Pupose of Listening

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Listening is more than merely hearing words. What is listening? Listening is an ongoing process, in which the listener obtains the message, makes meaning of it and replies it in either a verbal or non-verbal communication. Everything in life has its purposes, listening included. What are its purposes? We will discuss about it further later below.

2.0 PURPOSES OF LISTENING

Unlike hearing, listening has far more purposes rather than just for hearing sounds and words. When we listen, we use it to receive information, to follow instructions, to evaluate information, to empathize and for listening pleasure. Other than these, listening is also used to; understand, remember, evaluate, and to support.

* To understand

o When we try understanding a speech, we should approach the speech with an open mind. If we have strong personal opinions, we should be encouraged to recognize our own biases.

* To remember

o We should look for the main ideas and how the speech is organized. The secondary details can be filled in later.

* To evaluate

o Ask ourselves if the speaker is qualified and if the message is legitimate. We should be alert to errors in the speaker's thinking processes, particularly bias, sweeping generalizations, propaganda devices, and charged words that may attempt to sway by prejudice or deceit rather than fact.

* To support

o We should listen closely to determine how other individuals are feeling and respond appropriately. For example, clarify, paraphrase, sympathize and encourage other people's speech.

3.0 SKILLS AND PROCESSES IN ACQUIRING LANGUAGE

In acquiring a language, listening plays a very important role. There are 2 processes in listening to acquire a language. There are top-down and bottom-up processing. What are top-down and bottom-up processes? Let's have a look.

3.1 Top-Down Listening

In top-down listening, it involves the listener to tap in or recall any information or knowledge on the subject the individual is listening to.The way the subject is interpreted may differ from one person to another.Most of the users of top down listening are often people who are doing an experiment or a research. In a real life situation, an example of top-down listening can be shown. For example, when a person listens to others' conversation, that particular person can use their background knowledge to predict what is being talked about or where the event might happen. These are the examples of the top-down listening features;

 Discriminating between emotions,

 getting the gist,

 recognizing the topic,

 using discourse structure to enhance listening strategies,

 identifying the speaker,

 evaluating themes,

 finding the main idea,

 finding supporting details,

 making inferences, and

 understanding organizing principals of extended speech.

3.2 Bottom-Up Listening

In bottom-up listening, in a listening process, the listener might have a little or no knowledge at all on the subject he/she is listening to. Usually, this type of listening is used in learning institutions where the students learn new knowledge or information from the teacher. The example for this type of listening in a real life situation can be shown where a person is listening attentively to his/her friend for directions to go to a new place where the person has never been to. The examples of a bottom-up listening features are;

 listening for specific details,

 recognizing cognates, and

 recognizing word-order patterns.

4.0 THE PROBLEMS IN LISTENING AND WAYS TO IMPROVE IT

Most people assume listening happens naturally because listening is rarely taught. However, listening is a skill that can be achieved through study and practice. However, there are still several problematic areas in listening which makes it hard for us to develop the listening skills we should have obtained. What are the problems? And what are the solutions to these problems?

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