MODULE 2

LISTENING COMMUNICATION

. The Listening Process

. Types of Listening

. Roadblocks to Listening

. Good Listening

DISCUSSION:

Nature and Process of Listening

Listening is a process that can be learned. Although listening is often ignored, it keeps up the
greatest amount of time in the study of the four skills of communication – listening, speaking, reading,
and writing. Listening , like any other skill, has to be practiced because we listen everyday and we think
we know how to do it. Yet, like any other skill, we learn to do it better and continue to improve our
listening skills throughout our lives.

Listening is a process or an activity which is often neglected and taken for granted . Since
listening is an act in our day-to-day transaction with friends, members of the family and all others who
wish to communicate, with us, we should train ourselves to become more proficient. Everybody believes
that failure to listen will create frustration.

Characteristics of Effective Listening:

1. Selective - the listener should have the option of what to listen to. He will only pay special attention
to what he wants to listen to because of his belief that it is important to him. He disregards disturbances
and concentrates on his purpose.

2. Purposive – listening requires a specific purpose. For example, we listen to discussion because of our
intention to learn, to pass.

3. Attentive – listening with a purpose will make the listener s react. Not all people can give their
reactions to what they hear if they will not listen attentively. Since communication is a two-way process
that requires a sender and a receiver , it is necessary that the receiver shows signs of cooperation by
means of listening attentively.
Stages of Listening:

First Stage: TRANSMISSION

Sound coming from any source is transmitted to the ears of the listeners through sound waves.
As it reaches the ears of the listeners, hearing takes place.

Factors that comprise the first stage of listening:

1. Auditory Acuity - This refers to the ability of the ear to respond to sounds received by the ears in
different frequencies raging from 125 to 8,000cycles per second. The level of loudness of every sound is
measured in terms of decibels. In an actual speaking situation, 55 decibels are used for soft talking and
85 for decibels are used for loud conversation. Going beyond the normal intensity results in the
deterioration of the listening ability of the listeners and audience.

2. Masking – It is a factor of listening that influences hearing. When the actual message is coupled with
any other kind of noise of the same intensity, the noise will mask the intended message.

3. Auditory Fatigue - Another factor that affects hearing is auditory fatigue. Sounds of different
intensities cause temporary loss of hearing. A monotonous tone will cause auditory fatigue. That is why,
the speaker should always adapt various pitch levels and intonations.

Second Stage: RECOGNITION

This is the second stage of listening affected by the auditory analysis, mental reorganization and
association. Auditory Analysis will occur when a person attempts to compare incoming sounds with
sounds already familiar to him. Sounds are recognized in terms of their similarities and differences.
Another factor that affects the recognition of sound is Mental Reorganization. The listener is required to
apply other ways to maintain retention and should be able to structure the incoming sounds by means
of repeating the word several times. Finally, there is association. The listener attempts to associate the
sounds received to other sounds already familiar to him. The sounds of words that are strange to the
listener are associated with what he already knows until he identifies the kind of words heard from
another person.

Third Stage: AUDING

 This is a process of assimilating the flow of words and responding with understanding . The
listener tends to index, note sequence , form sensory impression or appreciation on what he has heard.

Indexing – encourages then listener to outline information heard according to importance - generally
from the most important to the least important information. Or indexing maybe according to sequence
or chronology . This is required to make the listener relate to the information easier.

Sometimes we react on the information we hear according to our senses. The most used among
the senses in associating with incoming information is the sense of sight because as we hear the word ,
it is already constant among us to visualize what is the word all about. This is known as sensory
impression. Finally, there is appreciation in listening. The listener is required to give his response based
on the nature of them message. The response is given according to the way the listener appreciates the
idea.

HINTS IN LISTENING

When listening to a speech or discussion it will help to observe the following :

1. Have a purpose for listening, be it for information, inspiration or pleasure.

2. Look attentive. Sit comfortably with your eyes focused on the speaker .

3. Concentrate on what the speaker is saying.

4. Listen for main points. Transition for words and phrases and summarizing statements are important
clues to the speaker`s outline for main points.

