Listening: What is it?

Listening can be defined as hearing with the intent of understanding. To hear is defined as ‘perceiving with the ear (Shorter Oxford Dictionary); whereas to listen is described by the same dictionary as ‘to hear attentively’. These two words, hear and listen are often interchanged in common usage.

Hearing is a passive act that only becomes listening once the hearer starts concentrating on what is being heard.

From p. 6

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There are many different levels of listening that require different levels of attention. These different levels could be described as:

-          hearing: simply being aware of sound

-          Receptive listening: recognizing and attempting to interpret the sounds

-          Responsive listening: Concentrating specifically in order to respond to the sender.

-          Reactive listening: Concentrating specifically in order to learn from the sender (ie understand and remember)

We use different skills and degrees of concentration fro each –and we will often switch from one level to the next depending on the circumstances.

(p. 21_

Ryan, K and Pauley, A (2002) Listening Skills: Resources and Activities for Teaching Effective Listening, Melbourne: Phoenix Education.