UNIT 2 – LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILLS

Listening is the process of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a message

received from the speaker. No communication process is complete without

listening.

Active Listening

Active listening is the practice of preparing to listen, observing what verbal and

non-verbal messages are being sent, and then providing appropriate feedback

for the sake of showing attentiveness to the message being presented. This form

of listening conveys a mutual understanding between speaker and listener.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE LISTENING

ACTIVE LISTENING PASSIVE LISTENING

1. Active Listening is a Passive Listening is a

process of transforming the process of simply

thought or statement into a consuming the message,

clear message, with full but, there is no involvement

involvement from the from the listener's side.

listener's side.

2. Interactive Mechanical
 ACTIVE LISTENING PASSIVE LISTENING

3.Reacting while listening Listening without reacting

4.Two-way Communication One-way Communication

5.Listener is present Listener is not present

6. Listener concentrates, Listener thinks about other

understands, responds and topics, while showing that

remembers the statement he/she is listening.

spoken by the speaker.

7.Listener changes facial Listener yawns, looks here

expression, Rolls eyes, shows and there, showing

interest by questioning or boredom, being silent etc.

smiling, etc.

Meaning and Art of Listening

Listening is an art. It requires us to be patient, receptive, open-minded, and non-

judgmental. Those who can listen to others well can listen to themselves deeply.

This is the foundation of self- awareness, self-love, and self-knowledge.

How to Master the Art of Listening

1. Make Eye Contact: If we don’t look at the person while they’re

speaking, we give them the impression that we don’t care what they say.

2. Don’t Interrupt: Let the person speak uninterrupted

3. Practice “Active Listening”: The art of listening isn’t simply about

staying quiet 100% of the time, it’s also about asking questions. These

questions are for clarification, or for further explanation so that we can

fully understand what the speaker is telling us.

4. Show We Understand: Another great way to show that we understand

what the person is telling us is to nod.

5. Listen Without Thinking: We should be wholehearted and listen to

the entire message.

6. Listen Without Judgement: It is extremely important to withhold any

negative judgments. We should make it our goal to be open-minded as

much as possible.

7. Listen To Non-Verbal Communication: About 60-75% of

communication is non-verbal. It’s essential to know what the person’s

body is saying in order to understand the message completely.

8. Create A Suitable Environment: It is important to switch off TV,

mobile etc and remove all kinds of noise and distractions and find a quiet

place to sit down and listen.

9. Observe Other People: One of the best ways to become a better

listener is to observe the way people interact with each other, and all the

irritating and rude things they do.

Traits of a Good Listener

A good listener is someone who focuses completely on what another person is

saying and engages with their ideas in a thoughtful, comprehensive way.

Some traits of a good listener are:

1. Giving the speaker undivided attention

To become a good listener, we should limit as many distractions as possible and

give the speaker undivided attention. For example silencing phone, turning off

computer and not checking emails can help us focus on the speaker.

2. Providing appropriate nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication helps us listen and provide support without having to

interrupt the speaker. This can include maintaining sufficient eye contact, sitting

up straight and smiling when appropriate.

3. Ask meaningful questions

Once it is time to open up a dialogue, the questions we ask should be

meaningful. The questions might help the speaker remember other things they

wanted to say or open up a new line of dialogue that will be worth exploring.

4. Recall previous information

Recalling information that the speaker has already discussed not only shows the

speaker that we understand what he said, but it also ensures he can clarify any

misunderstandings and confirm his key points.

5. Provide input

Being a good listener means both understanding a speaker's message and

providing valuable feedback from our point of view. It is best to do this once the

speaker has contributed everything they needed to say.

Difference between Hearing and Listening

Listening Hearing

1.Voluntary. Involuntary.

2. Requires conscious effort . Happens automatically.

3. Active process. Passive Process.

4. Leads to learning. Hearing just happens.

5. Needs concentration. Does not need concentration.

6. A two-way process. A one-way process.

Listening Modes

The best communicators listen with the right frame of mind to ensure that they

maximize their communication effectiveness. We call this listening modes.

Types of listening modes:

1. Disengaged – In this listening mode the body is present but the mind is not.

We hear the words that the person is saying and can even repeat them but we

are not really listening because the mind is on something else.

2.Competitive – In this listening mode we listen with the intention of ―topping‖

what the other person is saying.

3. Combative – This is an argumentative mode. We listen for flaws or

weaknesses in what is being said and wait for an opening to point them out.

4. Passive –In this mode we listen carefully and seek to understand. We don’t

ask questions or validate understanding.

5. Active – In this mode we demonstrate interest in what the speaker thinks,

feels or means in their message. We restate what we hear to reflect the message

back to the speaker for validation.

Listening and Note Taking

Taking effective notes in lectures and tutorials is an essential skill for study.

Good note-taking allows a permanent record of key information that we can

integrate with our own writing, and use for exam revision.

Some key ways of listening effectively and taking notes are:

1.Writing phrases, not full sentences: We should only record the key

words that we need to get the idea of the point. .

2.Taking notes in our own words: We should paraphrase what we hear so

it makes sense to us—it helps us to understand and remember what we hear.

3.We should structure our notes with headings, subheadings and

numbered lists:

We should use headings to indicate topic areas or to include bibliographic

details of the sources of information.

 4. Code notes: We should use colour and symbols to mark structure and

emphasis.

