Active Listening (10 mins)
Goals
Learners practice listening actively.Guidelines
Divide the class into pairs.
Tell each pair to take turns to talk about their hobby to the other. They will tell about their hobby twice.
The first time the one listening will act very uninterested, playing with their hands, looking away, not giving any feedback, generally acting like they want to be somewhere else.
The second time you tell about your hobby the listener will listen actively. That is to say show interest, ask questions, confirm what they have heard you saying.
Let them talk for about 2 mins.
Once the first person has told about their hobby twice. They should swap roles. And repeat step 2 above.
Take a few minutes afterwards to ask the class how it felt to be listened to actively and how it felt to be ignored.
Active Listening
* Look at the person, and leave other things you are doing.
* Listen not only to the words, but what the person is feeling.
* Be sincerely interested in what the other person is talking about.
* Restate what the person said.
* Ask clarification questions once in a while, to make sure you understand.
* Be aware of your own feelings and any strong opinions.
* If you have to state your views, say them only after you have listened to the other.
Topics you can discuss when talking with each other in this warm up are:
* Someone you respect in your life and why.
* Something you have done in your life and are proud of.
* Something you like about yourself.
* A dream you have that you are working on to fulfill.
* Something you have learnt in your life that is important to you.
You can also show your interest by non-verbal communication, such as:
* Good eye contact.
* Facial expressions.
Notice how good it feels when you give another your undivided attention and how good it feels when others do the same for you.