LISTENING BEHAVIORS SURVEY

WHAT IS ACTIVE LISTENING?

SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVE LISTENING
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM
LISTENING

LISTENING BEHAVIORS SURVEY

PRESENTED BY THE ELMHURST COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER

Print out this survey(OR pick up your very own hard

copy from the Learning Center). Read each statement
and decide how that statement describes your
behavior. Circle YES in the appropriate column. The
interpretation for this survey is located below the
survey. BUT don't peek. Be honest in your self-
assessment.

Always True of Sometimes True Never True

STATEMENT Me of Me of Me
1. I stay awake during class. yes yes yes
2. I maintain eye contact with speaker. yes yes yes
3. I don't pretend interest in subject. yes yes yes
4. I understand instructor's questions. yes yes yes
5. I try to summarize the information. yes yes yes
6. I look for organizational
patterns(e.g. causes and effects, listing yes yes yes
of items).
7. I set a purpose for listening. yes yes yes
8. I forego the temptation to daydream yes yes yes
during class.
9. I try to predict what will come next. yes yes yes
10. I take notes regularly. yes yes yes
11. I ignore external distractions such yes yes yes
as loud noises, late arriving students.
12. I try to determine the speaker's yes yes yes
purpose.
13. I recognize that the speaker may be yes yes yes
biased about the subject.
14. I write down questions the yes yes yes
instructor poses during class.
15. I copy down items from the yes yes yes
chalkboard or overhead projector.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

Tally the three columns. Then refer to the

interpretations below.

14-15 YES for Always True of Me

You're probably a fantastic listener, both in a

classroom setting and among your friends. Keep up
the good work.

12-13 YES for Always True of Me

You are a good listener but you need to fine tune a

few of your listening skills. Choose behaviors to
modify that you feel will easily improve your
listening and classroom performance.

10-11 YES for Always True of Me

You need to change some behaviors so that you will

get more out of classroom lectures. To improve your
listening behaviors, you should start with any item
that you marked as Never True. Then move to the
Sometimes True column.

9 or Less YES for Always True of Me

OR

7 or More YES for Never True of Me

At this point in your academic career, you need to

master listening skills for academic success. It
will be difficult to find a situation in which you
will not need to use listening skills. College
class formats include lecture, class discussion, or
group work. But there is hope! The Learning Center
has many suggestions to help you improve these
skills. You may choose to:

explore this Study Tips topic in more detail.

OR

Pick a copy of The Joy of Listening by Lukes and

Lynott from the Learning Center. This book has five
chapters exploring active listening, non-verbal cues,
evaluation of messages, and more as well as numerous
easy exercises to strengthen your listening skills.

OR

contact a member of the Learning Center staff for a

one-on-one plan for improvement.

WHAT IS ACTIVE LISTENING?

PRESENTED BY THE ELMHURST COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER
Listening and hearing are not the same. Hearing is
the first stage of listening. Hearing occurs when
your ears pick up sound waves which are then
transported to your brain. This stage is your sense
of hearing.

Listening is a communication process and, to be

successful, is an active process. In other words,
you must be an active participant in this
communication process. In active listening, meaning
and evaluation of a message must take place before a
listener can respond to a speaker. Therefore, the
listener is actively working while the speaker is
talking.

How can this happen? It is simple. Our thought

speed is much faster than our speech speed. But be
careful! Don't allow the thought speed to race into
daydreaming. This habit will defeat your attempt to
become an active listener.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVE LISTENING

PRESENTED BY THE ELMHURST COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER

1. Set a purpose for listening.

What do you want to achieve????

--Main ideas or details of the topic?

--Improved notes from class?

--Better ability to participate in class

discussion?

--Staying awake during class lecture?

2. Concentrate on the message by eliminating internal
and

external distractions.

Examples of external distraction:

--classmates arriving late

--noise from outside classroom

Examples of internal distraction:

--concern over argument with friend from the night

before

--worry about stack of papers on instructor desk

due to be

returned at end of class

3. Think of questions. You may need to jot down

questions

to ask during class discussion or individually.

Informational Type: "I don't understand...."

Clarifying Type: "Is is true that...?"

4. Capitalize on your faster thought speed. Use this

time wisely.

--Predict what will be discussed next.

--Evaluate evidence presented.

--Find links among topics or details.

 --Think of additional questions or comments you
might make.

5. Listen for transitions. These are often specific

clues to

various parts of a lecture.

Introduction or Summary:

--Today's lecture covers....

--Today I'd like to discuss....

--Let's look at the topic of....

--To summarize....

--As a review....

--Recapping....

--In conclusion....

Enumeration or Sequence:

--First, second, third

--First, next, then, finally

--Most important, least important

--In addition, last

Compare and Contrast:

--similarily, both, likewise, in like manner

 --however, on the other hand, instead of,
nevertheless

Cause and Effect:

--the cause of, for this reason, because

--as a result, results in, thus, therefore

6. Hear the speaker out.

--Don't jump to conclusions.

--Don't stop listening because of an emotional

response

to a word or topic.

--Don't give up because the subject is difficult.

7. Be alert for other verbal and nonverbal cues.

--Tone of voice changes.

--Item is written on chalkboard or overhead

transparency.

--Specific phrases may be used such as "Last

semester...."

or "Some students have had difficulty with

this." These

phrases may be cues that details will be on the

test.
8. Be prepared and be flexible.

--If a chapter was assigned prior to lecture, read

it.

--If group work was to be completed, be sure you

have

done your part before the next class session.

--Teaching styles differ among professors and

disciplines.

Some professors lecture and then ask questions

of

students on a daily basis; others prefer class

discussion and wander from group to group.

--Sometimes class sessions may wander to extended

examples.

--Sometimes class sessions wander off on a

tangent.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM

LISTENING
PRESENTED BY THE ELMHURST COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER

Sometimes we set up barriers within ourselves to

counteract good listening habits. Check to see if
you have any barriers.

Print out the following list(OR pick up a hard copy

from the Learning Center). After the next lecture
you hear, read each item on the list. Decide if the
behavior is true of you. YES answers are a source
for a change in your behavior to make yourself a
better listener.

1. I usually think of this

yes no
class as boring.
2. I pretended to be paying
yes no
attention.
3. I didn't like the
instructor's
yes no
mannerisms(e.g. pacing,
phrasing,cough).
4. I tried to make notes
on everything which was yes no
said in class.
5. I tried to write my
notes in complete yes no
sentences.
6. The subject for this
class was way too difficult yes no
for me.
7. Some personal problems
kept my mind busy during yes no
the lecture.
8.I didn't waste paper in
copying down information
yes no
from the chalkboard or the
overhead tranparencies.
9.I was really angry about
something the instructor yes no
said in class.
10. I definitely enjoyed
distractions(e.g. late
yes no
student, books falling)
more than the lecture.
11. I spent much of the
lecture with a good yes no
daydream.
12. I didn't really
understand the lecture but
yes no
asking questions is not my
thing.