|
How to Listen Better
|
|
"The classroom is the place to learn, and the classroom is the place to listen."
William H Armstrong
|
|
|
Listening is one of the most important skills you can develop to do better in school. It is the second most difficult skill. Reading is the most difficult.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Form a good habit - good listening in class!
|
|
|
Concentrate on what is going on in class - do not daydream.
|
|
|
You can not listen if you are talking!
|
|
|
|
Before class - think about what the class is going to be about
|
|
|
What were the main points covered in the last class. Mentally remind yourself what was covered during the last lesson
|
|
|
Review what your homework was for the class.
|
|
|
During class - relate what you have already learned to what is being taught
|
|
Did your homework have anything to do with the subject being taught during this class?
|
|
|
Did your reading have anything to do with the subject?
|
|
|
Does your general knowledge provide any information about the subject being taught?
|
|
|
What comes to mind during the instruction
|
|
|
Concentrate on the subject being taught
|
|
|
Take notes on the main points
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After class
- review your notes and think about what was covered in class.
|
|
Some students like to rewrite their notes
|
|
|
Some students prefer to underline and highlight important ideas and vocabulary
|
|
|
|
|
If you have a choice, try to sit near the front of the class - you can usually listen better if you are in the front.
Friends are great...but in class they can be a distraction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learning to listen - more details
|
|
Good listening means you are paying attention
|
|
|
Try to hear what is said, not what you want to hear
|
|
|
Think "around" the topic and "between the lines"
|
|
|
Relate it to what you already know
|
|
|
What is the main point?
|
|
|
What is likely to be assessed?
|
|
|
What is the teacher going to say next?
|
|
|
Listen carefully to what the teacher says about an assignment and write it down in your assignment notebook right away
|
|
|
Listen for these essential phrases from the teacher: "This is important…" or "It is essential that you know this…", and "You need to take this down..."
|
|
|
|
Do not confuse listening with
hearing.
They are very different!
|
You can hear something but not be listening: "In one ear and out the other."
|
To listen you must be thinking. Listening is an active, not passive activity.
|
