How to Improve Listening Skills in the Classroom

One of the most frustrating parts of teaching is when children don't listen. It is especially hard when covering difficult topics or hard to grasp concepts. Listening skills are not inherent in children, they are learned. There are also many ways to help kids listen better in the classroom, making learning and teaching an easier process. Most of the ways to improve listening are quick jobs, which means the effort to institute them is small, and they produce big results.

Instructions

1. Analyze the environment. Look at it from the students' perspective. What might be causing interference when trying to pay attention to a teacher? It might be that the sunlight is blinding at a certain time of day. It may be the temperature in the classroom. Play the detective and try to find environmental problems that would make listening more difficult.

2. Remove distractions. Move or remove anything that could possibly make listening difficult for students. Close doors to noisy hallways, and shut windows if there are noises outside.

3. Separate chatterboxes. In fact, move students that can't pay attention when they are sitting together, regardless of the reason why they are not listening. In general, best friends shouldn't sit together in a classroom, since they probably will be more interested in each other than listening to the teacher. This also promotes building new friendships, so it serves a dual-purpose.

4. Institute a signal. Whistles make great attention-getters. Let the students know that this signal indicates that it is time to be quiet and pay attention. The loud noise usually shocks the class enough to get silence, even if it is short lived.

5. Make sure that they are hearing you. Talk loud enough to ensure that the children hear everything. Don't turn around and talk for long periods of time--odds are they can't hear a voice directed the opposite way.

6. Make participation fun. Include rewards for participation, such as stickers. Include extra incentive for full-class participation, such as a field day once a month or a class party. Listening is a bigger focus when they see rewards for it, and when including the group incentive it becomes a group project to listen.

7. Include active time. Kids get antsy when they sit for long periods. Make a point to get up and stretch or walk around once an hour so that they are able to focus. Get the physical energy out so they can focus mentally.