Listening : Your

Doorway to In-Depth
Interaction
Lesson 2
Activity 1 – A musical Note
1. Everybody must list down songs that contain the magic
word. That Magic word is LISTEN. Your list should
consist of songs that contain the word “listen” in their
lyrics. List down as many as you can. You can also jot
down the exact line or passage in which the word
LISTEN is mentioned.
2. The class will be divided into two groups. Facing each
other , the two groups will line up on opposite sides of
the room. The students in each group may bring their
copies of the song lyrics containing the magic word.
3. A coin toss will determine which group
will sing first. When the teacher gives the
signal , one member of the first group shall
step forward and sing a line or passage that
contains the magic word.
4. Once the teacher is satisfied by the
mention of the magic word in the lyrics, the
teacher will signal the second group to send
their own representative. This student will
also step forward and sing a line or passage
that contains the magic word . (The student
from the first group , meanwhile will step
5. Here’s the twist: there shall be no
repetition of songs between the opposing
groups, or even among students from the
same group. If a student sings any part of a
song that has already been previously in the
game, his/her group will automatically lose,
handling the victory to the opposing group.
• What song did you sing?
• What is the song about?
• What is the significance of the magic word in its
lyrics?
• In the case of the losing team , what song was
repeated ? Was this song performed by someone in
their group, or by someone in the winning group?
Hearing versus Listening

Hearing refers to “the physiological process

of the ear absorbing sound waves and
transferring them... To parts of the brain.”
Listening, meanwhile, is define as “paying
close attention to someone’s words and
ideas” that are picked up through hearing
 This indicates that listening demands more
mental effort than hearing. While you can
incidentally hear something in the background, you
do not necesarrily pay attention to it. However, you
cannot say that you are listening to something or
someone if you are not spending time and energy to
gain a particular level of understanding.
 Five Stages of Listening

1. Receiving
As soon as you hear the message, you isolate
what you hear from all other sounds that
may be picked up by the ears.
2. Understanding
After singling out the message, you attempt
to comprehend its meaning.
3. Evaluating
After this, you attempt to “ qualitatively and
quantitatively” evaluate the value, validity, and
urgency of the message. Is the message important?
Is
4. it true? Do you need to do something right away?
Responding
What feedback will you give? Will you agree
verbally/nonverbally? Will you get angry? Will you
become elated, or sad? Will you keep silent? Will
you
5. speak out your mind, your feelings in response?
Remembering
After a split second process of hearing-
understanding-evaluating-responding, the message
is clarified and is retained in the brain.
 Types of Listening
1. Informal Listening
Here, you listen to “comprehend and retain information”.
This is what yo do when you listen to lectures, to
policies, guidelines, and similar tasks. Going back to the
stages of listening, this emphasizes the fifth stage which
is remembering . Since the purpose is not to critique or
to give a response, informational listening focuses on the
quality of retention.
2. Critical Listening
The goal of this type is to “analyze”,
evaluate, and judge the speaker’s message...
So that the message can be understood
correctly”. Understanding and evaluating are
prioritized. A critical listener interprets the
message based on a certain perspective or
set of criteria. Usually this is followed by
3. Emphatic Listening
In emphatic Listening, the goal is “ to understand
or experience what a speaker is thinking or
feeling”. Though this can be a challenge for you
(given that human tendency to focus on one’s self),
this type requires that you simply listen and
understand what the other person is going through.
Recommendations or advice are not even required;
the emphatic listener just needs to lend a non-
 Problems occur when you choose the
inappropriate listening type for a certain
context. One common mistake is choosing to
emply critical listening in a situation that
calls for emphaty instead. You need to realize
that, at times your friends and family
members simply need you to hear them.
Giving judgment or advice might just make
them feel worse. If you realize the situations
 Functions of Listening
1. Listening can have an impact on the accomplishment of one’s
task. For purposes of effective communication, the following
can be achieved when you listen intently.
a. Better accuracy of understanding concepts
b. More frequest and direct interaction
c. More timely feedback
d. Collaborative problem-solving
e. Better decision-making
2. Listening can also shape relationships. Good listening can
contribute the following to a partnership or group:
a. Understanding of one another’s unique needs, values,
interests
b. Less stressful encounters
c. Attention to emotional aspects of communication
d. Authentic communication and trust
e. Valuing of diversity and respect
It should be noted that this impact on tasks
and relationships depends on the quality of
listening. If the communicators do not listen
well to one another, the opposite of these
situations will happen: poor understanding
of concepts and unique needs, more stressful
ecounters, self-centered decision-making,
miscommunication and distrust.
In other words, the act of listening is part of
what makes us human. People gravitate
towards harmonious relationships, fun
learning experiences, and the feeling of
belongingness. Listening helps achieve all of
these, so you need to use this skill well. You
can achieve personal and professional
growth by listening effectively to the world
A. Match each term in Column B with the
corresponding description in Column A. Write the letter
of the correct answer.
Column A Column B
1. This is the physiological process of a. Creating
absorbing sound waves through the ears.
b. Evaluating
2. It means paying close attention to someone
else’s words and ideas. c. Hearing
3. In this stage of listening, there is an d. Listening
attempt to comprehend the message.
e. Remembering
4. In this stage of listening, the value of the
message is determined. f. Responding
5. In this stage of listening, what was g. understanding
expressed in the message is retained.
B. Read each situation carefully. Determine the type of
listening that is observed in each situation. Write INF for
Informational, CRT for Critical, and EMP for Emphatic.

1. In a debate, Mikael listened closely to his

opponent’s speech. While doing so, he quitely took down
notes and prepared for his rebuttal.
2. Luisa was so sad because of the death of her dog.
Cecilia listened to her lamentations describing the awful
moment when her dog was run ver by a speeding car.
Cecilia held her friend’s hands and nodded her head. She
couldn’t find the words to assauge her feelings.
 3. The chemistry teacher was explaining an
important chemical formula. The topic was not an easy one;
and so, Marcus focused his full attention to every word that
the teacher was saying.
4. Being a first time voter, Daniel is very excited
to perform his study as a Filipino citizen. He does not want
to waste his precious vote. To do this, he follows up every
debate on TV, and listens very well to the platforms of the
aspirants. 5. Maria has a 17-year old daughter who is
currently experiencing some pretty quarrels with her
boyfriend. Luckily, they have a very comfortable mother-
daughter relationship. As the 17-year old teener cries out
her woes, the young mother lovingly embraces her and apts
her back. Everything will soon be all right, she seems to say.