstrate the

importance of having good speaking and listening skills. Then have studentswatch Speaking and Listening Strategies to further explore good skills.

3. After watching the program, talk about experiences when students have hadto ask questions or follow directions. Ask them: Why is important to give cleardirections? What kinds of situations have you been in when you have had to
http://poetry_stories_kids.suite101.com/http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056#ixzz0kNRwfh2ehttp://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056#ixzz0kNRwfh2ehttp://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056http://teacherstore.discovery.com/stores/servlet/Jumpzone?di=40588027&ti=9000003&ps=879825http://poetry_stories_kids.suite101.com/http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056#ixzz0kNRwfh2ehttp://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056#ixzz0kNRwfh2ehttp://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/poetry_stories_kids/52056http://teacherstore.discovery.com/stores/servlet/Jumpzone?di=40588027&ti=9000003&ps=879825


4/6

listen very carefully to someone talking? Why is it important to develop goodspeaking and listening skills? Have students describe situations when theyhave not used good speaking or listening skills. What were the results?

4. Explain to students that they will play a scavenger hunt-type game with theirclassmates. Hand out copies of "Have You Ever" and tell students that the

object of the game is to be the first person in the class to complete thesquares. To do so, they must match a classmate's name to the criteriawritten in a square. Each square must represent a different person, so awinning "Have You Ever" sheet cannot have one student's name on it inmore than one square.

5. Tell students that they will walk around the classroom and ask theirclassmates questions to fill in the squares on their sheet, such as "Have youever broken a bone?" If a classmate has broken a bone, they meet thecriterion, and the student should write the classmate's name in that square. Ifnot, the student can choose to ask the person a different question or move toa different classmate until they have found one who has broken a bone.

Explain to students that they will also answer questions. For example, if Maryis asking John a question, she cannot leave him when he has answered herquestion. She should wait until John asks his question and they are bothready to move to new classmates.

6. Remind students that everyone in the classroom will be working on theirscavenger hunt at the same time, so it is important that students use indoorvoices, listen to what their classmates are saying very carefully, and not torun. The first person to fill in all of their squares without repeating a namewins. Tell students to raise their paper and call out if they think they havewon.

7. Give students time to complete their scavenger hunt. Walk around theclassroom while students are engaged to make sure everyone is playing fairlyand nobody is running. Call time when a student has announced they havefinished and have students quietly freeze where they are standing while youcheck the possible winning sheet. If the student is mistaken, have the classresume the activity. If not, ask students to return to their seats.

8. Discuss the scavenger hunt with students. Who learned something new abouttheir classmates? What did they learn? Why was it important to use goodlistening skills during the scavenger hunt? Why was it important to use goodspeaking skills?

9. If time allows, students can practice their reading and listening skills online

with interactive stories at this Web site http://www.alfy.com/Storyville

Back to Top

Evaluation

Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#tophttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#top


5/6

Three points: Students were highly engaged in class and group discussions;enthusiastically participated in the scavenger hunt; followed the rules of thescavenger hunt without needing teacher guidance or supervision; anddemonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of having goodspeaking and listening skills.

Two points: Students generally engaged in class and group discussions;

participated in the scavenger hunt; followed the rules of the scavenger huntwith little teacher supervision or guidance; and demonstrated a basicunderstanding of the importance of having good speaking and listening skills.

One point: Students participated minimally in class and group discussions;were unable to participate in the scavenger hunt without constant teachersupervision or refused to participate in the scavenger hunt; and were unableto demonstrate a basic understanding of the importance of having goodspeaking and listening skills.

Back to Top

Vocabularydirections

Definition:An instruction, indication, or order given with authority

Context:It is important to give directions that are easy to follow and in the right

order.

discussionDefinition:An earnest conversation

Context:A group discussion is a great place to share new information.

listen

Definition:To pay attention or make an effort to hear somethingContext:Listen to how Kat and Kenny take turns speaking.

question

Definition:An expression of inquiry that invites or calls for a reply

Context:Asking a question is one way to learn more about a topic.

speak

Definition:To talk or express oneself

Context:It is important to take turns when you speak with friends.

Back to Top

Academic Standards

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)

McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks,
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#tophttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#tophttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#tophttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/#top


6/6

visithttp://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp

This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:

Language Arts-Writing: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writingprocess; Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing

Language Arts-Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand andinterpret visual media

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

The National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association have

developed national standards to provide guidelines for teaching the English language arts. Toview the standards online, go tohttp://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm

This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:

Students use spoken, written and visual language to accomplish their ownpurposes.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/listenSpeak/
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asphttp://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htmhttp://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asphttp://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm

Listeningand Speaking Skills

Documents

Transcript of Listeningand Speaking Skills