Higher Education Study Skills: Overcoming Listening Challenges Report

This report delves into the crucial role of listening skills in higher education and highlights common challenges students face, such as false starts, speaker accents, unnecessary words, long sentences, complex structures, and cultural differences. It further provides five key strategies to overcome th...Read More

Study Skills for Higher
Education
1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Five main listening challenges....................................................................................................3
Five main strategies to overcome the challenges........................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References .......................................................................................................................................7
2

Introduction
Listening skills is the ability to receive message accurately and interpret the same in
communication process. In today's world students need to make a good listening skills for
interpret the different communication process in different academic situations. There are
different situations that can be improved through listening challenges. Presentation,
communication in the class, seminars and discussions all are needed good listening skills. But
most of the time students are facing issues in developing listening skills (Milliner and Dimoski,
2021). This report include the five main listening challenges and strategies for the students to
improve their listening skills. This will be helpful for the students to gain considerable amount of
knowledge in oral settings.
Main Body
Five main listening challenges
Listening is the ability that helps in identifying and understanding the process for what
the people are saying about. There are different linguistic challenges that may include different
type of barriers within the development process of listening skills. There are some of listening
challenges that are faced by student that may creates major misinterpretation to communicate by
audience. Most of the people think that these challenges occur in each and every communication
process but this is not true, as barriers in listening are occur only in some communication
channels. Some of the challenges are explained below:
False start, is a major issue for students while learning languages. There are so many
ways to communicate and listen by using a common language such as English (Smith., 2020). If
there is high proficiency of language that students cannot interpret, it creates obstacles for
gaining what the speaker wants to describe. There is one issue Accent of speaker not proper, then
it would difficult for an audience (Students) to listen and gain learning aspects. This challenge
may create the negativity and wrong impression on the audience.
Unnecessary words, this is the process that deals and occur for the kind of seminar or
lecture, if the speaker used inappropriate words, then the purpose of listening or learning is not
fulfilled properly. By using small and easy words that connect the audience with speaker unless
it would not generate proper coordination with audience. This challenge is related to make
3

broaden in the communication process and make ineffective behaviour of the audience while
listening the speaker.
Long Sentences, is the third challenge which face by the students as this include the
listening behaviour is on display when a person is either constantly agreeing on disagreeing with
speaker (Jabbarova, 2020). The major problem with the better type of listening is based on
selective purpose. In any conversation, if there is using of long sentences then it will create that
particular session not attentive effectively and even audience would not able to engage to listen
what speaker get attain properly. Further, it causes the first person to offer a counter arguments
to the audience’s response. In this both parties would caught up in the process of disagreement
rather than understanding one other.
Complex Structures, is helpful for addressing person is engages in this type of listening to
focus solely on weather or not the person who is speaking agrees within point of view. During in
listening session, audience are not understand complex words as it creates more issue to
interpreted such as nouns, pronouns etc. Further in this, if complex structure creates time
consuming for audiences to understand as per own interpretation effectively. It comes under
personal barriers where audience not able to communicate because there is having generate
distance between communicator and communicate. This challenge affect the students, speaker
and audience in wrong way as it will decline the positive perspective for each others.
Culture, is the last challenge which is very important aspect in listening, where it help to
guide using of language, appropriate form of attire and others. Different culture of people would
have various ways of communication that can hinder effective listening, if listener is either
unfamiliar with speaker pattern (Carr, Li, and Campos., 2020). But, culture can also consider as
barrier in listening aspect, if people or audience are belong from common culture and they
suddenly interact to communicate with different culture background creates more
misunderstanding.
Five main strategies to overcome the challenges
After analysing the major challenges faced by the students, it is important for them to
understand the nature of listening skills. This will be helpful for them to overcome the challenge
and gain the skills for future use. Many of the people think that listening skills are one of the
hardest skills but with the help of proper attention and positive nature will help the students to
get over from challenges. The very first strategies to overcome the listening challenge is students
4

