Module 01.

Listening Skills

Learning Packet 01. Stages of the Listening Process

Learning Packet 02. Informational Listening

Learning Packet 03. Critical Listening

Learning Packet 04. Academic Listening

Stages of the Listening Process

Listening is as important as speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing. If a speaker

has no intended listener, the communication process is incomplete. In other words, listening realizes
the main purpose of speaking. Moreover, listening is a receptive skill that allows individuals to gather
information and, eventually, build a repertoire of knowledge necessary in formulating new ideas that
can be shared either orally or visually to other people. Overall, listening is part of the whole
communication cycle not only at the part where messages are interpreted but also from the very point
where messages are created.

However, in spite of the apparent importance of listening, a lot of people take it for granted
because there are misconceptions about what listening really is. Many believe that listening skill is too
simple that it is negligible, while others think that it is too layered that there is no way to go about it.
Communication experts agree that listening can be better understood by unraveling its complexities.

First, listening is not a natural process. Like speaking, it requires preparation and practice. As
speakers need to prepare to clearly deliver a message, listeners need to train how to accurately draw
meaning from what they hear. Second, listening is not the same as mere hearing. On the one hand,
hearing requires healthy ears that involuntarily receive sounds. On the other hand, listening requires
more than just receiving sounds; it demands focus, mental processing, storing of information and, in
most cases, reacting to stimuli. Even when the ears are equipped with mechanisms for hearing, it does
not entail an understanding of the message. Lastly, listening requires effort. Notice how some of us
complain about getting tired of listening. While the expression sounds metaphorical, there is a practical
explanation about it. We actually use energy while we sit down and listen. Filtering unnecessary
sounds, thinking about the meaning of the word we hear, remembering information that we find useful,
and preparing to respond to the message we receive are just some of the steps we take when we do our
job as listeners. Thus, when we listen, we go through the various stages of the entire process of listening.

Listening is fundamental to effective communication, so we should never set it aside. Likewise,

listening is not a simple task, but instead of being overwhelmed, we should challenge ourselves to

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develop listening strategies. To do it, we need to begin by exploring the stages we put ourselves in
when we listen.

• You may have observed that the first three stages of the listening process are fixed. They should
come in the same order all the time. The last two stages, however, can be skipped. While it is
common for the last two stages to occur, remembering can be omitted if a situation only requires
immediate response. Likewise, responding may not be necessary if the situation only demands
you to remember some information.

Refer to the numbers in the image above and read the description of every stage of listening.

1. Receiving is a physiological process where the sound waves enter the hearing mechanism. The ears
are usually sensitive to very loud sounds such as screams, explosion, and alarm that can cause feelings
of shock or surprise.

2. Attending is the conscious process of filtering other sounds and paying attention to a specific sound.
It can be done by mentally concentrating, asking the people around to be silent, or turning down the
volume of the music in the background.

3. Understanding refers to the process of making meaning; the listener either gets meaning from or
gives meaning to the message. To ensure accurate understanding, the listener can also ask questions
for clarification.

4. Remembering is the storing in memory the information gathered from listening and retrieving it
when needed. It is an indication that listening is effective.

5. Responding is the reaction to the message listened to. An accurate response also indicates effective
listening. It can be an action to execute a command or an answer to a question.

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 Informational Listening

The type of listening individuals employ is determined by their goals. In every situation, we can
set our purpose for listening. If we want to know about important details, learn how things are done,
gather useful data, or identify helpful facts, we are likely to perform informational listening.

Informational listening per se is not a one-size-fits-all-skill. Listening situations may require

different sets of strategies. Informational listening entails listening to comprehend and retain
information. We do these every time we listen to lectures, news reports, voice mails, or directions going
to a place. Because understanding and remembering are important components of informational
listening, good concentration and memory skills are key. Thus, in the succeeding parts, we will explore
the strategies for listening to details, strategies for listening to facts, and strategies for listening to
direction or instruction.

Description or the information that presents characteristics that lead us to form mental images;

Facts or the information that expresses the truth about things or events, which can be proven by pieces
of evidence; and

Instruction or the information that guides us on how to carry out a task by prompting what to do or
when to do it.

Three types of information are presented in the materials we just listened to. Below, you will
find their definitions from some academic references.

