Module 2: Receptive Macro Skill
Unit 4: Nature and Purposes of Listening
ACTIVATE: Share an incident about a conversation you had that lead to a misunderstanding
because one of you misheard a word and answer a few questions about it.
Narrate the incident here:
I had been to numerous instances wherein I experienced being misheard or mishearing a word, but
the most recent was last week. I was talking with my mother regarding our neighbor who was
rumored to be a COVID positive. Since I was curious, I asked my mother who. When she answered
my question, my brother suddenly played an out of tune music in the background. Ignoring my
brother’s music, I proceeded to ask my mother for details about Cobing, our rumored COVID
positive neighbor. But to my surprise, my mother laughed. I thought she was laughing at the out
of tune music of my brother. It turns out that she was laughing because I got the name incorrect.
Instead of “Cobing”, it should be “Pering”.
I. What do you think are factors that affect miscommunication between a speaker and a
listener?
Many factors affect miscommunication between a speaker and a listener, but I think the most
common are: divided attention, lack of interest and motivation and, passive listening for the
internal factors. Then background noise and interruptions for external factors. In this busy world,
it is hard to keep our attention on one thing as we tend to multi-task. Sometimes, while we
communicate with other people, we find ourselves spacing out and thinking of other things
especially if we are not interested in the topic. This lack of motivation to listen can lead to passive
listening that is pointless as we did not take in the message. Likewise, our environment can also
be a factor that affects communication. For instance, communicating in the middle of a noisy street
can cause us to mishear words and misinterpret the message. Additionally, constant interruption
while the speaker is speaking can also cause miscommunication or worse- an argument.
2. On the contrary, what are essential in being able to listen well?
Mcburney and Wrage stated to be able to listen well, a listener must possess the following
characteristics: voluntary, purposeful, motivated, cooperative, and critical. There is a big
difference between listening and hearing. Hearing is simply perceiving a sound while listening is
a choice and a conscious intention that needs our cooperation. When we are listening, we should
be all ears and should stay quiet while the speaker is talking. This simple action is a form of respect
and is highly appreciated. Furthermore, whenever we are listening, we should pay attention to the
speaker's message and words instead of thinking about our response.
, ACQUIRE:
Listening in Communication
At the end of the communication line is an indispensable element—the listener, the active participation
of whom either makes or unmakes communication. How good at listening this element is, spells a big difference
in the communication process. At this point, it must be understood that effective communication, in part, come
through a constant awareness and study of how listeners respond. This is especially so if we consider the axiom
that meaning is altogether in the mind of the listener.
Nature of Listening
Listening is the cognitive process whereby we attach meanings to aural signals. It is the active intellectual
process of decoding, interpreting, understanding and evaluating messages. It is a mode of communication just as
important as the other modes like speaking, reading, and writing. It is sad to note, however, that this mode has
been observed to be the most neglected area in teaching English towards communicative competence. This is
lamentable considering that we spend most of our waking hours communicating, the greatest portion of which is
spent in listening. In today’s world, which is fast turning into a global village and where communication is highly
developed, the demand to sharpen our listening power is high.
The Best Kind of Listening
According to Mcburney and Wrage, the best kind of listening has the following characteristics:
1. Voluntary. Good listening begins with a willingness to participate completely in a communicative situation.
2. Purposeful. You choose to listen because of some very good reason/reasons.
3. Motivated. When you have good reasons for listening, you are all keyed up for the activity and nothing can
stop you.
4. Cooperative. You keep quiet and give your wholehearted cooperation when you listen because you hope
for nothing but only the best from the speaker.
5. Critical. You follow the speaker’s ideas carefully and get things clear so that in the end, you may be able to
make intellectual judgments when you evaluate his ideas before responding.
The following are the things good listening does for you in a speaking situation:
1.It stimulates communication between the parties involved. An active listener encourages the speaker to say
more. It builds respect and loyalty and makes people feel important.
2.It contributes to and promotes better responses among the members of the group. It facilitates the meeting of
minds.
3.It makes you appreciate and enjoy what you hear. It increases and expands the range of one’s enjoyment of life.
It gives pleasure and even comfort.
4.It assists in understanding what is being said. With a listener's full attention, understanding can be achieved in
no time. Hence, it saves you time as well as effort.
What is active listening?
Active listening is the ability to focus completely on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the
information and respond thoughtfully. Unlike passive listening, which is the act of hearing a speaker without
retaining their message, this highly valued interpersonal communication skill ensures you’re able to engage and
later recall specific details without needing information repeated.
Active listeners use verbal and non-verbal techniques to show and keep their attention on the speaker. This
not only supports your ability to focus, but also helps ensure the speaker can see that you are focused and engaged.
Instead of thinking about and mentally rehearsing what you might say when the speaker is done, an active listener
carefully considers the speaker’s words and commits the information to memory.