5. Take mental notes of facts and important ideas.

6. Write down important ideas or facts that you may forget.

7. Jot down words that you do not understand, look this up later.

TYPES OF LISTENING: How Listening Styles Help you Communicate

Learning critical listening skills is an important part of building interpersonal relationships and
processing important information. There are a few several listening styles that people use, depending
on the situation they are in and whether they are operating on a more emotional or logical level.
Understanding the different styles of listening can improve your interpersonal communication and help
you quickly understand new information and concepts as they are communicated to you.
 Why are Listening Styles Important to Understand?

Understanding the different listening styles and when to use them can help them your
communication skills and make you a better listener. Though you might being a good listener is
straightforward, these are actually a variety of types of listening.

In general, the different types of listening can be categorized as either evaluative listening ( which
is analytical and logical) or reflective listening( which is emotionally driven). Individuals might naturally
gravitate towards one listening style profile or another, but each of these types of listening is useful,
depending on the situation. Knowing when to use each style of listening will make you a more effective
communicator and help prevent miscommunication.

Seven Types of Listening Styles

1. Discriminative Listening – it is the first form of listening humans develop as babies. This basic type of
listening precedes the understanding of words and relies on tone of voice and other subtleties of sound
to understand meaning and intention. Babies don`t understand words, but they rely on their
discriminative listening to understand who is speaking and what mood is being communicated. As an
adult, you may find yourself relying on discriminative listening when people around you are speaking a
foreign language that you don`t understand. Though you may lack the language skills to understand the
words being spoken, you can rely on the tone of voice and inflection to derive a vague meaning. When
you only rely on discriminative listening, you may turn to visual stimuli. The mannerisms, facial
expressions, and body language of a speaker help clue you in the speaker`s message.

2. Comprehensive Listening – it is the next level of critical listening skills that humans usually develop in
early childhood. Comprehensive listening requires basic language skills and vocabulary to understand
what is being communicated through a speaker`s words. Comprehensive listening is the over all
category that covers most other forms of listening that critical listeners utilize. Through the course of
their day-to-day lives, people use comprehensive listening paired with verbal cues to understand what
message are being communicated to them.

3. Informational listening ( or Informative listening) – It is the type of listening people use when they
are trying to learn. Informational listening builds upon basic comprehensive listening and requires a high
level of concentration and engagement to understand new concepts and comprehensive technical
jargon. Informational listening has less to do with the emotional content of what is being communicated
and more to do with critical thinking and following a logical sequence as it is communicated. When you
try to learn important skills that are being taught to you, it`s vital that you pay attention and use
informational listening skills.
4. Critical listening – is the style of listening people use when they are trying to analyze and judge
complex information that is being communicated to them. You might use critical listening if you`re a
problem-solving on the job and trying to decide if you agree with a proposal being floated by one of
your co-workers. The word ‘critical’ has multiple meanings, but in this case it simply means that you are
evaluating information - not necessarily passing judgement.

5. Biased listening – { or selective listening) – is a type of listening behavior demonstrated when

someone is just listening for information that they want to hear. Biased listening is different from critical
listening because the listener is not honestly evaluating the validity of the speaker`s opinions, but rather
is looking to confirm previously held biases. People are often unaware that they are using a biased
listening process . Bias listening can lead to a distortion of facts in the mind of a listener who is not
tuned in to what a speaker intends to communicate.

6. Sympathetic listening – is an emotionally driven type of relationship listening, wherein a listener

processes the feelings and emotions of a speaker and tries to provide support and understanding in
return. You might use sympathetic listening style to make the child feel heard and give them support
and comfort. Sympathetic listening is an important type of listening to use when trying to establish a
deep connection with another person., especially when that person is experiencing adversity.

7. Therapeutic listening and Empathetic listening – is a listening process wherein a listener tries to
understand the point of view of a speaker and imagines themselves directly in the speaker`s position .
Empathetic listening ( sometimes referred to as empathic listening) goes a step further than sympathetic
listening in that an empathic listener will relate to the speaker`s experience as if it were their own.

