BCA Notes The Listening Process Study material

BCA Notes The Listening Process Study material: Listening process hearing and listening types of listening superficial listening Appreciative listening focused listening evaluative listening attentive listening empathetic listening with a purpose Barriers to Listening physical Barriers Psychological Barriers ( most Important Topic for BCA )

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THE LISTENING PROCESS

“You are not listening to me,” says the teacher. “Sir, I am listening to you,” the student replies. “No, you are not,” the teacher emphatically says. The problem is simple. The student is not able to focus 100 percent on what the teacher is speaking, and the teacher is able to sense it. It is important to be a good listener and to be perceived as one.

Listening is a process of receiving and interpreting the spoken word. It involves recognizing what is said and comprehending the matter, that is, understanding the main and subsidiary points as well as the links between the different parts of speech. This means that effective listening involves not only recognizing unit boundaries phonologically, but also the recognition of false starts, pauses, hesitations, stress, intonation, and rhythm patterns. While receiving and interpreting the spoken word, the listener is concerned with four factors, that is, sensing, message decoding or interpreting, evaluating, and response, as illustrated in Fig. 4.1.

Listening begins with the physical hearing of the message and taking note of it. Sensing is, thus, the first step of the listening process. You hear sounds and concentrate on them in order to receive the message. You recognize unit boundaries phonologically as it is important for you to recognize phonological differences. Once you are able to recognize the sound patterns, you have to decode and interpret the message.

Decoding or interpreting in listening refers to the process of changing the coded message into information. It involves understanding the spoken language. Although the interpretation of a verbal message may be influenced by your social, cultural, educational, professional, and intellectual frames listening is sensing.

of reference, verbal messages use a common language code, which can be easy de message decoding or coded because if the message cannot be decoded or understood, communication fails. interpretation,

For example, if you do not understand French, you can not decode a message encoded evaluation, and response. in French. The process of message decoding in listening also involves the recognition of false starts, pauses, hesitations, stress, intonation, and rhythm patterns. After the message has been decoded and interpreted, its significance is evaluated and appropriate conclusions are drawn from it. In order to evaluate a verbal message correctly, facts have to be separated from opinions, relevant information from irrelevant information, examples from ideas, and explicit information from implicit information. The intention and attitude of the speaker also have to be analyzed and understood. When we listen, we have to construct a parallel message based on the sound clues received from the speaker. We should be aware of our own prejudices and biases so that we avoid making wrong conclusions.

The response is the action or reaction of the listener to the message. It is the last stage of listening. If the message has been analyzed, interpreted, and evaluated correctly, the response will be appropriate. The response makes the communication more effective as it clarifies the message and helps the speaker to know whether the message has been understood or not.

HEARING AND LISTENING

SVEITSISHT

A clear distinction should be made between listening and hearing. Hearing happens automatically as it is an involuntary physical act. It does not require the conscious involvement of the listener. When you move on a railway platform, you hear several voices. You do not listen to them. SudHearing happens automatically while there is an announcement on the public speaker and we listen to it. When we listen requires to listen, we pay conscious attention to what is being said. conscious efforts. Table 4.1 summarises the differences between listening and hearing.

TYPES OF LISTENING

As illustrated in Table 4.2, listening may be classified into the following six types on the basis of purpose and output:

1 Superficial listening

2. Appreciative listening

3. Focused listening

4. Evaluative listening

5. Attentive listening

6. Empathetic listening S

Superficial Listening

In this type of listening the listener has little awareness of the content of what is being said. The output in this type of listening is zero because the listener tends to ignore the message, and is not able to concentrate on the theme, main points, and supporting details of the message.

Appreciative Listening

The main purpose of appreciative listening is to get enjoyment and pleasure. Examples include listening to recordings of songs, entertaining stories, jokes, anecdotes, and so on. The output may be taking part in the entertainment process. For example, a music lover may listen to the latest hit, pick up the chorus and tune, and try to sing along

Focused Listening

Focused listening involves listening for specific information. The main purpose is to get some specific information that might be used to make a decision. This is the most common type of listening that we Practice in non-formal oral communicative situations. Examples include listening to the radio, watching and listening to television programs, listening to railway and airport announcements, and so on.

Evaluative Listening

Evaluative listening involves evaluation of the oral message or commentary and developing a line of thought. The listener interprets and analyses what he or she listens to in order to understand both the explicit as well as the implicit meaning of the oral message. It may also involve matching topics against one’s own interests, and making mental notes of the important points. Thus, the main purpose of evaluative listening is to evaluate the content of the oral message to select appropriate information. The output could be an oral response or summarising and recalling information at a later stage. Examples include listening to structured talks, classroom lectures, workshops, seminars, and so forth.

