At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: SKILLS? • Develop effective listening strategies • Enhance your note-taking EXPLORE skills
Think-Pair-Share: Identify which statement is most true. Be able to
explain.
1. The ability to listen well translates to the ability to follow
instructions well. 2. For one who does not want to listen, no listening strategy would be effective enough. 3. Note-taking strategies are as diverse as personality types.
Active listening is always needed in any learning situation.
203 Philippine Copyright 2020
EXAMINE
Listen as your teacher reads a short passage, then answer the questions to find out how well you listened.
Did you answer all the questions correctly? If you answered all the questions correctly, to what do you attribute your correct answers? If you had more incorrect answers, what could be the reasons for your wrong answers? In your opinion, how well does effective note-taking affect one’s ability to understand?
Listening According to experts, the ability to listen well is essential to learning. Experts also claim that listening is a basic form of communication and is necessary to a successful dialogue. In most areas of education, listening In a dialogue, is the time spent is emphasized as a basic element in all forms of communication and is listening determined by the just as important as the other communicative activities including talking, nature of the communication reading, and writing. In fact, according to a research, when adults engage and the respective roles of the in communication, listening takes up the biggest portion of the time—an persons involved? average of 45%, while only 30% is spent on speaking, 16% on reading, and 9% on writing (Adler, 2001 in Listening Skills, n.d.). This shows how important listening is in the process of communication. Do you agree that listening What are the benefits of listening well? According to experts, listening well improves one’s ability to results in better and more meaningful communication with peers and concentrate? Is the lack of ability superiors. Other benefits of effective listening include: improved to focus the result of one’s memory, better concentration, better reading, and improved academic inability to listen? performance.
Active vs. Passive Listening
You may think that hearing is equivalent to listening, but just as mumbling is not the same as eloquent speaking, listening is more than just hearing the words. Listening well entails hearing more than just the words and understanding them for what they mean, both in a literal and symbolic sense.
The distinction should be made between active and passive listening,
between engaged and half-hearted listening. Half-hearted listening is the equivalent of ignoring the one talking, pretending to listen, or not listening at all. Active and engaged listening is not the same as pretending to listen, tuning in or out, or in today’s parlance “zoning out” while the other person is talking. Active listening is giving one’s full attention to the other person and trying to find meaning in what the person is saying.
Philippine Copyright 2020 204
The following chart shows several degrees of listening that an active listener can engage in:
message using Reasoning Reasoning exactly the same words used by the speaker Rendering Rendering the the message message using using similar your own words words and and sentence similar phrase structure arrangement to the ones used by the speaker
“Active Listening Chart” by Imelda Bickham is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 / Desaturated from original
An active listener listens for meaning and may progress from repeating the speaker’s exact same words as he listens, to paraphrasing where he makes use of similar words and phrases as the speaker, then to reflecting, where the listener uses his own words and sentence structure to express his understanding of the message. In all three, the process of active listening involves perceiving or becoming aware of the message, paying attention, and remembering, then thinking and reasoning at the higher levels of active listening.
205 Philippine Copyright 2020
Listening well means understanding beyond what is actually said. Like any skill, the ability to listen well can and should be mastered. One way for you to develop good listening skills is to recognize that barriers to effective listening exist. You should recognize that certain factors affect your ability to listen well. Your mental state affects your ability to listen. For instance, when you are ill, tired, or stressed, your ability to listen is negatively affected so it would be wise to be prepared mentally and physically during occasions when you have to listen well such as seminars, presentations, including daily classroom discussions.
How to Become a Better Listener
Here are some suggestions on what you can do before and during a listening activity, especially in a classroom setting:
• Before the listening activity, it would be wise to read up on the topic for a top-of-the-mountain view. You will also be able to anticipate the ideas that will be presented during the discussion. After your research, draft questions based on what you know so far. Try to answer them to gauge your understanding. This activity will also enable you to focus on important aspects of the talk. • During the actual discussion, choose the most strategic position where your listening experience would be heightened. While listening to the speaker, take down the points that answer the questions you have drafted prior to the discussion, as well as new information and perspective on the topic. • As you listen, you may also try to visualize what is being explained to make it easier for you to understand difficult concepts. • It would also help to listen to cue words that highlight certain issues, locating which part of the discussion you’re at. The following are some examples of cue words:
The most important point I want to discuss today is …
Listen now, you have to listen to this…
In summary…
The next important point we’re going to discuss is...
• Aside from verbal cues, be alert to the lecturer’s cues and facial expression, including gestures, for all these have a bearing on what is actually being said. When you do this, you are processing what you are hearing and making connections in your head.