Barriers to listening

Listening is more than just being quiet and courteous when someone is speaking. It involves
remembering and understanding what was served. This activity is a point responsibility of both the
speaker and the listener. There are instances where a listener cannot totally understand the information
being given. As proven by certain studies, poor listening is due to some factors. These are:

a. weak extrinsic motivation

b. personal constraints

c. environmental constraints

d. poor timing of the message

*Weak extensive motivation

When one is asked only to listen and not told to reason for listening, he has weak external
motivation. The process of listening will become in effective.

It should be well remembered that in the absence of motion, an individual is not at all impelled
to listen. Hence, everyone is required to know that extrinsic motivation is important in turning an
individual into a passive listener. It goes are a teacher and you just tell the students to listen and do not
tell them why they should listen, one or two possibilities will occur: They well either listen attentively
and take note or they will just pretend to listen. A good grade or a reward or even a punishment in an
important extrinsic motivation for the listeners to listen very well, or else, they will not be able to get
any of those rewards, or worse, they will be punished.

The degree of extrinsic motivation therefore is it in the classroom, in social situations, or in any
workplace, affects the listening behavior. If you are in a job where the reward for listening is low, the
desire to listen actively is lessened. But when incentives to listen are given before any intended activity
is given, the result of the listening activity is greater

*Personal constraints

The internal desire to listen to an individual has something to do with his listening skill. As
others say, listening is not an automatic response to stimuli. There must be an urge to listen. Otherwise,
an individual becomes a passive listener.

The experiences or circumstances of an individual affect his ability to listen. The speaker’s words
may remind the listener of something that is part of his concerns, say, his appointment for the day, and
will make him wonder and focus his attention on his plans and needs for such a meeting.

Some factors like the listener’s values attitude and beliefs can lead to formation of personal
interpretations to messages delivered. When the listener do not agree with the message of the speaker
deep in their minds, they experience dissonance or, simply put a mental debate. Given the opportunity
they may have plan to argue with the speaker. Faulty listening among the audience is due to the
speaker’s failure to give a conclusion even if the message is not clear to them. This usually happens
when the listener does not like the speaker or when the listener believes that the perform speaking is an
individual without credibility.
*Environmental constraints

The physical atmosphere or the setting or the environment can also be an important factor that can
work against effective listening. In an open setting, for instance, where distraction in great, the attention
which is to be given by the listener to the speaker in drawn away. Seats that are uncomfortable, foul
odor of the people seated here you, the minimum in the area of the extreme heat/cold in the place
where the message is to take place, are environmental obstacles for effective listening.

When the atmosphere or the setting when the communication taken place is favorable to
eloquent, everybody is induced to listen-their effective listening occurs.

*Poor Timing

If the Greeks known and understand the importance of the fitting moment for speech are too, must do.
Speech must be presented at the right time and in the right place. The Greek used the terms Kaikos;
over in rhetorical thing. This idea is important for the speaker as well as to the listener’s. if the speaker
presents an argument about money when you have just gone to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and
paid for your tax, it would be boring for you to listen to a topic about tax collection or revenue. Your
experience about something unfavorable at the moment will make you give all your ears and attention
to money matters and will irritate you. Ineffective listening may have a disastrous effect on listeners
resulting to disappointment on the speaker’s part and failure to convey his or her message

What makes a Good Listener

Good listeners actively endeavor to understand what others are really trying to say, regardless on how
unclear the message might be. Listening involves not only the effort to decode verbal messages, but also
to interact non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and physical posture.

Effective listeners make sure to let others known that they have been heard and encourage
them to share their thoughts and feelings fully.

You also need to show to the person speaking that you’re listening through non-verbal cues,
such as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying, “yes”. By providing
this feedback the person speaking will usually feel more at ease and communicates more easily, openly
and honestly.
 Listening vs. Hearing

Hearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort. We are
surrounded by sounds most of the time. For example, we are accustomed and so on. We hear those
sounds and unless we have a reason to do otherwise, we learns to ignore them.

