Active Listening in Foreign Language Learning

In learning foreign language, listening is the first competence to acquired and followed by speaking, reading and writing. To understand what we are listening, we need to focus and to concentrate to what is said. The aims is that we can remember, recall, rethink and reproduce the information given with our own words on our mind or we called it as paraphrasing. More advanced, not only paraphrasing but also judging or valuing the information received. Listening is a fundamental activity in learning foreign language. It is conscious activities which required attention as well as critical thinking.

Good listeners are potentials to be a  good speaker, reader and also writer with some efforts of course.  Practicing is the key of all the competence in every skills, including in foreign language acquisition. As the proverb said, "Practice make perfect" or "How sharp the knife is, it will be useless if we don't use it." The more we practice the more we can achieve. So, it needs discipline, continuation and willingness.

Most people failed in gaining high proficiency score in foreign language test because of the listening problem. Improving the ability of listening maybe can help. Hearing is not listening. Most people failed in listening because they are only hearing.

Next reading will help us to guide the students or our self to be an active listener.
https://www.mcgill.ca/engage/files/engage/active_listening_and_effective_questioning.pdf

Categories: Education, Foreign Language Learning, Listening