must try to face the speaker and provide them proper attention. This it is very difficult to talk
with someone who are looking around and not able to make eye contact. So it is important to
make sure to face the speakers make eye contact and provide undivided attention. When it comes
to the western culture, eye contact is one of the important thing during the process of active
listening or presenting presentation. This may be refers to the situation and keep engaging the
conversation in a positive way (Yurko and Styfanyshyn, 2020). This way is helpful for
generating the sources with holding the judgement and advice in an effective ways.
Another strategies for overcoming the issue is to try for not interrupt the speaker when
they are delivering information at platform. If speaker deliver the message slowly then try for
being patience and wait until they finish their speech. All of this make the support for the student
to gain listening skills information in an effective ways. Do not try to interrupting by saying
unwanted words or body postures. As this wrong behaviour may sends the wrong message to the
speaker. This technique is helpful for increasing patience in the students or try to listen everyone
who wants to convey their message in an efficient way. This will be helpful for students to
overcome the challenge and provide different ideas before going to share the solution for
particular problem.
Many of the people think that to overcome the listening skill, it is important to analyse
the power of non-verbal clues. Non-verbal communication is one of the important conversation
that take place in between the two or more individuals. This is very important for the students to
learn and make effective enthusiasm through the use of body languages and the speech. This is
very easy in the communication to detect the boredom, irritation and facial expressions
(Djabbаrova, 2020). Therefore, it is very important for the individuals to pay the attention for
non-verbal clues and make a decision about the conversation topic. This will be helpful for the
students to manage the non-verbal clues and being so attention in nature.
Fourth strategy for overcoming the challenge of listening skills is to make notes. This
habit is helpful for the students to become more attentive and gain knowledge. While working on
the listening skill it is important for the individuals to make notes about the things are getting
during communication. This make the clear and concise behaviour to manage the data and make
supportive nature for the speaker as well. This make an ease in the communication process as
own written notes are more understandable then any other method. This method is helpful for
writing down the things and try to acknowledge the interaction with someone. Retaining the
5

knowledge as per the given information is able to analyse the system and gain active listening
practice (SYusupova, XomidovnaNishonova and Tojimatovna, 2021).
The very last strategy for overcome the listening skills challenges is related to provide
appropriate feedback. This can be verbal and non-verbal for the speaker, to manage the useful
techniques and work as per the growth to manage appropriate ways. This will be helpful for
generating the idea for speaker and make an understanding in between the speaker and audience
as well (Chattaraj, 2020). The main goal of this strategy is to gain more active listening habit and
complete task as per the effective practice and possibilities to make an attentive knowledge and
growth. This is help and make supposed work in an effective manner for the growth of
appropriate skills development.
Conclusion
From the above report, it is included that listening skills is one of the important process
and stage for gaining personal development in students. For the growth of the students, it is
analysed that they should aware with the different importance of listening skills, their challenges
face while applying in practices. In last it is important for the growth to work and make different
strategies that can be adopt in the daily life and applied different perspective for the growth and
importance of listening skills. The need to overcome the challenges and make appropriate
listening skills is helpful for defining the process of active listening skills in the daily practices.
6

References
Books and Journals
Astika, G. and Kurniawan, A., 2020. The challenges of using TED Talks as authentic resources
of academic listening for EFL university students. Indonesian Journal of Applied
Linguistics, 9(3), pp.589-598.
Carr, S., Pichora-Fuller, M.K., Li, K.Z. and Campos, J.L., 2020. Effects of age on listening and
postural control during realistic multi-tasking conditions. Human Movement Science, 73,
p.102664.
Chattaraj, D., 2020. Strategies for Facilitating Listening Skills among Foreign Language
Learners in US Universities. International Journal of Learning Teaching and
Educational Research, 19(4), pp.150-169.
Djabbаrova, F.O., 2020. Modern methods of teaching listening skills. Science and Education,
1(Special Issue 2).
Jabbarova, A., 2020. The Importance of Teaching Listening via Listening Strategies. Архив
Научных Публикаций JSPI.
Milliner, B. and Dimoski, B., 2021. The effects of a metacognitive intervention on lower-
proficiency EFL learners’ listening comprehension and listening self-efficacy. Language
Teaching Research, p.13621688211004646.
Smith, B.R., 2020. Listening to the wild blue yonder: The challenges of acoustic ecology. In
Hearing Cultures (pp. 21-41). Routledge.
Yurko, N. and Styfanyshyn, I., 2020. Listening skills in learning a language: the importance,
benefits and means of enhancement. Collective monographs, pp.38-46.
Yusupova, S.T., XomidovnaNishonova, D. and Tojimatovna, S.S., 2021. The importance of
communicative listening comprehension in language teaching. INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSE ON INNOVATION, INTEGRATION AND EDUCATION,
2(2), pp.18-20.
7