Hearing is:

*Accidental
*Involuntary
*Effortless

Listening, on the other hand, is purposeful and focused rather than accidental. As a result, it
requires motivation and effort. Listening, at its best, is active, focused, concentrated attention for the
purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker.
Listening mean paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and
voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both
verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you
perceive and understand these messages.

Listening is:

*Focused
*Voluntary
*Intentional

Verbal and Non- Verbal signs of Active Listening Skills

It`s a horrible feeling talking to someone and realizing that they are not really listening. There are
some simple steps you can take to let the speaker know you are actively listening , such as asking
relevant questions, positive body language, nodding and maintaining eye contact.

Non-Verbal signs of Active Listening

The people who are listening are likely to display at least some of these signs . However, these signs
may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures.

. Smile – small smiles can be used to show that the listener is paying attention to what is being said
or as a way of agreeing or being happy about the messages being received. Combined with nods of head
, smiles can be powerful in affirming that messages are being listened to and understood.
 . Eye Contact – it is normal and usually encouraging for the listener to look at the speaker. Eye
contact can however be intimidating, especially for more shy speakers – gauge how much eye contact is
appropriate for any given situation, combine eye contact with smiles and other non-verbal messages to
encourage the speaker.

. Posture – can tell a lot about the sender and receiver in interpersonal interactions. The attentive
listener tends to learn slightly forward or sideways whilst sitting. Other signs of active listening may
include a slight slant of the head or resting the head on one hand.

. Distraction – The active listener will not be distracted and therefore will refrain from fidgeting ,
looking at clock or watch, doodling playing with their hair or picking their fingernails.

Verbal Signs of Active Listening

. Positive Reinforcement – This can be a strong of attentiveness, however, too much use can be
annoying for the speaker. Occasional words and phrases, such as: “ Very good”, “ yes”, or “ indeed” will
indicate that you are paying attention.

. Remembering – try to remember a few key points, such as the name of the speaker. It can help to
reinforce that what is being said has been understood. Remembering details, ideas and concepts from
previous conversations prove that attention was kept and is likely to encourage the speaker to continue.

. Questioning – the listener can demonstrate that they have been paying attention by asking relevant
questions and/or making statements that build or help to clarify what the speaker has said. By asking
relevant questions the listener also helps to reinforce that they have an interest in what the speaker has
been saying.

. Clarification – this involves asking questions of the speaker to ensure that the correct message has
been received. Clarification usually involves the use of open questions which enables the speaker to
expand on certain points as necessary.
 Example of Active Listening

Paraphrasing Brief Verbal Asking open- Asking Mentioning Summarize Notice people Summarize
affirmation ended specific similar questions speaking group
questions questions situations conversation

“ So, you “I “I understand “How many “I was in a “A job “A meeting “A manager

meant us to appreciate you aren’t employees similar candidate facilitator summarizes
build the the time happy with did you take situation who encouraging a using what has
new school in you’ve takes your new car. on last year? after any summarizes quiet team been said at a
the style of to speech to What previous their member to meeting check
the old one?” me”. Changes can company understan- share with the others
use make to made me ding of an that is correct”.
it? redundant” unclear
question
during
meeting

Listening exercises:

1. Listen to the weather forecast and do the exercises to practice and improve your listening skills.

a. But first do this preparatory exercise:

Match the words and pictures.

rainy thunderstorm sunny

cloudy dry windy

P1. P2.

P3. P4.

P5. P6.
b. Do this exercise while you listen supply the missing weather condition from the box to complete the
sentence:

(Refer to the downloaded recording of a weather forecast)

rainy Cloudy and sunny Dry and cloudy windy

1. The weather in the north is mostly

2. The weather in the east is mostly

3. The weather in the west is mostly

4. The weather in the south is mostly

a. Listen to the recording again and write the word to fill the gaps.

