Essay on Listening Challenges and Active Listening Skills for Students

This essay examines the challenges students face in developing effective listening skills and explores strategies for improvement. It identifies common obstacles such as distractions (background noise, technology), environmental factors (lighting, temperature), personal issues (sleepiness, hunger), and rapid speech. The essay then outlines methods for students to enhance their active listening abilities, including maintaining eye contact, keeping an open mind, empathizing with the speaker, making mental images, repeating information, reflecting on conversations, and seeking opportunities for active listening. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of listening skills for academic success and overall productivity.

Assessment no 2 Individual
essay

TABLE OF CONTENTS
.........................................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discussing some listening challenges faced by students............................................................1
Explaining how students develop their active listening skills....................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Listening skills refers the ability in paying attention and effectively interpreting what
other people are saying during any particular period. Also, the present report will highlight
importance of being the effective listeners along with this help in identifying some listening
challenges that are faced by the students while learning various things during the schools. Lastly,
the study will also explain how the students might be come effective listeners in future through
specifying certain details that need to be followed by them in the long run.
MAIN BODY
Discussing some listening challenges faced by students
Active listening is one that promoted mindful thoughts that further helps the students in
reducing the anxiety and depression to great extent. Also, nowadays teacher are more focused on
teaching students how to make them listen properly so that maximum benefits might be gained
for the teaching sessions being delivered to them (Batur, 2021). Furthermore, improved listening
skills helps the students to not only retain the best of information for the future purposes but also
allows makes them prepared for the future learning and to become succeed in school. Moreover,
the major impotence of learning is that it helps in the overall social development of the students.
However, there are some listening challenges that are faced by diverse students in learning
various concepts in efficient and are briefly described in detail as follows:
General distractions: This is one of the challenge that is faced by the students while
they are learning various new things. Also, it is seen that certain distractions like the background
noise or any of the person interrupting in between would limit the listening abilities and thus
does not make the listener understand message than is being conveyed to him. Furthermore, such
type of distractions only reduce thinking ability of the students and also make them ineffective
while working in any big organization in the future (Reddrop and Mapunda, 2019). Moreover,
other distractions that might cause hindrance in working of the students in future is mobile
texting, meetings, email etc. that are frequently received by employees while carrying out
various job roles in any organization. Also, it is seen that during any kind of learning sessions if
there is lot of communication between the two of the members than person who is listener than it
would not be able to listen properly thus creating major challenge in the future.
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Environmental factors: These consist of the factors that consist of lightening and
temperature that affect the listening ability of any individual. Furthermore, it is seen that if there
is too much lightening in the room than students would not be able to focus on the listener. Also,
in context of the high or very low temperature would not allow students to either reply to certain
message or listen to the important message that is conveyed to them by any of members of the
university (Kristinsson, Jonsdottir and Snorrason, 2019). Furthermore, to ensure that this
challenge is overcome in the best manner it is (necessary) than there is enough light in the room
and it is cool so that more alertness might be maintained for any type of students in classes or at
any place. Moreover, such environmental factor affects in way that students are not able to listen
fully before giving the advice. Also, such students are not able to prioritize listening over
speaking thus creating barrier for the listening.
Personal issues: This consists of the factors that are most commonly faced by the
students that make their listening ineffective most of the times. Furthermore, factors like feeling
sleepy, hungry, lack of preparation of wok etc. are also major reason that makes it very difficult
for the students to focus in most effective manner. Also, this factor would be overcome only
when students are given proper and timely sleep so that they are able to learn all the things in
best of manner through developing good listening abilities. Furthermore, eating good healthy
diet will also work as magic as students would be able to the focus on the person with full
concentration without having any other thoughts or feelings inside the mind.
Technology and multitasking: Although technology is effective in many ways but it
could be quite distracting in most of the ways. Moreover, there are some students that seems be
to multitasking but in reality are not much able to answer emails and handle the professor calls
at the same time (Eriani and Dimyati, 2019). As such this type of challenges causes students to
make mistake either while answering the calls or writing the email to their seniors in long run.
Furthermore, it can be said that listening is activity that requires full involvement between both
the parties and hence if this is absence than it would be major challenge for the listening while
learning any course at the university.
Rate of speech: This is challenges that is faced by students where the speaker speaks at
very fast rate that creates problem among the students in understanding clearly what is being
said to them. Furthermore, with fast speech the speaker is not able to process the information
very quickly and thus it only creates problem in learning and listening the useful information.
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Also, with the slower rate of speech the students is than able to question back on things that it
finds is very difficult in learning and thereafter put systematic efforts to learn new concepts in
most effective manner for the personal and professional growth in the future. Also, the personal
concerns are also resolved when students and professor are able to exchange certain thoughts
through establishing effective listening.
Thus, it can be said above are some challenges that are faced by students while listening
and when they are trying to learn new things in best of manner. Also, if these listening
challenges are not overcome by the students in systematic manner than students would forget the
things quickly that is heard by them and also not be able to understand message that is intended
to them during any particular point of time (Basri, Rafli and Murtadho, 2021). Furthermore,
hurrying to speak also is major challenge for the students as they want to prove their point to the
speaker or wants to convey certain informations without hearing in the proper manner
