LISTENING
What’s so important about
such a simple thing?
so, $3,065 per course 
37½ hours
in class per semester 
$82.00
per lecture hour
in 2008-09
“Spoon-fed” the information,
not needing to listen hard
The higher you go in higher education,
the less you are going to be given all the
right answers to be “regurgitated” later
YOUR 4 “VOCABULARIES”
INPUT
LISTENING 53%
READING
17%
SPEAKING 16%
WRITING 14%
OUTPUT
People remember:
20% 0f what they hear
75% of what they see
90% of what they do
“I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.”
old Chinese proverb
LISTENING is more than HEARING
HEARING is a spontaneous act
that occurs independently
of your will
“Selective attention” when your name is
called over a PA system at the airport.
Or you hear yourself named across the
room at a party
Listening
is the
form of “hearing”
So, it takes
concentration
Concentration
is focusing on one issue,
accepting and rejecting ideas
about it as you go:
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
ability to hold two opposed ideas in the
mind at the same time.”
- The Great Gatsby
LECTURE
vs. DISCUSSION
AUDITORY total _______
Handout
online
AUDITORY LEARNERS
You will usually learn better when
information comes through your ears you need to HEAR information;
you will probably do better in lecture
situations than in those
requiring a lot of reading.
Recite aloud things you want to
remember.
VISUAL LEARNERS
You will usually learn better
when you read
or SEE information;
your textbooks will be easier
than straight lectures.
Make the auditory visible
Write down things you want to
remember.
HAPTIC LEARNERS
You will usually learn better when
you’re able to DO:
experience, experiment,
and move.
Speak up
Get active with things you want
to remember
Professors have their own
style just like students do
Teaching styles differ
among professors and academic disciplines.
Some professors only lecture
Some professors lecture and then leave time
for a Q and A at the end of class
 others prefer small class discussions and
wander from group to group.
Finally, some professors assign students
to lead class lecture and discussion
through much of the semester
Why PROFESSORS Choose
LECTURE vs. DISCUSSION
• Their style preference, especially how much
control they want to keep
• Class size
• Type of material to be taught
• Type of learning that is to happen
– e.g. they want their students to react to, evaluate,
and critique the subject matter
– vs. they want to present a base of factual
information
Where professors find their test questions
All taken
from
textbook
The continuum: everything in between
All taken
from
lecture
-I can’t skip the reading
- I can’t be absent
- Why am I going to
class?
- Why’d I buy those
books?
DURING CLASS
THE PROFESSOR:
• Some
professors
mostly
lecture
It’s the give-and-take,
the leading and following,
of “dance partners”
Downwards (bad) spiral
2. Professor speaks
louder, walks around the
room, tries to generate
enthusiasm and
wonders why the
students are enrolled…
3. Professor might try
to get a response by
asking questions:
“Bueller? Anyone?”
5. Professor gives up,
drones on and vows to
make the next test a
killer….
1. Students stare
ahead, slump, text
message, doodle,
sleep (!!)
4. Nobody - or just the
usual suspects responds.
It’s the serve-and-return
of a tennis game
Upwards (good) spiral
5. The lecture is
engaging and the
audience and
speaker are both
enthusiastic
4. The professor
really lights up
because the students
are engaged
3. Lecture becomes more
lively and interesting, so the
students really do sit up
2. Professor
responds with
more energy
1. Students put
on a listening
face
• Mostly lectures
Some lecturers are vast reservoirs
of information,
but they are not very exciting
to listen to in class.
How can you benefit most
from this kind of lecturer?
• With monotonous lecturers, you are
forced to be MORE inquisitive and
attentive – to listen harder and better.
• By doing more of the work, you’re
more likely to get your $$$$ worth.
Things YOU can do
• Come to class COMPLETELY prepared
to get the most out of the monotony
• Talk a lot in class both to liven things
up and to get the professor’s
interaction
• Make a list of study questions you think
are relevant and/or interesting and then
use boring lecture to hunt for answers
• Ask a lot of questions to try to capitalize
on the “vast reservoir” –
thought-provoking questions might
spark up the lecture and arouse an
exchange of ideas among students and
professor
Decide where to sit
Consider sitting
front and center
You!
SITTING
front and center:

the best view and sound

notice from the prof


least distractions
most incentive to stay alert
Bad LISTENING habits…
• I faked attention.
• I definitely enjoyed distractions(e.g. late
student, books falling) more than the
lecture.
• I spent much of the lecture with a good
daydream.
…Including your attitude,
• I usually think of this class as boring, so I tuned
out.
• I didn't like the instructor's mannerisms (e.g.
pacing, phrasing, cough, giggling), so I got turned
off.
• I was really angry about something the instructor
said in class, so I shut down.
• The subject for this class was way too difficult
for me, so I gave up.
• Some personal problems kept my mind busy
during the lecture, so I got distracted.
Affect your class notes.
• I tried to make notes on everything which
was said in class.
• I tried to write my notes in complete
sentences.
• I didn't waste paper in copying down
information from the chalkboard or the
overhead transparencies.
• I didn't really understand the lecture but
asking questions is not my thing.
How to know what’s important
1. pauses
2. repeats
3. voice volume
4. states as the major ideas (listen for
transition words)
5. chalkboard
6. non-verbal clues
- face
- gestures
- body language
CUA’s old Course Evaluation
asked students to “grade” a professor:
1. Increased my interest in the course
material
2. Speaks clearly and can be understood
without difficulty
3. Lecture gives viewpoints and insights
which the texts don’t have
Effective lecturing
• Digressions – stories told for the sake of
storytelling- are kept to a minimum
• Distracting gestures or movements are
kept to a minimum
• If humor is used, it helps the listener’s
concentration on the topic instead of
detracting from it