Why are listening skills important?
If, where you are studying, the language of tuition is English, you will probably go to lectures and seminar presentations which are in English. Listening effectively means being able to pick out the important information from what you hear, and to ignore the parts which are not so useful. Here, in an extract from Academic Listening, teacher Simon Williams explains some of the signals which tell you when you should be paying attention.
You can often recognise different parts of a lecture or presentation by three things.The first is the speaker’s intonation. As the speaker gets to the end of an important point, his or her voice will usually fall – getting softer and lower.When she or he starts a ‘new’ part, the voice will be louder and at a higher pitch. Secondly, they might use marker words such as ‘right’ or ‘OK’ to show that they have finished a point and are about to start something new. Finally, they might use marker phrases to tell you what is going to happen – ‘I’d like to move on to …’ or ‘Turning to …’ or ‘Now let’s consider …’. So you can think of all of these ‘markers’ as signposts on your journey through the lecture or presentation.
If, where you are studying, the language of tuition is English, you will probably go to lectures and seminar presentations which are in English. Listening effectively means being able to pick out the important information from what you hear, and to ignore the parts which are not so useful. Here, in an extract from Academic Listening, teacher Simon Williams explains some of the signals which tell you when you should be paying attention.
You can often recognise different parts of a lecture or presentation by three things.The first is the speaker’s intonation. As the speaker gets to the end of an important point, his or her voice will usually fall – getting softer and lower.When she or he starts a ‘new’ part, the voice will be louder and at a higher pitch. Secondly, they might use marker words such as ‘right’ or ‘OK’ to show that they have finished a point and are about to start something new. Finally, they might use marker phrases to tell you what is going to happen – ‘I’d like to move on to …’ or ‘Turning to …’ or ‘Now let’s consider …’. So you can think of all of these ‘markers’ as signposts on your journey through the lecture or presentation.
- Simon Williams talks about three different kinds of ‘markers’ or signposts which lead the listener through the lecture.What are they?
- Find two words which might indicate that a speaker has finished making a point.
- Find two phrases which show that an important new point is going to be made.
Answer
- Changes in volume and intonation; certain ‘marker’ words; certain ‘marker’ phrases
- right; ok
- 'I’d like to move on to …’ ; ‘Turning to …’;‘Now let’s consider …’
The keys to effective listening
If you are listening to long lectures and presentations, it is important that you learn to listen selectively – that is, choosing what you need to listen to. Here are five key steps in developing effective listening skills.
If you are listening to long lectures and presentations, it is important that you learn to listen selectively – that is, choosing what you need to listen to. Here are five key steps in developing effective listening skills.
- Before the lecture or presentation, brainstorm the vocabulary you know connected with the topic. If you spend time before the lecture recalling vocabulary, you are better prepared to understand the words when you hear them.
- Look at the outline of the lecture or read any general introductions which have been recommended. Go to the lecture prepared with some information about the topic.
- Don’t try to understand every word.Try to focus on the ‘markers’ which tell you when you really must listen. Listen out especially for markers, such as ‘so’, which usually tell you that the speaker is going to summarise what she or he has said.
- Avoid writing long notes during the lecture.Try to take notes of key words and ideas, and rebuild them after the lecture.
- Share your listening with a friend.Ask another member of the group if they would like to talk about the lecture after it has finished. By talking about it together, you can compare what you have understood and help each other with parts which were difficult.
Listening task
Look at your this programme schedule and choose a programme on a topic which interests you.Try to choose a programme which is quite long and on a serious subject. If possible, ask a friend to listen with you. Make some notes about what is said while you are listening, then, when the programme has finished, compare your notes with your friend. How much of the information can you remember?
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