Explaining how students develop their active listening skills
There are various ways through which students are able to develop the active listening
skills so that there are no problems in the future while learning any concept in the universities.
Furthermore, below are some steps that might be followed to become effective listener in the
future:
Maintain eye contact: This is one that way through which students would be able to
actively listen what other are trying to say. Moreover, through this process it would be able to
recognize meaning of the message through closely observing the speaker actions. Furthermore,
such type of eye contact also maintain the interest of students and helps to avoid the any kind of
outside distractions (6 Ways to Overcome Listening Barriers, 2022). Moreover, paying attention
to the non-verbal signs such as body language also develops the interest of the students and
helps to maintain the concentration and allows them to become effective listeners.
Keep an open mind: It is most effective method that might be adopted by the student
where they have to listen without making any kind of judgements and evaluating other people
opinions. Also, if the students are involved in the judgemental (thinking) than it would only
diminished the value of the listener. Thus, establishing the conversation with any individuals
with open mind is the best way through which students might become good listeners and are
able to convey ideas and feelings to others in bets of manner. Furthermore, open mind will helps
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the student to identify other minor details that were being said or happened around the
conversations.
Empathize with the speaker: It is very essential that the listener is empathizing with
speaker as it will help in developing the emotional intelligence skills. Also, when this quality is
developed within the listener than it would be able to easily identify the emotions towards
speaker and develop the best interaction (Öztürk, 2018). For example: If listener is active in
(listening) than it would be able to easily analyse that the speaker is in angry or sad mood and
hence it would be able to than communicate and listen it thoughts in that manner.
Making mental image of speaker words: It is another method that would solve the
problem of ineffective listening. Moreover, using this type of strategy the students who are
involved in any interaction with collogues or seniors would able to develop the image of
speaker thoughts so that it is able to make sense of whatever is being said to him. Furthermore,
students would also be able to develop it creativity skills during this process and will also be
able to understand thoughts of other people in more detailed manner. Also, this type of strategy
helps in students to remember the things through key phrases or words that were being used in
the conversations and helps them erase those lines that were unimportant or not enabling in
becoming more effective listeners.
Repeating what is being heard: It is another method that would allow the students to
confirm what is told them during the whole conversations. Furthermore, repeating the words
helps in better remembrance and also allows the students to ask certain questions on the things
that have not been understood by them while interacting (Baranov, 2018). Also, such type of
attention helps the students to upgrade the level of thinking and develop wider knowledge on
various concepts that have been heard by them during interaction. Moreover, it is known that
with sentence repetition the memory of the student is also increased and it helps to build the
confidence for the future undertaking of any projects.
Reflecting on conversations: It is another way through which effective listening skills
might be developed by the students that are facing any kind of the difficulty. Also, this is
method where through listening effectively will help student in identifying the barrier that have
been faced during the whole conversations so that based on that student would develop the ways
to overcome or handle the same in the best manner. Furthermore, reflecting in proper manner
would allow the student to identify the other skills that are lacking so based on that systemic
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measures might be taken for the improvement through the proper guidance of support from
teacher or any professional for future prospective
Looking for opportunities for active listening : This is another way that must be used
by the listener so that active listening skills might be developed over the period (Ngah and et.al.,
2022). Moreover, for this to happen the student need to participate in various seminars, involve
more in groups discussions, attend school or university meetings etc. so that it is able to develop
the method on how the information is to be retained and develop more interest and participation
in listening activities.
Thus above are some ways that should be used by the listeners to develop the effective
listening skill in the future so that all activities are conducted in best of manner. Furthermore,
being the effective listeners would allow also the students to develop bonds with teachers and
other peers through establishing open discussions in university.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that listening skills is very essential so that
students are able to enhance the productivity while carrying any of the task in the future.
Furthermore, the present report had identified the challenges such as General distractions,
Environmental factors, personal issues etc. that creates problems in listening whatever is being
said to them at given point of time. Moreover, the study had also identified certain ways such as
keeping an open mind, looking for opportunities for active listening and much more for
overcoming the listening issue. Lastly, significance of students in being the active listener in the
long run had also been discussed in this report in detail.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baranov, I. V., 2018. Improving listening skills in language learning with spaced repetition
technique. European Research. 40.
Basri, M. S., Rafli, Z. and Murtadho, F., 2021. The relation of vocabulary mastery towards the
japanese language listening skills of riau university students. Ilkogretim Online. 20(4).
Batur, Z., 2021. Academic Listening Skills of the International University Students in
Turkey. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies. 9(3). pp.20-28.
Eriani, E. and Dimyati, D., 2019. Story telling using madihin: learning methods for early
childhood listening skills. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini. 3(2).
pp.303-310.
Kristinsson, K., Jonsdottir, I. J. and Snorrason, S. K., 2019. Employees’ perceptions of
supervisors’ listening skills and their work-related quality of life. Communication
Reports. 32(3). pp.137-147.
Ngah, E. and et.al., 2022. Snapticon: Developing Effective Listening Skills for Group Oral
Discussion. Asian Journal of University Education. 18(2). pp.361-374.
Öztürk, B. K., 2018. Listening Skills Development in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language
and the Usage of Metacognitive Strategies. Journal of Education and Training Studies.
6(6). pp.41-47.
Reddrop, A. and Mapunda, G., 2019. Listening Skills: Accountancy Educators in
Retreat?. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal. 13(1). pp.76-89.
Online
6 Ways to Overcome Listening Barriers. 2022. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/overcome-listening-
barriers>.
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