Enhancing Study Skills: Active Listening in Higher Education

This essay discusses the listening challenges faced by students in higher education, such as understanding new content, concentrating for extended periods, unfamiliarity with accents, and inaccurate communication skills of teachers. It emphasizes the importance of active listening skills in overcoming these challenges and enhancing students' personal and professional development. The essay outlines strategies for developing active listening skills, including paying attention, using appropriate body language, providing relevant feedback, deferring judgment, asking questions, and summarizing concepts. It concludes that honing these skills is crucial for students to remain dedicated to their goals and achieve success in the competitive learning environment, ultimately improving their content grasping ability and fostering positive interactions with peers and superiors. Desklib provides a platform for students to access past papers and solved assignments to further support their academic journey.

STUDY SKILLS FOR
HIGHER EDUCATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Listening challenges that are faced by the students.....................................................................3
Developing active listening skills by the students.......................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Listening skills are helpful for the students to gain a better understanding of the topics
and concepts which are learnt by them in lectures, class discussions and tutorial. These aspects
are crucial for them to increase their awareness in the class and produce better quality of output.
These skills are crucial for the students to gain knowledge about the different factors which are
crucial for their personal and professional development. The current essay will be based on the
listening challenges which are experienced by the students at their university and how can these
students develop active listening skills.
MAIN BODY
Listening challenges that are faced by the students
Students participate in many listening activities at their university such as tutorials,
lectures and class discussions which requires them to give more consideration towards listening
and gaining understanding of the topics. This is crucial for the students to learn new and
important topics on a regular basis which are helpful in increasing their efficiency in their overall
personal and professional development. By listening actively, the students are able to grasp the
knowledge and apply it practically in their projects and employability (Xiao and et.al., 2020).
There are different challenges which arises for the students which acts as hindrances in their
overall development process. Due to these issues, the students may not be able to maintain their
focus towards their personal and professional goals. These issues might have a negative impact
on the capability of the students to produce better results and gain a significant advantage in their
learning environment. Some major listening challenges for the students are as follows:
Understanding new content
This is a major issue for students which may create difficulties for them to keep up with
the new content which is explained by the teachers to them. Due to the vagueness of some new
topics to the students they are unable to understand what is explained by the teachers. These
aspects may not be beneficial for the students to develop their learning about new and different
topics (Ellis and Abbott, 2018). These challenges may reduce their capability to increase their
growth opportunities in the learning environment. It may be a result of ineffective listening by
the students which may cause a negative impact on their ability to engage in better learning
practices and enhance the quality of output which is achieved by them.
Concentrating for longer period

Students may face difficulties in focussing on the topics which are taught to them at the
university having a negative influence on their ability to produce better output. It is due to their
weak listening skills and concentration towards the studies and has a deep impact on their overall
growth. This is a significant challenge which is faced by many students at their university and
has a deep impact on their ability to give more consideration on their ability to perform
(Bjornestad, Olson and Weidauer, 2021). These practices are crucial for them to gain better
advantage in the industry and enhance the quality of output which is achieved by them. Lack of
focus from the students leads to inefficiency in the results that has a negative impact on their
learning ability. Due to this issue they are unable to grasp all the concepts which are explained to
them and are left with incomplete knowledge about the topics.
Unfamiliarity with accents
The non-familiarity of the students with different accents used by the teachers may cause
hindrances in their ability to understand the speech which is given by them in the meetings. It
can create difficulties for the students to connect with the teachers and develop their
understanding of the vital concepts. Due to these differences in the accents of teachers and
students, an environment of confusion may be created which is not suitable for the students to
grow in the competitive learning environment (Dewi and Hadi, 2020). It may hamper their active
listening ability which is difficult for the students to manage and increase their efforts towards
their overall growth. These barriers in their listening may have a negative influence on their
ability to achieve better success and increase their learning about the specific topics. The
different accents of teachers may sometimes increase the negligence of the students towards the
teachings which are learned by them.
Inaccurate communication skills of teachers
The teachers in universities may sometimes have inappropriate communication abilities
which may reduce the interest of the students in the topics which are explained by them. It might
have a negative influence on the productivity of the students. Due to these factors, students may
not be able to cope up with the university learning environment (Tatlilioglu and Senchylo, 2020).
As there are several factors which are considered as listening barriers which are having a major
impact on the effectiveness of the students to focus on their growth in the learning environment.
These listening challenges have a major affect on the students which reduces their capabilities of
achieving better quality of output in the industry. The students may miss out on crucial

information in the class due to these aspects which has a negative impact on their listening skills
and acts as barriers in the learning development of the students.
Developing active listening skills by the students
It is crucial for the students to identify the major factor which are causing these
challenges in their listening process and prepare appropriate strategies for reducing their impact.
This can be beneficial for them to achieve better success in the future and grow as an individual
in the competitive learning environment. Different strategies may help the students to improve
their efficiency in developing better quality of output which is beneficial for their overall success
in the industry (Kourmousi and et.al., 2018). Active listening is an effective skill which helps
individuals to gain better understanding of from the topics and aspects which are listened by
them.
It provides assistance to them in order to enhance their listening experience with the help
of specific plans and procedures that are designed in order to increase their overall productivity
in the business. It is a phenomenon which helps people to attentively listen to the speaker, gain
knowledge about the topics that are told by them, respond towards the learning and holding the
information for future (Dewi and Hadi, 2020). There are many benefits for adopting these
listening skills as they are helpful in increasing the overall effectiveness of the students to gain
better advantage in the learning environment. The students can develop these active listening
skills with the help of certain strategies which are as follows:
Paying attention
Giving the due attention to the speaker is an effective way by which the students may
improve the interaction between the people which is crucial in order to understand the learnings
effectively. With the help of these factors students may develop better relationship with their
lecturers which is useful in order to enhance the quality of output which is achieved by them
(Saputra, Akib and Hartanti, 2022). Avoiding distraction, responding towards the teachings and
understanding what is being said with perseverance is necessary for the students to improve their
learning experience. By using these aspects regularly, students can get better results at their
university which plays a vital role in their overall development.
Appropriate body language

