APRENDER HACIENDO

Storytelling

I found an interesting link about storytelling:

Making stories and Storitelling

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING

Effective listening requires concentration and the use of your other senses – not just hearing the words spoken.

Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears.

A good listener will listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only partially said.

Effective listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages.

1. Stop Talking

“If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear.” Mark Twain.

Don't talk, listen.  When somebody else is talking listen to what they are saying, do not interrupt, talk over them or finish their sentences for them.  Stop, just listen.  When the other person has finished talking you may need to clarify to ensure you have received their message accurately.

2. Prepare Yourself to Listen

Relax.  Focus on the speaker.  Put other things out of mind.  The human mind is easily distracted by other thoughts – what’s for lunch, what time do I need to leave to catch my train, is it going to rain – try to put other thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the messages that are being communicated.

3. Put the Speaker at Ease

Help the speaker to feel free to speak.  Remember their needs and concerns.  Nod or use other gestures or words to encourage them to continue.  Maintain eye contact but don’t stare – show you are listening and understanding what is being said.

4. Remove Distractions

Focus on what is being said: don’t doodle, shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your fingernails or similar. Avoid unnecessary interruptions.  These behaviours disrupt the listening process and send messages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted.

5. Empathise

Try to understand the other person’s point of view.  Look at issues from their perspective.  Let go of preconceived ideas.  By having an open mind we can more fully empathise with the speaker.  If the speaker says something that you disagree with then wait and construct an argument to counter what is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others. 

6. Be Patient

A pause, even a long pause, does not necessarily mean that the speaker has finished.  Be patient and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone.

7. Avoid Personal Prejudice

Try to be impartial.  Don't become irritated and don't let the person’s habits or mannerisms distract you from what they are really saying.  Everybody has a different way of speaking - some people are for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm movements, some people like to pace whilst talking - others like to sit still.  Focus on what is being said and try to ignore styles of delivery.

8. Listen to the Tone

Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying.  A good speaker will use both volume and tone to their advantage to keep an audience attentive; everybody will use pitch, tone and volume of voice in certain situations – let these help you to understand the emphasis of what is being said. 

9. Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words

You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces.  Maybe one of the most difficult aspects of listening is the ability to link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of others.   With proper concentration, letting go of distractions, and focus this becomes easier.

10. Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication

Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important.  We don’t just listen with our ears but also with our eyes – watch and pick up the additional information being transmitted via non-verbal communication.

TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR LISTENING

My #1 tip for improving your listening

The best way to improve your English listening is to listen. A lot. There's no way around it; you have to spend hours and hours listening to people speaking English. Listen to things that interest you. If you don't enjoy something, it's going to be hard for you to continue. You'll get bored and stop.

Other listening tips

• Interacting is better than passive listening. In other words, it's better to talk with someone than just to listen to a TV show, radio program, or podcast. Being in a conversation forces you to listen more carefully
• The next thing to watch out for is to make sure that you listen to a variety of different kinds of speech. I know some people who listen to radio news shows every day but don't feel like they're improving. That's because news English is one specialized form of speaking. Only news broadcasters speak that way. So you can't expect to understand everyday conversation if you only listen to the news.
• Captions can help if they're in English. If you watch a movie, video, or TV show with English subtitles, it can help you match the written words to their spoken pronunciation. But subtitles in your native language are dangerous. They do help you to understand what's going on, but they also keep your brain locked into "native language mode". Try to use native-language subtitles as little as possible.

The 10 best ways to improve your English listening skill

So here's my list of the 10 best ways to improve your English listening skill. These are listedin order.

The very best advice is #1, the second-best advice is #2, and so on.

Take a look:

1. Live and work in a completely English-speaking environment.
2. Do some kind of sports, hobbies, or other activities with a group of English speakers.
3. Talk one-on-one with an English-speaking tutor a few times a week.
4. Do a language exchange with an English speaker, in person or over Skype.
5. Watch lots of hours of movies, TV shows, and videos in English, with English captions.
6. Watch movies, TV, and videos with no subtitles.
7. Watch movies, TV, and videos with subtitles in your own language.
8. Listen to English podcasts on a topic that's interesting to you (but not on the topic of learning English).
9. Listen to English radio shows.
10. Listen to audio English lessons.

On the other hand, I suggest another way to make English class in schools:

Traditionally in schools has always worked focusing much on grammar and paying little attention to listening and speaking.

Throughout the years, it has been shown that this method of working is not fruitful.

Children leave school with great difficulty in the English language. Some have great knowledge of grammar but then are not able to use it in a practical context.

So many of them end up forgetting how little they knew.

So, my proposed work is the opposite.

Thats it: first focus work on listening and speaking and then finish working on writing.

This way we get a better command of the language oral and practical level.

We could organize class time thus:

1º	2º	3º
LISTENING	READ	GRAMMAR SKILLS
+ REPEAT	+ SPEAK	+ FINISH HOMEWORK