❖ Description translates images and other visual information into spoken words so that listeners
can access, enjoy, and learn from works of popular, cultural, or educational importance1.

Strategies for listening to descriptions:

1. Set your goal for listening to materials that contain descriptions. If there are questions that you
need to answer, read all of them first to identify the specific descriptions you are looking for.

2. Pay attention to descriptive words. Nouns, adjectives, and verbs carry the central meaning of a
statement. These content words, especially adjectives, will likely lead you to the descriptions you are
looking for.

3. Link descriptions with other words in the material. Connecting the meaning of content words will
help you understand what the material is talking about and where it is taking you. Descriptions can be
implicitly or explicitly stated, so make sure to be sensitive to the meaning of content words.

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4. Organize the descriptions you gather. Writing down the descriptions drawn from the material or
using mental codes will help you organize pieces of the information and make you remember them
better.

5. Prioritize the descriptive details that you need. A single material may contain a lot of information
that are not relevant to your purpose, so it is important to choose those that you find most helpful to
avoid information overload.

❖ Factual information is information that solely deals with what is supported by pieces of
evidence. It is short and non-explanatory2.

Strategies for listening to facts:

1. Identify your purpose for listening to materials that contain facts. Knowing what specific facts you
are looking for is the first step to gathering essential information.

2. Focus on terminologies and figures. Factual information is usually presented as specific names and
numbers. These details may lead you to the facts you are looking for.

3. Put facts in context. Although facts are usually presented explicitly in a text, it is still important to
consider the words that go with them to make sure that you are drawing facts accurately.

4. Record factual information exactly as stated. Facts need to be handled objectively and writing down
the exact words or numbers will help you remember details as accurately as possible.

5. Arrange facts according to importance. Factual details may be overwhelming, so you have to sort
the details into the information you need for the purpose you set and the information you might find
helpful for later use.

❖ Instructions are information that contain commands and explanations on how to behave or to
complete a task3.

Strategies for listening to instructions:

1. Set your mind to the task. Remember that the reason for listening to instructions is to translate into
actions the commands to be given.

2. Focus on imperative verbs. Instructions are expressed as verbs or actions that you need to perform.
Your familiarity with phrasal verbs will help you a lot as they can sometimes be tricky.

3. Be mindful of other details. Prepositional phrases and adverbs are crucial to instructions as well.
They tell you where and how the action should be done.

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4. Take note of the sequence. Instructions are to be carried out according to the order the task should
be done, so it is important to take note of chronology markers such as first, second, then, and the likes.

5. Ask for clarification. To make sure that you will be able to perform the instructions as required, you
may ask for further instructions.

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 Critical Listening

The academe is a space for different kinds of messages, from very scholarly and formal to some
random and informal ones. Part of being a good listener is learning how to handle these messages and
distinguish what should be taken seriously and what can be taken lightly.

The type of listening that can help us discriminate messages is critical listening. It is the rational
process of evaluating the information presented by a text. Critical listening involves careful and
systematic reasoning to decide whether a message is valid based on factual evidence1.

Information materials are everywhere and being familiar with them is the first step to becoming
aware of the potent message they carry. In the pre-assessment activity, three (3) materials were
introduced. These are reports, opinion texts, and online campaigns.

Report is any written or oral communication that presents a collection of facts or a number of
alternative propositions, states a conclusion and, when called for, a recommendation2;

Opinion text can be based on facts and emotions created for the purpose of expressing a personal or
group position about a topic or an issue3; and

Online Campaign puts forward a specific cause to promote awareness, drive public engagement, and
support4.

❖ Critical listening can be learned with practice but it is a complex skill to develop. One of the
common mistakes when listening to reports, opinions and campaigns is taking the information
as it is even if it conflicts with one’s personal knowledge and values. Worse than this is when
people begin to share the information without discerning the difference between factual and
fake ones.

In order to arrive at a sound understanding of information drawn from reports, opinions, and
campaigns, this learning packet offers five (5) helpful strategies5.

1. Discriminate facts from opinion. An essential component of critical listening is learning to separate
opinions from facts. The ability to identify the difference between the two is necessary when you need
to make your own stand about a topic. Moreover, you must be aware that the interplay between facts
and the opinions of others can also help you frame your own perspective.

