Study Skills for Higher Education: Challenges and Strategies for Active Listening

This report discusses the importance of study skills for higher education and the challenges faced by students in active listening at university. It also provides strategies for developing active listening skills, such as providing feedback, paying attention, responding appropriately, and deferring judgment. The report includes references to relevant literature and research.

Study Skills for higher
Education
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discuss some of the listening challenges students may experience at university.......................1
Explain how students can develop their active listening skills....................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
A study skills for higher learning and it a type of talent guide provided to the scholars for
approaches and trainings which help the students in enlightening the learning practices,
understanding comprehension, writing and learning ability.it is very essential for a student to
have a good study skills in order to improve their productivity and performance. Similarly
listening skills refers to the capability of an individual to effectually hearing, understanding,
interpreting and analyzing the communication that has been communicated within the procedure
of communication (Devine, T.G., 2019). The report will discuss some of the listening challenges
students may experience at university and also how how students can develop their active
listening skills.
MAIN BODY
Discuss some of the listening challenges students may experience at university.
Listening skills is the ability of hearing, understanding, interpreting and analysing the message
communicated by the other individual. Having a good listening skills is very important as it
helps in the development and enhancement of career life. The listening skills helps in improving
the interpersonal skills of a person and boost the confidence of a person.it plays a vital role in te
life a student as well as in the professional life because by the help of listening skills one can
able to understand the delivered message more accurately(Fazal, Hussain, and Majoka, 2018).
While studying and attending classes in the university the students face many challenges and
barriers in listening to the tutors.it has been observed that in the foreign universities students
come from various places and their native language is also different so one of the biggest issue
faced by students in the universities is the problem of language barrier. Therefore, there are
times when a student has to face difficulty in classroom due to the language barrier as the
language of the student might be different from the one spoken in a particular nation. However
most of the tutor’s teach in English language but because of their different ascent the students
were not able to actively understand the lesson which has been taught by the teacher and this
adversely affect the listening skills of the students (Demirören, Turan, and Taşdelen
Teker,2020).
One of the major issue observed from the students’ point of view while listening to the
tutors is that the students makes pre judgment about the topic and not listening to the tutors
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properly. The students assume that they know about the topic and without listening properly to
the teachers they started doing distractions in between the lecture. It impacts the students into
thinking what they previously identify was accurate or not and why it is not matching with the
opinions of the teacher(Baldan Babayigit, and Guven, 2020). This distresses the listening skills
of the students as they get unfocussed from the key subject and started thinking about the
knowledge they have in themselves.
Many of the times students have to face the emotional, external, internal and cultural noise
and this becomes a distraction point for them in listening the lecture. Emotional noise are the
words that have been formed by strong emotions and this limits the effective
communication .the external noise is that which is disturbing the students from the external
environment. Internal Nosie is the noise getting from the inner self and from the internal
consciousness like by over thinking. The cultural noise is the noise which cause because of the
cultural differences between two different persons. Another barrier faced by the students within
colleges in active listening embraces non talented tutors. It has been noticed that various
teachers who not use teaching methods which helps the students in attracting them towards the
subject and it is the duty of the teachers to use the various teaching methods for developing the
interest of the students in the particular subject. The teachers should use some inclusive practices
for teaching the students and ensuring that the students are understanding the subjects and topic
effectively. Because of not understanding the lesson taught by the teachers, the students will not
able to understand and this affects the listening ability of the students (Selamat, and Sidhu,
2020). Therefore the teachers should use some strategies for effective learning and this will
improve the listening ability of the students as well.
Sometimes students have a habit of asking the questions in between the lectures and did
not listen properly to the tutors and this becomes a challenge for the students in listening
properly so it would be better for the students as well as for the tutors to first listen and then ask
the queries. This factor helps the students in growing more effectively and have proper
development in terms of listening. . It has also been observed that anxiety also limits the students
from listening carefully within the tutorial room. Sometimes, when a student has platform fear or
the fear of being adjudicated, it confines them from paying attention to the teacher as they are
constantly thinking that what if the next question is asked to them. As students opt for advanced
education, the study material which they are required to study for a specific semester gets
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augmented. However, the learners of subordinate college within the colleges are not delivered
with lots of effort. Therefore, the unexpected rise in the load of the scholars within the college
disturbs their excellence of presentation and makes it irritating for them to focus for such
extended periods endlessly (Hamad Al-khresheh,2020). This distresses the listening skills of the
learners inside the teaching space.
The students also have some lack of interest in some particular subjects and just because
of attending the classes they are present there and because of this their listening skills gets
affected very adversely or sometimes because of the external noise or some event happening
outside the premises distract the students. In the todays scenario one of the most distracting
element used by students is mobile phone and this is also one of the biggest challenge faced by
the students in terms of listening. The students are keeping their mobile phones in their pockets
and the mobiles phones becomes the most disturbing element for them and due to this the
students were not able to listen properly whatever has been taught to them.
