Study Skills Report: Overcoming Listening Challenges in Education

This report examines listening challenges faced by students in higher education, focusing on issues such as the use of long sentences, technical terms, and repetition of words by lecturers. The report identifies these challenges and proposes strategies to improve student listening skills, including providing feedback, explaining technical terms, and encouraging note-taking. The author reflects on personal listening challenges, such as classroom distractions and unfamiliar vocabulary, and outlines strategies for improvement, including active listening, vocabulary building, and note-taking. The report concludes that effective listening is crucial for accurate information sharing and understanding, emphasizing the importance of active listening and retention for academic success. References to relevant books and journals are also provided.

Study Skills for Higher
Education
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1. Three listening challenge......................................................................................................3
2. Three strategies that can be used by teacher to improve student listening skills.................4
3. Reflection related to listening challenge and become a better listener.................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
2

INTRODUCTION
There are several skills that are required by particular individuals in order to complete its
task in professional as well as personal career. Communication, interpersonal, decision making,
academic writing and listening are some of skills that are necessary skills that are required in
higher education. This report is based on particular case study in which the lecturer is facing
linguistic challenge that has created barrier in effective teaching and learning of children. So it
has covered information pertaining to three listening challenges, strategies that can be used to
overcome the same for better outcome.
MAIN BODY
1. Three listening challenge
Listening is an skill or capabilities of individuals to accurately receive and interpret the
message send by other individuals so that particular task can be completed in best possible
manner. So without effective listening skills individuals will misunderstand the information and
the task will not be performed as desired (Newton and Nation, 2020). The three different
listening challenges that are faced by the children while teacher is providing them knowledge are
as follows:
Use of long sentences: The lecturer is making use of long sentences or sequence along with
number of items or clauses that have make difficult for student to understand and retained the
information. They are facing challenges in understanding and interpreting the long sentence
meaning that have multiple cause this they are not able to effective listen what is said by the
lecturer.
Use of technical terms: Another key barrier pertaining to listening skills is more usage of
technical terms by the teacher that are difficult to hear, understand as well as pronounce.
Likewise thrombolysis and hemicraniectomy are difficult and technical terms used by teacher
that has lead in challenge for student to understand the same. Therefore, technical term used
create problem in listening, interpreting information for an individual’s as they are unaware of
the meaning of word.
False start and repetition of words: Most of the individuals does not like to listen to person
that make mistake in the starting of sentence or continuous repeating the same word or
information. So, repetition of words cause listener to ignore listening the information given
3

thereby creating barrier in effective understanding and listening of information that is shared by
other person (Chang, Millett and Renandya, 2019).
2. Three strategies that can be used by teacher to improve student listening skills
From the above analysis, it helps in understanding the student are facing challenges pertaining to
effective listening that have lead issue in their studying or getting appropriate knowledge for
future growth and development. So, the teacher in order to work on improving listening skills of
student can make use of three different strategies like:
 The first and foremost key action that need to be undertaken by the teacher is taking
feedback from student that whether they are able to understand what has been taught to
them or not. On the basis of feedback it need to decide strategies such as avoiding
making use of large sentence by joining it with clauses as it create challenge for them to
retained and understand information (Zhang and Graham, 2020).
 Secondly, the teacher needs to explain the meaning of technical words or that are difficult
to understand as well as pronounce so that student can easily learn, listen and understand
them. It also motivate student to find meaning of unfamiliar words as it would contribute
them to stay active and listen what has been taught in the class.
 Third strategy that can be used by the teacher to improve student listening skills is
motivating them to make notes of important points, avoid disturbance and listen each and
every sentence even they are repeated (Lipetz, Kluger and Bodie, 2020). Thus, they need
not have to ignore the words that are repeatedly used rather than they need to actively
listen to knowledge that has been provided by teacher for benefits of student.
3. Reflection related to listening challenge and become a better listener
I also face different challenge pertaining to listening due to lot of disturbance by my
classmate while lecturer is teaching us. I tried to concentrate but unable to retain, learn and listen
to inform given by the lecturer thus i am unable to learn what has been taught by my teacher. At
the same time, sometime it make use of technical or difficult words which I am unable to
understand or face difficulty in listening the same. Moreover, the lecturer makes use of
Abbreviation and speak long sentence which create challenge for me in effective listening and
understanding information.
So in order to become better listener, I have decided to try to avoid distraction and
actively listening to the things that are taught by the lecturer. I have also plan to make learn
4

difficult words or technical terms so that I can understand and listen, pronouns them easily. I
have also make notes of each and everything that has been taught by the lecturer in the classroom
so that I can understand them later on (Celik, 2017). Moreover in order to work towards my
listening skills I have tried to understand the information that other individuals want to share
through seeing and understanding its facial expression, gesture. I have openly listen to the
information given by lecturer and if find any query than ask question to lecture to explain the
same so that I can understand and learn. Thereby, all these strategies has helped me in
overcoming the listening challenges and become a good listener for having a bright future ahead.
CONCLUSION
From the above analysis it can be summarised that listening is one of the most crucial
skills as without it information cannot be effective shared an message can be misinterpreted. The
listeners need to tries its best to listen to what has been said by other person so that there are no
chance of confusion in future circumstances. At last it can be concluded that individuals by
actively listening to things, writing them can easily listen, learn and retained the information
given by other person for specific purpose.
5

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Celik, O., 2017. The importance of listening in communication. Global Journal of Psychology
Research: New Trends and Issues, 7(1). pp.8-11.
Chang, A., Millett, S. and Renandya, W.A., 2019. Developing listening fluency through
supported extensive listening practice. RELC Journal, 50(3). pp.422-438.
Lipetz, L., Kluger, A.N. and Bodie, G.D., 2020. Listening is listening is listening: Employees’
perception of listening as a holistic phenomenon. International Journal of
Listening, 34(2). pp.71-96.
Newton, J. M. and Nation, I S. P., 2020. Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge.
Östersjö, S. ed., 2020. Listening to the Other. Leuven University Press.
Zhang, P. and Graham, S., 2020. Learning vocabulary through listening: The role of vocabulary
knowledge and listening proficiency. Language Learning, 70(4). pp.1017-1053.
6