| Many students feel that listening is merely | | | | room is easy to hear sounds in, but when that |
| hearing. But as many of us know, merely | | | | room is filled with others, sound tends to |
| letting words pour into our ears is not | | | | get "consumed" and lost the further it is |
| listening. Yet, listening is the most used | | | | from its source. Add to that normal |
| technique of learning. | | | | classroom noises, outside noises, fans and |
| | | | air conditioning units, heaters, etc., and |
| To assist you in becoming a better listener, | | | | the chances of hearing the entire lecture |
| you should consider a set of rules called | | | | properly decreases. |
| LISAN. The letters of this mnemonic device | | | | |
| stand for the key words in five rules for | | | | Second, retain eye contact. The eyes can add |
| successful listening: | | | | a lot to the story. A teacher can tell |
| | | | whether you're "getting it" or not simply by |
| Lead, don't follow--Anticipate what's going | | | | looking at you, especially, your eyes. And, |
| to be said | | | | it is quite difficult to fall asleep when |
| | | | looking someone directly in the eyes, so your |
| Ideas? Look for them | | | | ability to concentrate should increase! |
| | | | |
| Signals--Watch for them | | | | Third, let the teacher know you are |
| | | | listening. Ask and answer questions to |
| Active, not passive involvement | | | | nodding in understanding or smiling |
| | | | appropriately at your instructor's attempts |
| Notes--Take them and then organize them | | | | at humor. |
| | | | |
| The first letter in LISAN reminds you to LEAD | | | | Fourth, ask questions for active listening. |
| instead of following. Leading involves two | | | | |
| steps: | | | | Fifth, resist distractions. Keep reminding |
| | | | yourself that you are listening to someone |
| First, read chapter assignments before your | | | | else. Keep your brain focused and fill in |
| class. If you read before you hear the | | | | what you think they mean. |
| lecture you will be more alert to important | | | | |
| ideas, names and words. You will anticipate | | | | Six, use thought speed. Your mind works much |
| them. | | | | faster than the speaker can talk; some |
| | | | studies report that the rate of the brain is |
| Secondly, think up questions to keep yourself | | | | almost 4 times that of regular speech, which |
| in the forefront . These are not questions | | | | often explains why daydreaming during a |
| that you ask your teacher, but ones around | | | | lecture occurs so often. Anticipate and sum |
| which you will plan your listening. | | | | up what has been said. Anticipate where the |
| | | | instructor is going with the lecture. |
| The I in LISAN tells you to look for the | | | | |
| IMPORTANT ideas. Many professors will | | | | Seven, fight back against distractions. If |
| introduce a couple new ideas and provide | | | | necessary, sit apart from friends or other |
| explanation, examples and additional support | | | | classmates that might distract you. Do not |
| for them. Your task is to identify the main | | | | sit at the back of the room or near the door; |
| ideas. The professor may come back to the | | | | hallway noises and noises from other |
| similar couple of ideas again and again. | | | | classrooms are more common at these points. |
| Being aware of them beforehand will help you | | | | |
| to "listen". | | | | The N is LISAN reminds you to take NOTES. In |
| | | | everyday conversation we mentally interpret, |
| The S in LISAN reminds you to listen for the | | | | classify, and summarize what is said. In |
| SIGNAL words. A good speaker uses signals to | | | | classroom learning, we do this more |
| relay what he is going to say. Common signs | | | | effectively by keeping written notes. Taking |
| that these are coming up are: | | | | notes helps us to "hear" by providing |
| | | | organization to what we are hearing. It is |
| To introduce an example: "for example" | | | | quite difficult to listen to and remember |
| "Thereare five reasons why...." | | | | unorganized and unrelated bits of |
| | | | information. |
| To signal support material: "Forinstance...." | | | | |
| "Similarly...." "Incontrast...." "On the | | | | One, if you heard someone shout out "nd, |
| other hand..." | | | | tckl, grd, cntr, hlf bk, fl bk, qrtr bk" you |
| | | | would find it tricky to listen and remember |
| To signal a summary orconclusion: | | | | it. |
| "Therefore..." "Inconclusion...." | | | | |
| "Finally...." "As aresult...." | | | | Two, staying organized is the key to |
| | | | effective listening and remembering. The |
| To signal importance: "Now this is | | | | above letters are the names of player |
| veryimportant...." "Remember that...." | | | | positions on a football team with the vowels |
| | | | omitted. |
| The A in LISAN reminds you to be an ACTIVE | | | | |
| listener. Listening is not just soaking up | | | | Third note taking is the way you find the |
| sound. To be an effective listener, you need | | | | orderliness. Good note taking means "getting" |
| to be active and not passive. This can be | | | | the underlying structure of what is heard, |
| done in a couple or ways: | | | | discovering the skeleton of ideas on which |
| | | | the professor has built his lesson. |
| First, use the situation in the classroom for | | | | |
| active listening. Sit close enough (front 1/3 | | | | Fourth and finally, good note taking is |
| of the room, near center) to see and hear the | | | | eighty percent listening and twenty percent |
| teacher as well as be seen and heard by him. | | | | writing, so don't ever worry about your |
| Remember, the further away you are from the | | | | penmanship or writing getting in the way of |
| teacher, the greater the chance of not being | | | | listening. |
| able to hear everything correctly. An empty | | | | |