Explain how students can develop their active listening skills
Active listening is the process of listening properly and understanding the point which the other
person is trying to say and having a mutual understanding between the two individuals doing
that conversation.it is process which involves listening and understanding the verbal and non-
verbal messages that have been communicated from the other source and providing a proper
feedback of the message received. It is significant for both the students as well as the tutor for
understanding the meaning of active listening in order to appreciate each other’s viewpoint and
by the help of active listening the tutor will be able to describe well and the student will be able
to understand more precisely. Active listening helps in defusing the situation and providing
proper result or solution to the problem and it provides a mutual understanding between the
students and the teacher (Tatlilioglu, and Senchylo, 2020). Active listening is the ability of
listening with all the senses and it is not just about hearing but to listen and there is a lot of
difference between hearing and listening and the students should know them well. it involves the
strategy that aims in listening properly about what is being said rather than just hearing the
message of the teacher Active listening provides an opportunity for the students for improving
their academic life and enhancing their interpersonal abilities. Similarly there are many ways by
which the students can develop their active listening skills and some of them are as follows:
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Provide feedback: one of the best way by which students can develop their active listening
skills is to provide proper feedback while learning. Giving proper feedback is beneficial for both
the students as well as for the teachers as it helps in identifying the teacher is able to convey
their message properly and similarly the students are understanding the topic accurately. if a
student’s regularly provide feedback to the teacher that means he is attentive and listening
properly whatever the teacher has been taught. This involves asking questions and summarizing
the topic whatever has been taught by the teacher. This also develops a mutual understanding
between the student and the teacher and teacher also takes interest in teaching. And therefore it
enhance the skill of active listening in the students (Hoppe, M.H 2018).
Paying attention: paying attention is one of the best way for listening properly and it also helps
in improving the academic skills of the students.by paying proper attention to the topic which
has been taught by the teacher the students will have a better understanding of the subject and
this improves the productivity as well as the performance of the students. The students can pay
attention to the topic taught by the teacher by looking at the teacher directly, putting aside the
distracting thoughts and listen to the teacher’s body language.
Responding appropriately: Active listening has been considered for inspiring respect and also
for better understanding of whatever the teacher is teaching to the students. The students are
gaining knowledge and outlook. The student did not get anything by putting the teachers down
and arguing in front of them. Either the students should always give open and honest response to
the teachers and have an attitude of empathy towards them. The teachers will feel confident and
great if the students give respect to them and it shows that the students are understanding
whatever has been taught to them(Suwannasit,2019). By this the students can improve their
active listening skills and this makes them confident in their academic life as well.
Defer judgment: Disturbing the teachers while teaching is the total waste of time for both
students and teachers and also it lower the morale and confidence of the teacher. Giving
unnecessary judgments in between the lectures frustrated the teachers and they will not able to
teach more effectively. Interrupting teachers in between will irritate the teacher and therefore the
teacher will not able to convey the message properly. The students can inquire the queries to the
instructor after finishing the topic and they should not ask the cross questions to the teachers. All
these will help the students in developing active listening skills.
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By the above points the students can develop active learning stills and therefore this will
increase the productivity and performance of the students (Jones, Bodie, and Hughes, 2019).
This will beneficial for the students for growing them in their academic life.
CONCLUSION
Having good study skills for higher education is very important for the students and it helps in
enhancing the growth and development of the students in their academic life. The report have
describe all the features of learning skills and active learning is very important for the students
as it helps the students in understanding and analysing the message sent by the teacher.it also
supports in making a connection between the teacher and the student. The report have illustrated
all the barriers and challenges faced by the student while listening to their teachers and all the
ways for developing active learning skills have also been evaluated in the report as well.
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REFERENCES
Books and references
Devine, T.G., 2019. Teaching study skills. A guide for teachers. Allyn and Bacon, Longwood
Division, 7 Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02159.
Fazal, S., Hussain, S. and Majoka, M.I., 2018. The Role of Study Skills in Academic
Achievement. Pakistan journal of Psychological research, 27(1), pp.37-51.
Demirören, M., Turan, S. and Taşdelen Teker, G., 2020. Determinants of self-regulated learning
skills: the roles of tutors and students. Advances in Physiology Education, 44(1), pp.93-98.
Baldan Babayigit, B. and Guven, M., 2020. Self-Regulated Learning Skills of Undergraduate
Students and the Role of Higher Education in Promoting Self-Regulation. Eurasian Journal of
Educational Research, 89, pp.47-70.
Selamat, S. and Sidhu, G.K., 2020. Student Perception In Metacognitive Strategy Use In Lecture
Listening Comprehension. Language Education in Asia.
. Hamad Al-khresheh, M., 2020. The impact of cultural background on listening comprehension
of Saudi EFL students. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume, 11.
Tatlilioglu, K. and Senchylo, N., 2020. Active Listening Skills as an Element of Interpersonal
Communication (Doctoral dissertation, Талком).
Hoppe, M.H., 2018. Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead, (French). Center
for Creative Leadership.
Suwannasit, W., 2019. EFL LEARNERS’LISTENING PROBLEMS, PRINCIPLES OF
TEACHING LISTENING AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LISTENING
INSTRUCTION. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION NARESUAN UNIVERSITY, 21(1), pp.345-359.
Jones, S.M., Bodie, G.D. and Hughes, S.D., 2019. The impact of mindfulness on empathy, active
listening, and perceived provisions of emotional support. Communication Research, 46(6),
pp.838-865.
Vancouver
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