5. Underline, circle, star, etc to identify key information, examples,

definitions, or other important materials.

6. If we miss something, we should write key words, skip a few spaces, and

get the information later. Leave a space on the page for our own notes and

comments.

Types of Listening

Some of the different types of listening are:

1. Informational listening

When we want to learn something, we use informational listening to understand

and retain information. It usually takes a high level of concentration to perform

this type of listening.

2. Discriminative listening

Discriminative listening is the first listening type that we are born with. Instead

of relying on words, discriminative listening uses tone of voice, verbal cues, and

other changes in sound.

3. Biased listening
Biased listening is also known as selective listening. Someone who uses biased

listening will only listen for information that they specifically want to hear. This

listening process can lead to a distortion of facts.

4. Sympathetic listening

Sympathetic listening is driven by emotion. Instead of focusing on the

message spoken through words, the listener focuses on the feelings and

emotions of the speaker. By using sympathetic listening, we can provide the

support the speaker needs.

5. Comprehensive listening

This type of listening is usually developed in early childhood. People use

comprehensive listening to understand what someone is saying using words.

6. Empathetic or therapeutic listening

Empathetic listening is useful to help us see from other people’s point of

view. Using this type of listening, we can try to understand someone else’s

point of view as they are speaking. We can also try to imagine ourself in the

other person’s shoes.

7. Critical listening
If we need to analyse complex information, we will need to use critical

listening. Critical listening is crucial when problem-solving at work.

Listening Technique using Ted Talk

A TED talk is a recorded public-speaking presentation that was originally given

at the main TED (technology, entertainment and design) annual event.

TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form

of short, powerful talks, often called "TED talks."

The basic way to use TED talks is to treat them like a simple listening exercise.

To be an effective, independent learner, we need to be an ACTIVE listener.

This means that we need to engage with the listening materials - analyse it,

repeat it, work with it and use it ourself. Some ways to utilize TED Talks are:

1. Watch the video more than once

An active listener knows to listen to the videos more than once. Many TED

videos are three to five minutes long. When watching for the first time we

should focus on the main ideas and practise note-taking by writing down the

main ideas. When watching for the second time we need to focus on the details

and write down useful phrases and expressions.

2. Absorb new vocabulary

Active learners should write down new words when they hear them. This helps

in increasing our vocabulary.

Audio Listening with script reading

Listening to the audio while reading the audio script will help us get a sense of

how questions are spaced out, as well as learning some useful common

expressions that are frequently used in listening tests.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is the way in which a word or language is spoken. It refers to the

ability to use the correct stress, rhythm and intonation of a word in a spoken

language.

Articulation

Articulation can be defined as making sounds through the movement of speech

organs. This means an individual can change the speech sounds that he makes

by moving his teeth, lips and tongue.

Difference between Articulation and Pronunciation

Articulation Pronunciation

1.Articulation refers to the usage of Pronunciation refers to the way

speech organs such as tongue, jaws, words need to be sounded while

lips, etc. in order to produce sounds. speaking.

2.Articulation is more individualistic Pronunciation is more about how

where it concentrates on the syllables of a word need to be said

individual making sounds. focusing on rhythm, stress and

intonation.

3. In articulation focus is on the In pronunciation focus is on the way

quality, clarity or sharpness of in which the words of a language are

speech. made to sound when speaking.

Speaking Style:

Speaking style is a set of properties by which we can link speech to a certain

communicative situation.

Modes/Methods of Speech:

Based on the speaking style there are 4 modes (methods) or ways to deliver a

speech: to read it from a manuscript word by word, to completely memorize it,

as an impromptu speech , and as an extemporaneous speech.

1. Manuscript
One of the most common ways to deliver a speech is to use a manuscript: a

word by word document of everything we plan to say from beginning to end.

Newsreaders, TV personalities, politicians, business leaders and Ministers

whose speech is going to be closely observed usually use a manuscript or its

electronic equivalent, a teleprompter.

2. Memorized speech

A memorized speech is one delivered completely from memory. A personal

speech, for example one sharing childhood stories, or poetry contests or an

inspirational speech prepared especially to move and motivate a particular

audience are memorized speech.

3. Impromptu speech

An impromptu speech is, as its name suggests, a speech made without prior

planning, organization or rehearsal. Although it may be based on a brief outline

or written prompt, the speaker will often have little or no opportunity for

detailed or extensive preparation. A Job interview is an examples of impromptu

speech.

4. Extemporaneous speech

An extemporaneous speech is one where the speaker combines the use of notes

with improvisation. It’s a mix of carefully scripted and sequenced material and
impromptu speaking. An extemporaneous speech is more spontaneous and

therefore natural compared to either a manuscript or memorized speech.

Debates, Business Meetings are examples of extemporaneous speech.

Content and Sequencing

The units of knowledge that the learner needs to master to attain course

objectives is called content. Content is any information, topics, ideas that serve

as an excuse for presenting and practicing language. Content may also be

defined as Knowledge from content areas (math, science, history, etc.) through

which language is taught.

Content sequencing involves the efficient ordering of contents to improve

learners’ understanding and help them achieve the required objectives. The

ability to sequence helps students understand and organize what they have

learned in class and helps them solve related problems. In content based

instruction the different methods of Content Sequencing are:

1. Contexts and situations

2. Communicative events

3. Functional goals

4. Linguistic elements