Study Skills for Higher Education: Addressing Listening Challenges

This essay identifies and discusses the various listening challenges encountered by students in universities, including recognizing problems, understanding wrong instructions, dealing with speed speakers, limited vocabulary, accents, established language habits, lack of concentration, and noise. It further proposes measures to develop active listening skills, such as paying attention, asking questions, requesting clarification, summarizing, being attuned to the speaker's feelings, paraphrasing, and sharing. The report concludes that addressing these challenges and implementing the suggested measures can significantly improve students' learning outcomes and future growth. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and other helpful resources for academic success.

STUDY
SKILLS FOR
HIGHER
EDUCATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Listening challenges faced by students in universities...............................................................3
Measures to develop active listening skills.................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION :
Listening means an act where one person hears what the other person is saying. It
includes understanding the meaning of what is being said. It is a skill which is used for solving
problems. Since poor listening leads to misunderstanding which can create a conflict or dispute
between two persons. Listening plays a very important role in the life of students. It is key to all
effective communication. In this report we will discuss some of the listening challenges student
face in their universities. This report will also include the measures for improving their active
listening skills of the students which will help the students in their future.
TASK
LISTENING CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITIES :
Listening is totally different from hearing since it involves an extra effort by ear to hear the
sound. It is an active process in which the person hears the information and the brain tries to
understand the information by analysing it. Listening challenges can be defined as the hindrances
or barriers which the receiver face while listening to someone. It means the problem faced by
one person while listening to something from someone. Many students face issues in listening in
their universities and colleges. These problems keeps growing day by day which ultimately
hamper the efficiency of the student(BaqueGómez and GarcíaGalarza, 2022). Some of the most
common challenges faced by them are discussed below :
 RECOGNISING PROBLEMS : They are not able to recognise the exact words which are
being said by the professors of the universities. This keeps them confused throughout
their lecture and they lack clarity in their thoughts. It affects the overall productivity of
the student and raise doubt in their minds. This is most common issue among students
which involves lack of clarity in communication. The student is not aware of what is the
main conclusion or main point of the conversation(Braasch, 2019). In this, the students
has to consult or ask his friends for attaining clarity.

EXAMPLE – If any word or topic is being missed by the student which was important for
any project. Then they will not be able to do that project properly.
 UNDERSTANDING WRONG INSTRUCTIONS : Another problem which the students
face is understanding incorrect instructions. Poor listening leads to assumptions and
misunderstandings. The students are required to submit projects which can only be done
properly if they will understand what is required to be done(Elshof and Hendrawan,
2022). Misunderstanding in receiving the instructions can lead to error and mistakes
which can be very costly. So it is a very significant challenge which can impact the
overall efficiency of students.
EXAMPLE – if the professors have given any specific instruction in relation to any
assignment, and it is being wrongly understood by the student. Then it will lead to
mistakes and error from the student in preparation of the assignment.
 SPEED SPEAKER : It is concerned with the speaking speed of the speaker. It also
include the matter of speaking fluently. Since the native speakers of the language will
have faster speaking skills in their language. It will be very difficult to understand in the
that speed by the non-native student. So this problem always raise a doubt in the mind of
students (FerrariBridgers and Murolo, 2022) . The teachers of these universities should
focus on providing good quality content which is helpful for the students so that they can
understand everything properly.
EXAMPLE – If any professor is teaching any subject while speaking the words in speed,
then the students are not able to clearly understand what is said by them.
 LIMITED VOCABULARY : A student with limited vocabulary will regularly
misinterpret what is being said to him. This is the reason many students misunderstands
what are they are hearing. Many words used in the talks they heard are still new to them
because of their restricted vocabulary. It can negatively impact the development of a
student's reading skills. These students do not consult their problem to their friends and
teachers for maintaining their image (Fiester, 2022). This is a serious problem which the

students face in their studies. This keep the moral of the students down among other
students.
EXAMPLE – If any student has weak vocabulary, them he may not be able to understand
typical words told by teacher to him. It will downgrade his moral and confidence.
 ACCENT : Most of the students confront that the accent of the language also troubles
them sometimes. Since every student is not comfortable with different accents, it remains
a common problem among the students. In English only, there are 3 different types of
accents. It is a very difficult task for a student to understand all accents comfortably. So
universities should provide lectures after examining the situation of the students (Gultom,
Hutasoit and Sirait, 2022) . The universities has to do something in order to maintain the
student's effective learning.
EXAMPLE – If any student is studying in UK and he is from some Asian country, then it
will be very difficult for him to understand each and every word in British accent used in
the universities.
 ESTABLISHED LANGUAGE HABIT : This is the next problem which is faced by
many students in their universities. It is to due to the fact that they are not familiar with
English speaking circumstances yet. This shows that the students have not had sufficient
listening and speaking skills. It also shows that the teachers have not fully spoken English
with them which has not made the students comfortable in this language.
 LACK OF CONCENTRATION : The students in the universities lack in concentration
while attending the lectures. They cannot keep their focus for longer periods of time
during their lectures. Sometimes this may lead to problems like misinterpretation. The
students waste their time in distractions which ultimately affect their time of learning new
skills(Jiang, Kalyuga and Sweller, 2018).
 NOISE : It is one of the biggest factors which hinder the listening of students. It is the
disturbance which affects the ability to understand the message. By this the students can
not stay focused and concentrate on what is being said to them. Comprehension generally