Unit 4: Nature and Purposes of Listening
ACTIVATE: Share an incident about a conversation you had that lead to a misunderstanding
because one of you misheard a word and answer a few questions about it.
Narrate the incident here:
I had been to numerous instances wherein I experienced being misheard or mishearing a word, but
the most recent was last week. I was talking with my mother regarding our neighbor who was
rumored to be a COVID positive. Since I was curious, I asked my mother who. When she answered
my question, my brother suddenly played an out of tune music in the background. Ignoring my
brother’s music, I proceeded to ask my mother for details about Cobing, our rumored COVID
positive neighbor. But to my surprise, my mother laughed. I thought she was laughing at the out
of tune music of my brother. It turns out that she was laughing because I got the name incorrect.
Instead of “Cobing”, it should be “Pering”.
I. What do you think are factors that affect miscommunication between a speaker and a
listener?
Many factors affect miscommunication between a speaker and a listener, but I think the most
common are: divided attention, lack of interest and motivation and, passive listening for the
internal factors. Then background noise and interruptions for external factors. In this busy world,
it is hard to keep our attention on one thing as we tend to multi-task. Sometimes, while we
communicate with other people, we find ourselves spacing out and thinking of other things
especially if we are not interested in the topic. This lack of motivation to listen can lead to passive
listening that is pointless as we did not take in the message. Likewise, our environment can also
be a factor that affects communication. For instance, communicating in the middle of a noisy street
can cause us to mishear words and misinterpret the message. Additionally, constant interruption
while the speaker is speaking can also cause miscommunication or worse- an argument.
2. On the contrary, what are essential in being able to listen well?
Mcburney and Wrage stated to be able to listen well, a listener must possess the following
characteristics: voluntary, purposeful, motivated, cooperative, and critical. There is a big
difference between listening and hearing. Hearing is simply perceiving a sound while listening is
a choice and a conscious intention that needs our cooperation. When we are listening, we should
be all ears and should stay quiet while the speaker is talking. This simple action is a form of respect
and is highly appreciated. Furthermore, whenever we are listening, we should pay attention to the
speaker's message and words instead of thinking about our response.
, ACQUIRE:
Listening in Communication
At the end of the communication line is an indispensable element—the listener, the active participation
of whom either makes or unmakes communication. How good at listening this element is, spells a big difference
in the communication process. At this point, it must be understood that effective communication, in part, come
through a constant awareness and study of how listeners respond. This is especially so if we consider the axiom
that meaning is altogether in the mind of the listener.
Nature of Listening
Listening is the cognitive process whereby we attach meanings to aural signals. It is the active intellectual
process of decoding, interpreting, understanding and evaluating messages. It is a mode of communication just as
important as the other modes like speaking, reading, and writing. It is sad to note, however, that this mode has
been observed to be the most neglected area in teaching English towards communicative competence. This is
lamentable considering that we spend most of our waking hours communicating, the greatest portion of which is
spent in listening. In today’s world, which is fast turning into a global village and where communication is highly
developed, the demand to sharpen our listening power is high.
The Best Kind of Listening
According to Mcburney and Wrage, the best kind of listening has the following characteristics:
1. Voluntary. Good listening begins with a willingness to participate completely in a communicative situation.
2. Purposeful. You choose to listen because of some very good reason/reasons.
3. Motivated. When you have good reasons for listening, you are all keyed up for the activity and nothing can
stop you.
4. Cooperative. You keep quiet and give your wholehearted cooperation when you listen because you hope
for nothing but only the best from the speaker.
5. Critical. You follow the speaker’s ideas carefully and get things clear so that in the end, you may be able to
make intellectual judgments when you evaluate his ideas before responding.
The following are the things good listening does for you in a speaking situation:
1.It stimulates communication between the parties involved. An active listener encourages the speaker to say
more. It builds respect and loyalty and makes people feel important.
2.It contributes to and promotes better responses among the members of the group. It facilitates the meeting of
minds.
3.It makes you appreciate and enjoy what you hear. It increases and expands the range of one’s enjoyment of life.
It gives pleasure and even comfort.
4.It assists in understanding what is being said. With a listener's full attention, understanding can be achieved in
no time. Hence, it saves you time as well as effort.
What is active listening?
Active listening is the ability to focus completely on a speaker, understand their message, comprehend the
information and respond thoughtfully. Unlike passive listening, which is the act of hearing a speaker without
retaining their message, this highly valued interpersonal communication skill ensures you’re able to engage and
later recall specific details without needing information repeated.
Active listeners use verbal and non-verbal techniques to show and keep their attention on the speaker. This
not only supports your ability to focus, but also helps ensure the speaker can see that you are focused and engaged.
Instead of thinking about and mentally rehearsing what you might say when the speaker is done, an active listener
carefully considers the speaker’s words and commits the information to memory.
