| Show Sch School ol oland and end Molls Home e by Dr Daryl Dory I J J. J McCarty McCorty Executive Secretory Secretary Utah Ulah Education Association Listening Go into inlo elementary school classrooms and you may find the students playing that old game Simon Says Its It's not just a game though Its It's a lesson Students who are playing Simon Says are getting a lesson in listening Some years ago a researcher showed that 70 percent of the average adults adult's working day was spent in conversation-and conversation 45 15 percent of that time was spent listening Research in the elementary classroom It led l to the finding that percent of class time was spent in listening and later it was learned that an estimated 90 Ju percent of the class time lime in high schools and colleges is spent lit listening Okay but just how well do we listen Its It's not unusual to encounter people who ask for repetition of what was said even though these people dont don't have hearing difficulty Research shows that the average person will retain only half of what he or she hears no matter how much the person concentrates And two wo months later the listener can be expected ex petted to recall only half hair of that amount Educators have been giving students exercises that challenge them to listen and Simon Says is only one of mem Fur For instance a teacher leacher may have the students close their eyes and listen for several seconds then ask them to lo list every different sound they heard during that thai time Sometimes the teacher will recite recile directions that might be given lo to a traveler attempting to reach a particular place-and place ask the students to lo repeat t them Parents might read telephone hone or ZIP code numbers aloud just once and ask their children to lo write them down Many more sophisticated drills are being used Educators have found that when listening instruction has been given pronounced gains have been made in the students' students listening skills Still the subject must be exciting or at least interesting If a person must be subjected loa to lo toa toa a blah speaker the listener will soon find relief by taking mental excursions We can look for a lot more information on the art of listening coming to light and as students acquire this skill it may anay lead to more success in other areas |