decreases when there is so much noise around. It makes it difficult to focus and cause
people to miss out on important information or instructions.
EXAMPLE – If there is disturbance going around the class, then the student will not be
able to concentrate because of the noise around. It may lead to wastage of time and effort
of the student while attending the lecture.
MEASURES TO DEVELOP ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS :
Active listening is the process of observing the verbal and non-verbal messages which are being
said to the receiver. It also includes providing appropriate response to the sender for the
activeness of the receiver. It conveys a mutual understanding between the speaker and listener.
These are the measures which will help the students in improving their listening skills. These
measures will make the communication more effective and the listener more attentive.
 PAY ATTENTION : It is one of the key measure of active listening. The student need to
pay attention to their body language and frame of mind when listening the lectures. It will
help them in understanding what the teacher or professor is explaining. This will give
them a better idea of what is going around them(Kristinsson, Jonsdottir and Snorrason,
2019). The student should try to avoid distracting thoughts and external triggers such as
side conversation, phone notifications, etc. The student should try to show that he is
paying attention in the class and knows everything what is going around.
 ASK QUESTIONS : The students should try to ask open-ended questions which cannot
be answered in yes or no by the professors. This will help the students in gaining more
knowledge about the topic which will bring more clarity in their thought process. Since
questions stimulate discussion and critical thinking and also makes the communication
better between the students and professors(Marconi, 2022) .
 REQUEST CLARIFICATION : It involves raising clarification by students, if they do
not understand any topic. It means periodically asking questions from the professor with
a view to get a better understanding of the doubt and getting the required clarity of that
particular topic. The students need not feel shy to ask questions about the issue that is

unclear to them. It invites a thoughtful response and also maintains a bond of
collaboration.
 SUMMARISE : If the speaker is mentioning some important points on the topic, then it is
necessary for the students to note them down and prepare a summary of these points. It
helps the student in concentrating on the important points whenever required. This is
considered as a method to sum up the necessary points of the content. Repeating key
themes as the lecture proceeds will definitely show good results. It confirms and and
solidifies your grasp of the point of view of others(Robihim and Agustine, 2022) .
 BE ATTACHED TO SPEAKER'S FEELING : This is very helpful for the students since
it enables them in understanding the content better. It gives them the idea of what is being
said by their professors. It can be very tricky sometimes but students need to stay focus in
their listening. The students should try to understand the behaviour or nature of the
person who they are listening.
 PARAPHRASE : It means repeating the content which the students have learned. It can
translate the comments and makes them understandable for everyone. If the students are
facing some issues in understanding, then they can use this measure(Tate and Hopkins,
2020). It will help them in repeating the content the speaker has said without actually
asking the speaker again and again.
EXAMPLE – So you want us to learn these topics from the new approach instead of the
old one. In this way, a student can possess active listening skills.
 SHARING : This is considered an effective measure of active listening. It involves
getting a clear understanding of the topic by the student and then sharing it with others.
This will help both the students in effectively understanding the topic and getting the
required confidence about the topic(Williams, 2018). The students should share their
ideas and knowledge with their team members so that the assignment which is given to
them can be completed properly.

CONCLUSION
Therefore it can be concluded from the above report that the challenges faced by the
students in the universities need to be focused. They cannot be ignored by the management of
universities since they affect the overall learning of students in a impactful manner. It can also be
said that the students can effectively improve their active listening skills by following the
measures discussed above. This will help them in effectively pursue their studies and also help
them in the their future growth.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baque Gómez, G.Y. and García Galarza, A.J., 2022. Deploying audiovisual techniques to
improve listening skills(Bachelor's thesis, Universidad de Guayaquil. Facultad de
Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación).
Braasch, J., 2019. Hyper-specializing in saxophone using acoustical insight and deep listening
skills. Springer International Publishing.
Elshof, M. and Hendrawan, B., 2022. Humanistic communication professionals: dialogue and
listening skills as core competencies of humanistic communication professionals in the
Netherlands. Journal of Communication Management, (ahead-of-print).
Ferrari-Bridgers, F. and Murolo, S., 2022. Assessing Critical Listening Skills in Accounting
Community College Students: An Exploratory Inquiry of How Exercising Listening
Skills Positively Impacts Students’ Test Performance. Business and Professional
Communication Quarterly, p.23294906221090504.
Fiester, A., 2022. Developing Skills in the HEC Communication Competency: Diagnostic
Listening and the ADEPT Technique. The Journal of Clinical Ethics, 33(1), pp.42-49.
Gultom, D.G., Hutasoit, P. and Sirait, S.P., 2022. MEASURING LISTENING SKILLS
THROUGH STRATEGY TO NOTE (NOTETAKING) ON KEYWORDS AT SMK N
1 PEMATANGSIANTAR. JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND
BUSINESS (JHSSB), 1(2), pp.59-64.
Jiang, D., Kalyuga, S. and Sweller, J., 2018. The curious case of improving foreign language
listening skills by reading rather than listening: An expertise reversal
effect. Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), pp.1139-1165.
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.
Marconi, G., 2022. Does English Instruction Teach More Reading Than Listening Skills?
Evidence From 15 European Education Systems. Evidence From, 15.
Robihim, R. and Agustine, I., 2022. Impact of Group Discussion on Japanese Listening Skills for
Oral Comprehension Subject Through Zoom. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 14(2).
Tate, S. and Hopkins, P., 2020. Listening Skills. In Studying Geography at University (pp. 67-
72). Routledge.
Williams, D., 2018. Early listening skills. Routledge.