Good listeners are good learners. Conversely, a struggling listener is a struggling learner. Why? Because Listening is:
- A whole-brain, whole-body experience that connects us to the world outside of ourselves and is the most basic precursor to interaction, speaking, reading, and writing.
- Our primary modality for connecting and communication with others.
- A foundation for the higher-level skills associated with academic learning.
Consequently, good listeners are able to:
- Follow directions
- Understand expectations
- Communicate more clearly
Here are 4 more listening tips to move your children along to successful academic learning and productive living. Tell them to:
- Make eye contact. Follow the teacher with their eyes as much as possible.
- Look for the main idea in what the teacher is saying. And make connections…link what the teacher is saying to what they already know.
- Keep their minds from wandering. Thoughts move much faster than words, and the urge to stray is strong. With deliberate and consistent effort, however, they can increase their attention span.
- Summarize what the teacher is saying. Every few sentences take some notes; draw pictures; make whatever form of notation is helpful for them. Writing is the doing part of thinking and will aid recall of the information.
Model and practice these listening tips at home with your children. Let their siblings join in. Make it a game.
The more they practice, the more automatic good listening will become for them.
Dropping by for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Thank for sharing. This is very informative.
Thank you.
When I had a young child, it was natural to teach him colors and shapes, but I never thought about attempting to improve his listening skills. For younger children, are there any games you would recommend to work on this skill? I’m asking not as a mother (my son is in his early 20’s now) but in case I become a grandparent.
Thanks, Alana, for stopping by and offering your thoughtful comment. You probably did some things, instinctively, that helped your son develop his listening skills. Most parents do.
One type of game to develop good listening is Hide and Seek. For the little ones, try hiding a favorite toy, a treat, or something similar. Be sure to emphasize that finding the treasure depends on them listening carefully to you. A game of “20 Questions” will work well for the older children. Here they have to ask questions to figure out a verbal puzzle and arrive at an answer for a predetermined person, place, event, etc.
Great recommendations. I think talking to your teacher helps tremendously because some classrooms are overcrowded. Teachers try their best to get to know each and everyone of their students. Teachers want their students to succeed.
Thank you, Barbara.
You are right, teachers want their students to succeed. If only more students would be able to explain how they learn best, without being intimidated. If only more parents taught them how to do that, and advocated for their children.