Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

“Listen, just don’t hear”

— PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM

All ears: C. Sandhya, resource person, at Sri Sivananda Balalaya School at Podhavur near Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: Are the battle lines being drawn up everyday while working out your homework? Remembering the learnt lessons are a challenge to many students, making revision a stressful experience.

“The problem lies in how you take in the lessons during classes,” C. Sandhya, resource person of NIE, told the students of Sri Sivananda Balalaya, at a recently held session.

A proper listening to teachers would make all the difference was the crux of ‘Active listening,’ the third module of ‘Listening Skills.’

“Listen, just don’t hear,” she said, calling up a couple of students to observe the difference between the both. The mode of learning and understanding might differ from every student. While some prefer visual images for better memory retention, some resort to writing down the lessons.

“Whatever method you prefer to study make sure you listen to what is being taught at class.”

She picked out few students from the class and asked them their list of favourites. Just when a restless mumble broke out at the class, she questioned the students on the conversation she had with the picked out ones. “You heard it but did not listen to it. Did hearing to the conversation help you?”

They answered in negative and asked Ms. Sandhya on ways to improve their listening skills.

“There is a difference between active and passive listening. Active listening is when you walk out of the class with a confidence that you will be able to recall the lessons taught.”

As a closing activity, she voiced out random words in rapid succession and asked the students to pick out the largest and smallest out of them.

“Be aware of the importance of listening and make a conscious effort to listen,” she said, promising them to teach the listening techniques in successive modules.

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