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2. Avoid making assumptions. Some listeners fail to achieve a critical standpoint about an issue or a
topic because they have already formed their own assumptions prior to listening to a message. Critical
listening only works when maintaining an objective viewpoint while listening.

3. Keep an open mind. Being receptive to information allows you to understand and weigh more ideas.
When your mind is clouded with pre-conceived notions, you will not be able to see new insights clearly.

4. Relate old ideas to new ones. Making effective comparisons between what you already know and
what the new material is telling you can deepen your understanding of a subject. Relating old ideas
with new ones can improve what you already know and add fresh inputs to your way of thinking.

5. Take Notes. Your attempt to carefully record the important details will help you reflect accurately
on the meanings of information. It will also help you do a little more research about the matter.

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 Academic Listening

There are many contexts in which students these days need to listen more effectively. The online
learning environment is an example of a situation that poses more challenges for the students’ listening
skills. During an online class, there are a number of factors that can hinder students from effectively
listening to their peers or to their professors. What students need to keep in mind in any situation they
are in is that academic listening is essentially a specialized form of listening consisting of the integration
of oral communication and academic learning skills1. Carefully listening to speeches, lectures, and
interviews is associated with academic listening.

Public speeches, lectures, and interviews are materials carrying information that you might need for
academic success. They are typically used as instructional media to offer a different perspective on a
topic of discussion in the classroom. These materials have their own characteristics in terms of structure
and purpose. Being aware of these characteristics will help you process the information or ideas they
contain faster and in a more organized manner.

Public speaking is a presentation delivered before an audience, which can cover a wide variety of
topics. These days, visual aids in the form of slideshow are used to make the speech more interesting.
Listeners should be aware that key ideas are usually highlighted using visual materials or through the
emphatic voice and gestures of the speakers. The goal of the speech may be to inform or educate, to
give entertainment, or to persuade the listeners2.

Lecture is a form of communication that is almost similar to public speaking. The size of the audience,
however, is smaller and the members belong to the same institution. The purpose of a lecture is to
maximize the learning of a specific topic in a short period of time. Lectures usually last for 50 minutes
to an hour and a half at the university level3.

Interview is essentially a structured conversation where one participant asks the questions, and the
other provides the answers. Turn-taking is more likely predictable in an interview, which means that
listeners can easily follow the conversation flow. The purpose of an interview may be to transfer
knowledge or to fill in knowledge gaps by asking questions about unknown information to the
interviewee who is usually an expert or the primary resource person. Listeners acquire knowledge by
listening not only to the responses but also to the questions asked during the interview because the
interviewer’s questions mark the important ideas about the topic of the conversation4.

As you may have already noticed, not all speeches, lectures, interviews are the same. In the
public speech above, for example, the speaker did not use any multi-media material to highlight the
important parts of her talk and used emphatic gestures and voice instead. Speakers in interviews,

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lectures, and public speaking events may have their own style of presenting or talking which may
influence the structure, purpose, or the content of the message. On the one hand, it is helpful to listen
carefully to the speakers’ style to accurately interpret their message. On the other hand, the
fundamental technique to effectively listen to these types of messages is to develop strategies that can
work for all types of academic listening materials.

In an academic context, you need to apply the highest level of listening skills. You have to be effective
in taking notes while listening to speakers expound abstract and sophisticated concepts. Thus, using
some strategies will help you with learning the topics covered by the speaker5. These are:

1. Predict information. The ability to anticipate how the information that is coming up connects with
your background knowledge enhances your ability to understand a speech, a lecture, or an interview.

2. Take note of the main points. Attempting to take note of everything will not help you properly
digest information, so remember to write only the main points.

3. Improve your vocabulary. Speeches, lectures, and interviews can have a faster pace than we expect
them to have. Missing out some words can get us lost along the way, thus we better equip ourselves
with vocabulary skills.

4. Organize information. While you listen and write, you also need to capture the relationships
between concepts and bring ideas together. This will help you determine if you really understand the
material you are listening to.

5. Evaluate information. It is always helpful to reread what you write. Rereading ensures that your
notes are accurate and will serve you right when you need to study the material you write down.