High School Study Skills

Related Links

Motivation
Get Motivated
Stay Motivated

Monitoring Input
Listening
Note Taking
Reading
Class Participation

Managing Process
Self Management
Time Management
Concentration
Managing Your Learning
Managing Your Memory
Class Participation
Test Preparation

Mastering Output
Test Taking
Dealing with Test Anxiety
Learning from Tests
Preparing Written Reports
Preparing Oral Reports
Class Participation

Listening

Listening is hearing with the ears and with the brain.  It requires effort on your part.  Knowing what to listen for will help you tune your ears to hear the information and focus your brain on the task of processing that information.

Most teachers will follow a three part pattern in their lectures.  First, they will tell you what their topic is and maybe even list related subtopics.  Second, they will tell you about the topic and subtopics.  Third, they will summarize their main points.

Incorporate this format into your listening by doing the following:

1.  Prepare to listen by looking over the material being lectured on.  Guess what the teacher is going to say.  Guessing prepares the brain to deal with new information even if your guess is not correct.

2.  Listen actively.  Remember that we hear with our ears, but we listen with our brains.
a.  Question in your mind what the teacher is saying by asking in your mid the five w questions--who?, what?, when?, where?, and why? -- and one h question, how?  This keeps your mind on what the teacher is saying and helps you prepare for test questions.
b.  Relate what you know to what is being discussed for easier recall.

3.  Summarize.  Whatever the teacher says, rephrase it in your own words.  Keep this process going constantly; it helps concentration.  At the end of the lecture, try to restate in your own words what you've learned.  Identify 5 to 9 ideas you learned from the class.

Assess your listening skills

Notes on Listening from Cal Poly's Academic Skills Center

Practice interactive listening with the University of Illinois LinguaCenter