Unit-1 LISTENING SKILLS
Lesson 1
Listening Skills
Structure of the lesson
1.1.Objectives of the lesson
1.2.Introduction
1.3.Hearing vs Listening
1.4.Purpose of Listening
1.5.Summary
1.6.Questions
1.1.Objectives of the Lesson
Having completed the lesson, the learner differentiates hearing and listening.
S/he will be able to understand the importance of listening and purpose of listening.
1.2. Introduction
Human beings are engaged in communication to understand one another.
Communication may be oral/ written. In the process of communication, listening is a skill
effectively. All that is heard by a listener is not listening. Listening is an activity where the
listener puts his/her effort to understand the message being spoken by the speaker with great
interest.
1.3. Hearing vs Listening
Hearing is generally a perception, a physical activity. It requires no attention but
involves physical mechanism because it is absolutely mechanical in nature. Listening is a
thoughtful attention of hearing the message. Listening is not just hearing the speaker but
paying complete attention to understand both verbal and non-verbal messages often being
spoken by people. Listening is a process that involves receiving, understanding, evaluating,
remembering and responding to the message being spoken by the speaker consciously,
actively and systematically. Listening requires a perfect coordination between the ears and
the brain, which consequently results in decoding the message of the speaker. Listening
requires regular practice and effort to improve our skill of listening. Author Marvin Gottlieb
cites there are four elements of good listening. They are: Attention, Hearing, Understanding,
Activity-1
Identify the examples for hearing and listening in the following situations.
1. As Venu was talking to Srinu on phone, there was the sound of traffic at the
2. Ramya is giving a lecture in the conference room and Shyam is one of the
Centre for Distance Education 1.2 Acharya Nagarjuna University
3. Steve was working on the computer. The children were making noise.
4. When you are studying for the final examination, the fan above you is making noise.
5. Simran is playing her favourite song on gana.com.
(This activ Skills Enrich: A Course in Communication and Soft
Page No.1)
Activity-2
Following are some differences to be identified by the learner after discussing with your
classmate or a fellow learner.
Hearing Listening
Ability Skill
Physiological process Psychological process
Passive Active
Requires no effort and attention Requires effort and attention
Perception of sound Understanding of sounds
Skills Enrich: A Course in Communication and
Page No.1)
Activity-3
1.
2.
3.
4. think the singer copied it somewhere?
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Skills Enrich: A Course in Communication and Soft
Page No.2)
1.4. Purpose of Listening
Listening has been an important skill to ac
essential activity at every corner of life. It lays foundation to good communication. A listener
requires two components of active listening at workplace: attention and reflection. Attention
involves holding e
body language showing genuine interest, allowing the speaker to finish his/her talk by non-
verbal cues. Reflection is, in other words, repeating and paraphrasing of what the speaker
says in order to make him understand that you are listening to him. For example: An
GENERAL ENGLISH 1.3 LISTENING SKILLS
to the content from the
teacher in the class. A popular notion is that listening takes 40-50% of the time is spent in
communication compared to other skills like speaking, reading and writing.
Activity-4
Tell your partner, which among the following you thi
why.
1. Learning knowledge
2. Understanding what others are saying
3. Understand attitude and behaviour of the speaker
4. Communicate better
5. Improve relations
6. Improve negotiation skills.
Sk
Page No.2)
1.5. Summary of the lesson
Importance of listening enables the listener to differentiate hearing and listening process. The
listener understands the purpose of listening and also understands the relation between the
speaker, the listener and the content.
1.6. Questions
1. What is the difference between hearing and listening?
2. How many elements of listening are there? What are they?
3. What is purpose of listening?
4. What is the use of practicing the activities of listening?
5. What are the essential factors involved in hearing and listening?
Reference Books
1. Prof. Hari Prasad. et.al. Skills Enrich, English Praxis Course-1: A Course in
Communication and Soft Skills. Guntur: Maruthi Publications, 2021.
2. Puspa Lata & Sanjay Kumar. Communicate or Collapse: A Handbook of Effective
Public Speaking, Group Discussions and Interviews. New Delhi: PHI (P) Ltd., 2010.
***
Lesson Writer
K.V.Koteswara Rao,
Lecturer in English,
GDC, Banaganapalle,
Kurnool District. A.P.