Different body gestures and postures may have an influence over the learning
environment which is created in universities. It helps in engaging teachers and students towards
the teachings and helps in getting the maximum outcome from the topics which are taught to
them. Nodding occasionally, restricting yawning, sitting postures etc. may have an influence on
the business to achieve better results. By following these practices, the students can enhance their
active listening skills and grasp the topics effectively. These aspects are effective in gaining
benefit in the personal and professional growth of the business.
Providing relevant feedback
Understanding and giving appropriate feedback to the speakers about what has been
grasped by them is a crucial step which is beneficial for them to enhance their overall learning
experience. It is useful for the teachers as well to create better opportunities for their
development which plays a vital role in improving the overall success of the business.
Paraphrasing the topics is an effective practice which is helpful for the students to grow and
understand the different aspects which is explained in the topics (Longweni and Kroon, 2018).
This is crucial for them to improve their productivity in coping up with the lectures and seminars
which are conducted by the universities for their overall benefit. Effective feedbacks is helpful
for both, students and teachers to improve their efforts towards the development of their learning
in the university.
Deferring judgement
It is considered as one of the most important factor of active listening as controlling the
interruption in between the lectures plays a vital role for the students. These interruptions may
frustrate the speaker and create a negative environment for conducting the learning practices
effectively. It is suggested for the learners to listen to the speakers clearly and the form
conclusions about what has been told. Questions should be asked After the proper analysis which
is help in saving the crucial time of the speakers as well as the listeners (Grohol, 2018). The
students can enhance their experience by not interrupting in between and properly giving
consideration to what is been told by the teachers. By using this approach they can get better
output from the lectures which will be beneficial in their overall development. It is significant for
the people to develop the active listening skills as they have a significant impact on the capability
of the students to improve their content grasping ability which is crucial for engaging them
towards the success.

Summarizing the concepts
This is referred as the last but one of the most crucial steps of the active listening
development which can be useful for the students to prepare a summary of the concepts which
are learned by them in the lectures., Writing down short points about the topics is beneficial for
them to remembers them for later purpose. It helps them to increase the effectiveness of the
learning process and provide better assistance towards a proper learning of the important
concepts (Ellis and Abbott, 2018). With the help of a short summary, the students will be able to
memorize crucial aspects of the learning which will be helpful for them to grow and achieve
higher quality of output in the industry. It helps the students to retain the knowledge which has
been passed by the teachers and hold on to it for a longer period. Preparing summary is a
significant part of active listening which is useful for the students to enhance their learning
methods in their university.
These steps are helpful for the students to develop a better understand of the active
listening which is a modern concept that plays a significant role in enhancing the success
opportunities of the students. These skills are helpful for them in different levels of their life and
helps in having a positive impact over the people (Saputra, Akib and Hartanti, 2022). They will
be able to gain better response from the people which is crucial for them to grow and increase
their popularity among their peers and superiors. By using this process they will be able to
provide better assistance to their growth and achieve higher results which are crucial for the
overall development of the individuals.
CONCLUSION
According to the above essay, it has been concluded that active listening skills have been
beneficial for the students to reduce the negative impact of the challenges which are faced by
them in the learning environment. It is crucial for them to hone these skills in order to remain
dedicated towards their personal and professional goals. With the help of these skills, the
students have been able to enhance their quality of output which has a positive impact on their
overall success. It plays a vital role in increasing their interest in the overall development
practices which has a major contribution in the growth of the students.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bjornestad, A., Olson, S. and Weidauer, L., 2021. Improving officer-soldier communication
through active listening skills training with Army ROTC cadets. Military
Psychology. 33(3). pp.205-215.
Dewi, M.D.C. and Hadi, M.S., 2020. Web-Based Music Study in Boosting Active
Listening. English Language in Focus (ELIF). 2(2). pp.97-102.
Ellis, P. and Abbott, J., 2018. Active listening, part one: how and where. Journal of Kidney
Care. 3(2). pp.126-128.
Grohol, J., 2018. Become a better listener: Active listening. Psych Central.
Kourmousi, N. and et.al., 2018. Personal and job factors associated with teachers’ active
listening and active empathic listening. Social Sciences. 7(7). p.117.
Longweni, M. and Kroon, J., 2018. Managers’ listening skills, feedback skills and ability to deal
with interference: A subordinate perspective. Acta Commercii. 18(1). pp.1-12.
Saputra, D., Akib, M. and Hartanti, R., 2022. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLEMENTING
LISTENING JOURNALS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ACTIVE
LISTENING. PROJECT (Professional Journal of English Education). 5(3). pp.527-
534.
Tatlilioglu, K. and Senchylo, N., 2020. Active Listening Skills as an Element of Interpersonal
Communication (Doctoral dissertation, Талком).
Xiao, Z. and et.al., 2020, April. If i hear you correctly: Building and evaluating interview
chatbots with active listening skills. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-14).