1. Welcome to the weather forecast. Now let’s see what the weather is __________today.

2. in the north of the country it’s very windy and cold. There is a __________of some rain too, so don’t
leave home without your umbrella!

3. the temperature is around 10 __________centigrade.

4.in the east, its rainy all day today. I’m afraid, there maybe a thunder storm in the afternoon. The
___________is a bit higher, at around 3 degrees.

5. In the west and middle of the country the weather in dry __________ cloudy.

6. The south of the country has the __________weather today. It’s cloudy most of the time but sunny
this afternoon.

b. Write about the weather condition in your town or city. What do you do to get along with it?

2. Listen to the conversation about how to study better and do the exercises to practice and improve
your listening skills.

Preparatory activity: Fill the gaps with the verbs from the box.

Start off Look up waste

End up need Turn off

1. When you need to study you don’t want to __________ time.

2. Its easy to __________working well but __________ doing something else.

3. it’s a good idea to __________ your music.

4. You can use internet to __________ information.

5. Make sure you have everything you __________ before you start.

* Now listen to the Second Recording entitled, “STOP WASTING TIME” from the downloaded recording I
sent to you through our FB group.

*Answer the following:

A. Put the tips in the order that you hear them (Number from 1 to 6)

___ Put your pet outside

___ Take away the things that stop you working

___ Turn off your phone.

___ Turn off your instant messages.

___ Have something to eat and drink on your desk.

___ Turn off your music.

b. Are the sentence true or false?

1. Tom doesn’t know how to start studying.__________

2. Tom’s new that music helps people study.__________

3. Tom puts the dog outside.__________

4. Tom’s mom recommends having a sandwich on the desk.__________

5. Tom doesn’t want to turn off his phone at first.__________

6. Tom needs the internet to study. __________

7. Tom’s going to turn off his messages.___________

8. Tom thinks his mom has helped him.__________

c. Write about what are the things that stop you from working? What can you do to study better?

3. Listen to the recording on “TAKING NOTES” and do the exercises below:

*Preparatory Activity:

Put the words in the correct order to make sentences.

1.
history You brilliant are at

2. Today. from my notes are These

3. to everything have copy don’t You

4.
have the important words write to You

5.
pictures little can too dream You

a. Now, listen to the recording on “TAKING NOTES” and answer the following sentences either TRUE or
FALSE.

1. Claire is good at history.__________

2. Claire’s notes are too long.__________

3. Mark thinks you need to write everything.__________

4. Mark draws a crown and an “H” instead of “King Henry”.__________

5. Clare doesn’t think Mark’s idea is very good.__________

6. Marks way of taking notes doesn’t work for Clare._________

b. Fill in the gaps with the correct word from the box:

Write exam dream

Important notes remember

1. Clare has got a history _________ on Friday. Mark is helping her. He looks at her __________ from
today. He explains that she doesn’t need to __________ everything, just the __________ words. She can
___________ pictures too. Pictures help you ___________ facts.

c. Write a paragraph on how do you prepare for an example?

EVALUATION:

I-Direction: Multiple choice. Encircle the letter of your choice.