Attentive Listening

Attentive listening demands the complete attention of the listener. It is basically active and intelligent listening in situations such as group discussions, meetings, job interviews, and so on. The listener pays attention to all parts of the message, that is, the central idea, main points, supporting details, examples, and illustrations. There is no ‘selective dismissal of any part of the oral message.

As attentive listening is interactive and productive, facilitating proper interaction and more effective listener-speaker relationships, it requires conscious effort on the part of the listener and demands concentration, involvement, and responsibility. Some other examples of attentive listening include listening to administrative instructions, formal conversational interaction, suggestions, requests, important telephone calls, and so on.

Empathetic Listening

Empathetic listening is listening not only to what the speaker is saying but also to how he/she is saying, that is, his/her feelings, emotions, and state of mind. The listener has to understand and respond to the affective signals that the speaker might make, and has to be alert to the speaker’s implied meaning, intention, and attitude. Moreover, he/she has to understand and interpret non-verbal clues and the body language of the speaker.

LISTENING WITH A PURPOSE

The above description of different types of listening clearly indicates that the most important thing to settle initially is simply why a particular oral message is being listened to. Listening to classical music is quite different from listening to a lecture. People may listen for relaxation or entertainment, for getting information, for solving problems, or for discussion at a later We listen to different kinds of oral messages stage. They listen to different kinds of oral messages for different purposes. Is it for different purposes? serious listening or light listening? What matters most is the overall purpose of listening

Although the basic purpose of listening is to receive information from various sources, there can be different purposes in listening. One may listen to:

In order to achieve the above reading purposes, one needs to understand the differences between effective and ineffective listening. Study Table 4.3 to understand these differences:

BARRIERS TO LISTENING

As listening is a complex process, it is desirable to take care of the barriers that may hamper the smooth flow of oral communication. Awareness of these barriers can help the listener adopt effective strategies to avoid them. The barriers to the listening process may emanate from either the speaker, listener, or the circumstances of communication. In oral communicative Barriers to listening include physical situations, any interference or noise that interferes with the listening process can distractions, create misunderstanding and confusion, and may sometimes lead to communication- psychologication breakdown.

Physical Barriers

Physical distractions and disturbances can easily disrupt the process of listening, Barriers to listening could be noise, physical discomfort, or any physical factor. Physical noise refers to any sound that disrupts the listening process. For example, a person is talking on his/her mobile phone and a queer Shrilling sound disturbs the transmission. When a person tries to talk to someone on a running train, bus, or in a crowded market, several distractions in the surroundings disrupt the listening process. In order to avoid physical noise during the process of listening, we have to ensure that all channels are free from noise during the time of communication.

Physical discomfort can also easily disrupt the listening process because one cannot be a good listener if one is feeling uncomfortable. For instance, if a person is listening to a business presentation in a conference room but the room temperature is very high and there is no air-conditioner, his/her discomfort due to high room temperature may distract his/her attention and he/she may not be able to focus on the presentation. This can lead to poor comprehension. It is, therefore, important that you avoid any discomfort before beginning to listen to someone.

In order to ensure comfortable listening without physical disturbances, we should take care of the following points:

Ensure that there is no distracting noise from outside. Close the door if there is some disturbing noise from outside.

If it is a very important communicative situation like a meeting or conference, mobile phones should be switched off. . Be sure that the infrastructure, such as seating arrangement, is comfortable.

As distance can sometimes become a barrier to effective listening, we should sit at a proper place, maintaining an appropriate distance.

Be comfortable and at ease.

Psychological Barriers

Perhaps some of the most common barriers to listening result from the listener’s disturbed state of mind, that is, they are psychological in nature. As listening is a purposeful activity, any psychological or emotional turbulence or disturbance can prove to be a barrier to effective listening because it leads to a lack of interest and concentration. Feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety, or fear influence our reception and receptivity to others’ ideas. Over arousal of emotions may adversely affect the listener’s ability to decode an oral message, and he or she may find it difficult to concentrate on what the speaker is saying.

Thus, one must ensure that one is in a normal state of mind before one takes part in a communicative Interaction The listener should be tension free and should not upset himself/herself by too much think For example, if a person has to face a job interview and he is too nervous, he should avoid such feelings of discomfort. Whatever may be the purpose of listening, the listener needs to concentrate on the content of the oral message if he/she wants to take an active part in the communication process.

