Listen, hear
Listen hear!
The explosion in new technology means our children are losing the listening habit.
writes Robert Watts
In the early 1970s my sister and I were little enough to come home from school every lunchtime and I have vivid memories of our mum serving up dishes of mince, potatoes, peas and gravy. Then we would settle down to Listen with Mother.
This daily broadcast was a lunchtime ritual for up to a million little listeners. It always began: ‘Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…’ It helped to develop good listening skills in generations of children.
Sadly, today’s children have no such lunchtime treat. They are more likely to borrow mother’s smartphone and immerse themselves in the next level of Angry Birds.
The review of primary education carried out by Sir Jim Rose in 2009 highlighted the crucial importance of developing children’s listening skills in schools. Yet its recommendations were ignored by the incoming government, which promptly scrapped the proposed changes to the curriculum. But why are listening skills so important? And what can be done at home and at school to help
encourage them?
Nature or nurture?
Almost all babies are born with the ability to hear, but ability to listen is learned rather than ingrained. So what’s the difference? Hearing happens whether we like it or not – we can’t avoid the noise from the neighbour’s TV. But listening requires us to engage with what we can hear. Sounds simple, but the process is a complicated one. In conversation, for instance, we might simultaneously be listening and also formulating possible responses to the person we are listening to. Even if we’re listening passively without responding – to the radio, for example – our minds are still busy processing, categorising and synthesising new material.
Technology overload
In the days of Listen with Mother, the only electronic item
competing for children’s attention was the television, offering a few hours of kids’
programmes squeezed in before the 6 o’clock news. But take a minute to look up from
this magazine, look around you, and count the number of hi-
offers endless distraction for your child.
You could argue that some or all of these items have educational value, but the experience
each offers your child is essentially visual, rather than auditory. Even the most
innocuous of on-
but listening is not one of them. In fact, there is growing evidence that it is contributing towards a deterioration of children’s listening skills.
Lost opportunities
Opportunities for children to actively listen are few and far between. Though Listen with Mother is long gone, the demise of children’s radio has recently highlighted this issue. Despite a mushrooming choice of digital radio stations, experts are saying that the needs of children are being overlooked.
‘For years the BBC claimed children didn’t want radio but only TV and pop music,’
says Susan Stranks, coordinator of the National Campaign for Children’s Radio. ‘So
children’s radio died while grown-
Susan Stranks claims huge public demand for children’s radio, and her claim is supported
by research. But rather than create a new radio station, the BBC sidelined children’s
programmes to a digital station that attracts only a minority audience of well-
Listening at school
The benefits of being a good listener were highlighted recently by research at the University of New Mexico, which indicated that listening skills are a good predictor of reading performance.
‘Several investigations have found positive relationships between oral language skills, such as vocabulary and listening comprehension, and reading achievement,’ says the report. ‘This suggests that strategies targeted at listening comprehension are important components of a primary curriculum,’
Getting children to listen in class is a key challenge but Miss has a few strategies up her sleeve. These are useful strategies that can be used by parents at home too.
When teachers read to children, they don’t wait until bedtime before rushing through a story and then look like they might nod off midway! Quite often, they’ll pause their reading to target certain children with specific questions, asking them to summarise the story so far or predict what might happen next. Knowing that, any minute now, they could be called upon to explain to the class the hidden motivations of the Gruffalo is a great way to keep children’s attention.
Teachers maximise eye contact by sitting at a similar level to the
children, who will often be gathered together on a carpet, ‘Circle
time,’ when children practise taking turns to speak, is an extension of this technique. It’s an opportunity for children to express their
thoughts and opinions knowing that the whole class is listening with a sympathetic ear.
Listening to how teachers work to resolve conflicts between children can be illuminating. Teachers will often help to promote listening by repeating each child’s statement and they encourage empathy by asking each child to describe how they think
the other feels.
Education
A good hearing
If you want your child to grow into a good little listener, aim for:
2-
Plenty of eye contact, exaggerated facial and verbal expressions, lots of music, rhymes, songs, and stories.
5-
Sharing books, taking turns to speak, finding the balance between speaking and listening.
7 years +
Structured conversations (less interrupting), musical instruments, role-
Learning to listen at home
The importance of listening was summed up neatly by the Greek philosopher Epictetus when he said: ‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.’ How I wish I’d had that quotation to hand when I started work as a primary school teacher.
It took me a long time to work out that there are only certain circumstances in which children will listen carefully: one is when they’re interested and engaged in what’s being said. The other is when they can clearly see the benefits to be gained.
For parents, the problem is that only a certain amount of what you have to say to your children fits either criteria. Occasionally children may be enthused by the prospect of some reward you are offering or entranced by one of your more hilarious anecdotes, but a lot of what you have to say to them is about doing things they don’t especially want to do. There is simply nothing in it for
them to listen!
During a gradual escalation from gentle requests (Darling, would you mind awfully putting your socks in the drawer?) to exasperated ultimatums (If you want to see your rabbit alive again, I suggest you clear up this room now!) children become increasingly immune to the sound of their parents’ voices. By striving to say a little less
(‘choose your battles’ is how some parents describe it) parents may find that children actually listen a little more.
Sharing books is a great way to establish regular one-
Better still, try telling stories rather than reading them: we can all recall a tale or two that children will enjoy listening to. If you get the chance, a double act with mum and dad assuming the voices of different characters is a great way to keep little listeners enthralled.
If your acting skills leave a little to be desired, try investing in a few CDs of children’s stories. You’ll soon pick up some great tips from the storytelling professionals which will make bedtime story sessions more compelling.
And finally – show ‘em how it’s done. Our own listening habits inevitably influence our children’s, so try to model listening skills by paying attention to your child when he’s speaking, making eye contact and responding. Not always easy, it’s true – but in the absence of Listen with Mother, it’s the least we can do!
More info
www.whirligig-
1950s clip from Listen with Mother
htt p://lightupyourbrain.com/stories for free
downloadable mp3 fi les of children’s stories
www.teachingthinking.net for Stories for Thinking and
other books by Robert Fisher