Philippine Copyright 2020 206
• After the discussion, review your notes. Check how the speaker answered your questions, then compare it with your answers before. You may also review by verbally reading your notes or writing a summary. • Keep an open mind. It’s possible that you will not always agree with the speaker’s argument, but it is important to always think logically. While the discussion or lecture is going on, train your mind to challenge the speaker’s argument against your own. If you wish to express your dissenting opinion with the speaker, do so respectfully and in the proper venue. Above all, continue listening to the speaker until the discussion has ended.
More than internalizing what the speaker says, an active listener must also observe non-verbal cues like body language and facial expression to be able to interpret and understand the speaker’s message more accurately.
Note-taking Effective listening is related to effective note-taking. When you are able to take down notes efficiently, that is an indication of your ability to listen. Your ability to understand the topic depends on how well you listen, and your notes are the direct by-product of your listening skills.
How do you improve your note-taking skills? To be an effective note-
taker means being a flexible note-taker. What this means is that your notes should aid you in your studies, not make it more difficult for you. Your notes should be your guide in helping you improve your study habits.
207 Philippine Copyright 2020
The ability to take down notes will greatly improve as you improve your power of concentration and ability to listen. Just because you understood everything that had been discussed in class does not mean that you will be able to recall the information when it’s needed. This is a common misconception among most students who think that mere listening is enough. You still need to engage in note-taking, depending on the complexity of the topic. Note-taking, in whatever form it takes—whether through traditional means using pen and notebook or the more trendy way Effective note-taking is a requisite in learning contexts. using electronic gadgets—has not run out of style.
Content of Useful Notes
Notes are only as useful as the content that you put in when listening to a lecture or tutorial. Since you will not be able to write down everything that you hear, you should know what details to focus on. Your notes should be able to highlight important information that you will need for your review or study. It should also be accurate and reliable so that you are able to determine where your ideas came from when you need to integrate them in a paper or exam.
Philippine Copyright 2020 208
Note-taking Methods The following are some common note-taking methods that have been found useful. One or the other may be helpful to you depending on your style of learning or the kind of lecture or class you are listening to:
1. Sentence Method. Every new detail is written as a separate line in
sentence form. The sentences may be numbered or headings can be used for each main topic. 2. Outlining Method. In this method, main points are written followed by corresponding bullet points that add to the main idea. This method allows you to quickly organize your thoughts into key topics and essential supporting details. 3. Mapping Method. This method is helpful for more visual learners who prefer a graphic representation of the content they are listening to. Relationships among ideas are drawn using basic shapes for main concepts and attaching branches of related ideas as sub-points. 4. Charting Method. This method uses columns to organize information. A heading is given for each column and as the lecture progresses, information is written in the corresponding category. 5. Cornell Method. This is a note-taking system developed by Walter Pauk of Cornell University which includes a main section for taking notes during class, a cue column for reviewing and reducing the notes after class, and a summary section where main points for each page are highlighted in one or two sentences.
Name Date
Subject Page #
cue notes column
column
summary
209 Philippine Copyright 2020
Guidelines for Note-Taking Here are some suggestions to help you improve your note-taking skills:
• Learn the skill of separating important from
the unimportant ideas, summarizing them to arrive at the gist. Use key words to help you make sense of what you’ve written.
• Devise your own style of writing, maintaining
and making sense of your notes. Notes are only as important as the degree to which you can understand them. Your notes will not be useful if you cannot understand your handwriting or the structure of your note- taking process.
• Make sure your notes serve their purpose. It
would be a waste of time and effort if your notes are written on scraps of paper without any clear organization. It would be wise to devise your own system of note-taking that makes sense to you and which you can “recover” later.
• If you wish, you may jot down the ideas
verbatim or paraphrase the speaker’s words without changing the essence of the lecture or discussion. If you want to be more creative, you might also wish to make graphic illustrations in your note cards to help you make sense of what is being said.
• If you missed an important point, you may
“reconstruct” the lecture based on what you “Note-Taking Infographic” by UBC Learning Commons is licensed under CC by 4.0 /
remember. More so, you may seek the help Desaturated from original
of your classmates who were present during This infographic from the UBC Learning Commons gives the lecture. Better still, you may consult additional tips on effective note-taking. your teacher or the speaker.
• After the lecture or discussion, review your
notes to see how well you’ve understood the INTEGRATE lecture. It is important to determine if these notes will still be useful to you in the future. How well have you been honing your listening and note-taking skills in preparation for college and the workplace?