1. Listening like any other skills has to be practiced:

a. Because it will help us pass a listening test.
b. Because we do it every day and we can do it better and improve this skill.
c. Because it helps us hear things loud and clear.
d. Because it is a necessity.
2. We need to understand the different styles of listening because:
a. It can improve our interpersonal communication
b. It can help us quickly understand new information and concepts.
c. It can help build our communication skills and make us better listener.
d. All of the above.
3. Knowing when to use each style of listening will:
a. Make you the best speaker.
b. Give other an impression that you are superior among them.
 c. Make you a more effective communicator and help present miscommunication
d. Make you establish good relationship among rich and famous individuals.
4. Babies don’t understand words, but they rely on their ______________ to understand who is
speaking and what mood is being communicated.
a. Discriminative listening
b. Comprehensive listening
c. Informational listening
d. Critical listening
5. Visual stimuli mannerism facial expressions, and body language of speaker.
a. Have nothing to do with understanding the message.
b. Can help clue you in to the speaker’s message.
c. Should be avoided for these can first distract the listener understanding of the message.
d. Should be allowed only when speaking to a large group of listener.
6. This is overall category that covers most other forms of listening that critical listeners utilize.
a. Informational listening
b. Critical listening
c. Comprehensive listening
d. Sympathetic listening
7. When you try to learn important skills, it is vital that you pay attention and use their listening
skill.
a. Informational
b. Therapeutic/ emphatic
c. Critical
d. Comprehensive
8. Informational listening in the type of listening that.
a. Has less to do with the emotional content of what is being communicated.
b. Requires a high level of concentration and engagement to understand new concepts and
comprehend technical jargon.
c. Has more to do with critical thinking and following a logical sequence as it is communicated.
d. All of the above.
9. You might use this type of listening if you’re a problem-solving on the job.
a. Critical listening
b. Comprehensive listening
c. Biased listening
d. Discriminative listening
10. In biased listening the listener is not honestly evaluating the validity of the speaker opinions.
a. He is looking to confirm the purpose of the message.
b. He is looking to confirm previously-held biases in the speech
c. None of the above..
11. Transmission of sounds to the ears is done through:
a. Heatwaves
 b. A clear ear
c. Sound waves
d. Air waves
12. Normal intensity of sounds should be observed, otherwise:
a. It will create troubles among neighbors.
b. It will deteriorate the listening ability of the listener.
c. It will require a headset so not to disturb others.
d. It will accustomed your ear to hear from louder noise.
13. The ability of the ear to respond to sounds in different frequencies from 125 to 8,000 cycles per
second.
a. Masking
b. Auditory fatigue
c. Auditory……
d. None of the above
14. Your ability could be influences by this factor of transmitting message.
a. Auditory activity
b. Masking
c. Auditory fatigue
d. All of the above
15. A monotonous tone will cause auditory fatigue.
a. Various pitch levels and information should be avoided.
b. Its better to use the name pitch levels and intonation so that listener can easily hear and
understand the message.
c. Various pitch levels and intonations should be observed in order to avoid auditory fatigue
d. None of the above
16. This will occur when one attempts to compare incoming sounds with sounds already familiar to
him
a. Auding
b. Indexing
c. Recognition
d. Auditory analysis
17. The listener is required to apply other ways to maintain retention
a. Association
b. Mental recognition
c. Auditory analysis
d. All of the above
18. The listener attempts to associate the sounds received to other sounds already familiar to him
a. Association
b. Recognition
c. Mental recognition
d. Auding
 19. The listener tends to index note sequence, form sensory impression or appreciation onn what
he has heard.
a. Indexing
b. Auding
c. Recognizing
d. Associating
20. The most used among the senses in associating with incoming information in the:
a. Sense of touch
b. Sense of taste
c. Sense of sight
d. Sense of smell

II- A. From the hints in listening pick out at least 3 which you think are the most important things to
observe and explain why it is so.

B. Match the key words/ phrase on the right column with the characteristics of effective listening on the
left column:

Selective: - intention to learn

1. -receiver should show signs of cooperation

2. -makes the listener to react

3. -have options to what to listen to

Purposive:

- disregard disturbances

1. -concentrates on one purpose

2. -requires specific purpose

-intention to pass

Attentive: -can’t get reaction without listening attentively

1.

2.

3.
C. Essay:

1. Do you think the physical setting in good listening important? How do you react to noise on the
uncomfortable temperature in you place? Does the arrangement in the room affects your listening
habits? How?

2. Is your ability to listen important in communication? Why or why not?

REFERENCES:

1. www.britishcouncil.org/learninglishteens
2. www.mastercllass.com
3. www.virtualspeech.com
4. Effective speech communication in various situations by Judy Imelda Igoy, Ph.D and Apollinario
S. Saymo
5. Effective speech and oral communication by Fe O. Aquino, Ph.D and Ferdinand P. Nocon
6. Speech and oral communication for college students by Diaz, R.H.

EMILY A. ACIELO, LPT, MA.Ed

Professor