Linguistic Barriers

Improper message decoding during listening is the recurrent barrier in the process of oral communication. Since the message is decoded incorrectly by the listener, it may lead to confusion and misunderstanding. While decoding an oral message, the listener should concentrate on the linguistic code. If he/ she listens to something in a language or dialect that he/she is not able to follow, a communication breakdown will definitely occur. For example, if he/she does not understand French properly, he/she may not understand a lecture in French.

In order to avoid linguistic barriers, the following points should be noted:

Ensure that the speaker is using a language that the listener understands.

Sometimes, the speaker may use difficult words, jargon, technical terminology, or unclear phrases.

The listener should feel free to ask for clarifications. No good speaker will mind it.

If the speaker uses ambiguous language open to several interpretations, the listener should ask the speaker to clarify and explain.

When the listener is in doubt, he/she should ask questions.

Cultural Barriers

If the speaker and listener belong to different cultures and share different values, listening could become a difficult process. In oral communication, it is the listener who assigns meaning to message cues, and meanings are assigned in terms of the listener’s frame of reference. This interpretation of meaning can create misunderstandings during intercultural communication due to differences in norms and values. Our values are our personal guides to thought and behavior, and exert a strong influence on us.

In order to avoid cultural barriers during listening, a listener should be sensitive to cultural differences and take into account the values of the speaker while interpreting an oral message. The listener’s weakness in viewing others within his/her own cultural frame of reference may lead to confusion and misunderstanding. The moment he/she interprets others’ points of view from his angle, he/she allows his/ her preconceived notions and prejudices to start working for him/her. His/her frame of reference is individual to him/her as it is based on his/her experiences, exposure, education, personality, and several other elements peculiar to him/her. In order to avoid communication failure, the listener has to be sensitive to this fact and try to put himself/herself in the other person’s position.

Which of the following steps to overcome barriers to listening may not be effective:

1 Avoid any physical discomfort before listening to someone.

2. Ensuring that all channels are free of noise during the time of communication.

3. While listening to a lecture or talk, the listener sits at a proper place and maintains appropriate distance.

4. If the speaker uses ambiguous language open to several interpretations, the listener does not ask the speaker to clarify and explain.

5. The listener ensures that he is in a normal state of mind before taking part in communicative interaction.

6. The listener tries to be tension-free and avoids upsetting himself by too much thinking and speculation while listening to a presentation.

7. Whatever may be the purpose of listening, the listener concentrates on the content of the oral message in order to take an active part in the communication process.

8. If the speaker uses difficult words, jargon, technical terminology, or unclear phrases, the listener does not disturb the speaker by asking questions for clarifications.

9. The listener is sensitive to cultural differences and takes into account the values of the speaker while interpreting an oral message in order to avoid cultural barriers during listening.

10. The listener is sensitive to the fact that his/her frame of reference is individual to him/her as it is based on his/her experiences, exposure, education, personality, and several other elements peculiar to him/her.

11. The listener is aware of his/her prejudices and biases.

12. In order to avoid communication failure, the listener tries to put himself/herself in the other person’s position

EXERCISES…

1 Answer the following questions briefly:

(a) What is listening?

(b) What are the different steps involved in the process of listening?

(c) How is hearing different from listening?

(d) How is effective listening different from ineffective listening?

(e) What are barriers to listening? What steps should you take to overcome them?

( What are the different types of listening?

2. Ask a friend to read the following speech and answer the questions that follow. Do not read yourself.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk about something that may not sound very interesting but is definitely very important. Well, I’ll say something about forests. To be precise, I’d throw some light on two aspects of forests, that is, the significance of forests and their excessive exploitation Forests provide several products of daily use, such as food, timber, firewood, wood pulp, forage, and fiber, apart from being a vast storehouse of medicinal plants that are yet to be fully explored and exploited, Forests are potent sources of many industrial raw materials. The greatest significance of forests, however, lies in their critical role in maintaining ecological processes and life support systems. According to official records, our country has an area of 633.4 lakh hectares notified as forests, which represents 19.27 percent of the total geographic area. The National Forest Policy of 1952 recommends that 33 percent of the land area of the country should be under forests. Contrary to this guideline, however, forests have been under increasing assault since independence. Excessive exploitation of forests and overgrazing have seriously decimated our forest resources,

QUESTIONS

1 What is the central idea of the speech?

2. What is the attitude of the speaker towards forests?

3. What do the forests provide?

4. What is their significance according to the speaker?

5. What percentage of the geographic area do our forests comprise?

6. What is the recommendation of the National Forest Policy of 1952?

7. What is the direct result of excessive exploitation of forests and overgrazing?

8. What conclusion can you draw from this speech?