Lesson 1:

Reading and Listening Skills

Effective Reading:
The following advice may seem obvious, but is important.
 Consider where you read. Always read in a well-lit and quiet place that is free of
distractions, and don’t get into the habit of reading materials in bed.
 Don’t vocalize as you read. This will slow you down, it won’t help concentration,
and it will lead to bad reading approaches.
 Read at times when you can concentrate, and maintain concentration by taking
regular short breaks, perhaps every 30 or 45 minutes.
 Set yourself reading tasks (10 pages, 1 chapter, 1 section of a chapter etc).
 Remember that reading often takes longer than you expect and you often need to
go beyond set texts. Give yourself enough time.

Reading Strategies
Strategy #1 Purposeful Reading
 Be very clear about exactly what you are looking for. Don’t just read aimlessly.
Perhaps you will look for answers to questions, general understanding of a topic or
issue, detailed knowledge, a range of perspectives, identification of a writer’s
position, evaluation of a writer’s position, arguments that support your position,
arguments that oppose your position, examples, statistics, definitions, explanations,
quotes, etc. Try to have the purpose in writing nearby so you maintain focus.
Purposeful reading of this nature can help you read faster and more selectively. It
can also help your concentration and your ability to remember.

Strategy #2 Scanning
 Scanning is reading quickly to search for specific information. You may not realize it,
but you are already good at scanning. You scan, for example, when checking a TV
guide or a phone book. Scanning may allow you to ‘read’ up to 1,500 words a
minute. One reason to scan an academic text that you have found while researching
is to locate key terms as a means to assess the text’s relevance.

Strategy #3 Skimming
 Skimming is reading quickly to gain a general idea. Skimming may allow you to
‘read’ up to 1000 words a minute. Skimming helps you identify whether or not to
continue reading, what to read carefully, and where the best place is to begin.
Skimming an academic text immediately before you read it carefully can help you
consider what you already know and can help you develop a purpose for reading. An
initial skim can also help maximize your interest in the text and your understanding
and reflection on the material. As with scanning, skimming does not involve reading
every word. Instead, you may skim by reading:
 • titles
• subheadings
• words in that are in bold, in italics or underlined
• diagrams
• a report’s abstract, introduction or conclusion
• the first sentence of every paragraph
• chapter questions
• chapter objectives
• chapter summaries

Strategy #4 Information Words

 There will be times when you need to do more than skim a text in the way described
above, but still need to read quickly. This may require ability to conduct “surface
reading”. It is worth remembering that no more than 50% of the words in an
average textbook are “information” words. The other words are like glue and paint:
they are there to provide connections and add interest, but are not essential for
meaning. If you concentrate on information words, you can read faster and with
better comprehension. But, how do you learn to pick out the important information
words? A large part of the trick involves paying attention to what the author is
trying to say. Look for the message, and the information words will emerge
naturally.

Strategy #5 Phrase Reading

 Watch the eyes of a friend or a member of your family while he or she is reading.
You will see that they move along each line of print in a series of jerks. The pauses
between the jerks are known as fixations. It is during the fixations that your eyes
take in words. Poor readers take in only one or two words in each fixation.
| This is | how a | poor | reader’s| eyes move | along | lines| of print. |
A good reader, on the other hand, takes in several words in each fixation
| This is how | a better reader’s | eyes move along | lines of print.|

Strategy #6 Analytical Reading

 Analytical reading (or study reading) is needed when you want to make sure that
you fully grasp and appreciate what you are reading. You may have to read
statements more than once, stop to think about them, or jot down key words when
using this style. As a result, your reading rate can easily drop to below 100 words a
minute.

Strategy #7 Marking the Text

 If the text you are reading is your own copy, you could also underline key words,
highlight with a marker, or make notes in margins, or alternatively, if you don’t own
the text, you could use little ‘post-it’ labels. This process of marking texts can help
you concentrate (and keep reading!) and can help you identify key points and make
the book easier to survey later when you need to use it again for your assignment or
to revise for an exam. Revise effectively later
Strategy #8 Note Taking
 Principles of Note-taking
1. Record publication details – Always note publication details of any text you may
use. Specifically, record such things as the title, author, date, publisher, place of
publication, URL, and page numbers.
2. Preview the text before you take notes – As mentioned earlier, scan, skim and
‘surface read’ the text before noting to help you develop understanding of the
text and awareness of what is important to note. Taking notes of everything is a
slow, boring, ineffective exercise.
3. Maintain a central place for your notes. – Where record your note is up to you.
Some people prefer using a computer, while others use flash cards, folders, or
exercise books. What is important is that you will be able to find the notes and
understand their layout and content a few weeks or months later.
4. Paraphrase and summarize ideas –Writing out sentences word for word is
probably even less useful than just highlighting sentences with a marker. Sure,
they will be times you need write things word for word (use quotation marks
when you do this!) but better understanding will come through putting things
in your own words. Not sure how to do this? Say the key points in your own
words out loud and then write them down. Finish by checking your paraphrase
is clear and accurate.
5. Note your thoughts – Don’t forget the great value of noting beyond just what is
said in the text. Note down such things as your ideas, points you agree or
disagree with, relevant experiences, questions, examples, and relationships
with other texts. Those initial thoughts you have as you read may be of great
use later, and it is a mistake to risk forgetting them.
6. Be creative – Consider how you should note different parts of texts as well as
just what you should note. The process of thinking about how to note can aid
understanding as well as ability to remember information and reflect.
Depending on the nature of the information you wish to note, you may choose
to use spider diagrams, concept maps, titles, columns, dot points, numbers,
symbols, colors, pictures or columns for your reflections.
7. Review your notes – Once you have completed some notes, always look back at
them and check: 1. they are accurate, 2. they are readable, 3. you will be able to
use them later and 4. they contain full reference details.

Strategy #9 Reading with others

 Consider getting a “study buddy” or study group. Be careful to keep focused on what
you need to do and you may find that by sharing notes, explaining, asking and
quizzing each other, you can increase your ability to understand, reflect upon and
remember key points in texts.

Effective Listening Skills

What is listening? It is a communication skill which requires accurate interpretation of
knowledge and information leading to the total understanding of what is heard. Like
reading it requires discipline, practice, and determination.
Listening requires full effort and concentration. There are two major distractions to your
listening.
1. Internal noise which includes the state of mind. Ex. Are you ready to listen to a new
idea? Are you bothered by a problem or by your prejudice? Do you feel well?
2. External noise. Ex. Are you bothered by your seatmate while listening to a
discussion? Do you have your earphone on while listening to a political speech? Are
you doing something else while listening to a speaker in a conference or a seminar?

Here are some suggestions to improve your listening skills

1. Get a preview of what you are going to listen to so that you will have an idea what
kind of information you will get.
2. Eliminate any prejudice you have about the speaker or about the topic. Give the
speaker a chance to express his/her idea.
3. Be patient. Allow the speaker to finish his/her delivery. Listening requires full
attention. Do not mentally interrupt the speaker because this opens negative
reception to his/her idea.
4. Take down important notes while listening. This will give you the chance to review,
check or inquire during an open forum.
5. Do not focus your attention on the speaker’s appearance nor no his/her
mannerisms. Focus on what he/she has to share.
6. Summarize the speaker’s ideas mentally and see if you have recalled them Doing so
will tell you how much you have absorbed from listening.