THE LISTENING PROCESS
Listening is the most important skill to language and for learning new information. Listening and hearing are disserunt.
– Hearing is the sense through which sound is received this physical process is the first in the learning process.
– Listening is a mental process that requires the receives active participation. Hearing on the other hand is passive process. No one has to think to hear
E.g. many people like back ground noise from a radio or tape or to when they work around the house
– Actual listening involves
a) Concentration
b) Interpreting them
LEVELS / KINDS OF LISTENING
- Listening for enjoyment– for example listening to an amusing story, jokes, music, movie, or play
- Listening for information
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When you listen or informative speech e.g. news. This requires more concentration than listening for enjoyment you need to learn the main idea of
the speaker
3. Critical listening –refers to an active process it involve listening for information and eventual that information. This skill help to determine how
information heard in speech can affect a person. It is important to take notes and later ask the speaker question about his/ her items
4. Precision listening-refers to the exactness or ability to disnguish clearly listening with precision gives due to a speaker talks of changing in the
volume of the speakers voice can help determine what is most important to a speaker
5. Emphatic listening –Emphatic is the ability to put yourself in another place. It enable you to understanding why a person feels, believes and acts in
a certain way when you listen to speaks it is often important to understanding why the express certain ideas such as understanding will help you to
determine evaluate the information you hear more complety.
-Empathy helps respect the speaker even if you disagree with what he/ she says. To achieve this level of listening you must listen for information you
must evaluate critically and you must listen to emotion as well as words. Emphatic listening is considered as the most difficult level to master it requires only
great constetoation but also you / see back skills.
CAUSES FOR POOR LISTENING
Causes for poor listening can be categorized into two types namely physical barriers and mental berries
PHYSICAL BARRIERS
a) Partial hearing
b) Noise or other physical destruction creates barriers to good listerning
c) Speaking too softly
d) Is not speaking Clearly
e) Listeners physical condition eg tiredness illness or uncomfortable
2. MENTAL BARRIERS
a) wondering mind
b) In attention
c) Negative attitude eg If you have negative attitude (dislike ) a bout the speaker then it will make you become difficult to listen attentionaly.
d) Listeners’ knowledge especially when there based on familiar words
e) Selective listening when people by selecting black out what they do not want to hear.
HOW TO IMPROVE LISTENING
a) Making concentration – Try to block out destructions think about what you hear
b) Practice– use every opportunity you can on what you hear. Watch news and other information programs on TV. Also spend quiet time and concentrate on what speaker says.
c) Prepare yourself to listen be read to listen and sit where you can see and hear the speaker
d) Listen to keywords- speaker of tuil gives clues about what is important most important things or in summary are help you to organize the information you hear.
e) Take notes: It is not necessary to write down every word but just outline important ideas. Also listen to keywords and summarize.