SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Listening Sta

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Listening Standards

Listening is widely recognized as the first-learned, most-used, and least-taught language art. Research indicates that communicators spend more communication time listening than reading, writing, or speaking. Reading experts recognize that listening is a key prerequisite to learning to read. Listening is a skill used frequently in college, where students listen to lectures, work in small groups, and collaborate with classroom partners.

A better understanding of the communication process supports improvement in listening skills. Listening is a challenging behavior, requiring the management of multiple barriers*, both mental and physical. It is also purposeful, demanding different understandings and skills for different purposes. Active listeners monitor their understanding and repair information that they have incorrectly processed. The following standards focus on mindful listening and the application of higher-order thinking skills to understand, evaluate, enjoy, and/or respond to an oral message.

Standard 1: Understanding the Communication Process

Students understand that communication is a transactional process that includes the components of speaker, listener, message, channel, feedback, and noise. This process is labeled transactional because the communicators play the role of speaker and listener simultaneously. Internal variables within the speaker and listener and contextual variables affect the nature and success of the communication event.

Student understands that communication is a transactional process that includes the components of speaker, listener, message, channel, feedback, and noise. Student understands that this process is transactional because the communicators play the role of speaker and listener simultaneously. Student understands how internal variables within the speaker and listener and contextual variables affect the nature and success of the communication.

Objective L1.1: Student understands the transactional nature of the communication process

Performance Expectation Category
L1.1.1 Understands the transactional nature and components of the communication process, including speaker, listener, message, channel, feedback, and noise.	L1.1-1.5 Uses a model of the transactional communication process to analyze the components of a communication event.
L1.1.2 Understands how speaker’s and listener’s internal variables affect communication	L1.1-2.5 Analyzes the internal variables that affect a communication event, such as the speaker’s and listener’s background knowledge, experiences, culture, opinions, values, beliefs, emotional state, and familiarity with the language.
L1.1.3 Understands how contextual variables affect communication.	1.1-3.5 Analyzes the contextual variables that affect a communication event, such as time, place, roles and relationships among speakers and listeners, prior communication, purposes and goals for communicating, and communication conventions specific to the context.

Standard 2: Managing Barriers to Listening

Students consider their own internal variables that can pose barriers to effective listening and monitor and adjust a variety of strategies to manage them. They recognize that external variables can pose barriers to effective listening and use a variety of strategies to prevent or overcome them.

Objective L2.1 Student Manages Barriers to Listening

Student considers his or her own internal variables that can pose barriers to effective listening and monitors and adjusts a variety of strategies to manage them. Student understands that language represents and constructs how listeners perceive events, people, groups, and ideas. Student recognizes that external variables can pose barriers to effective listening and uses a variety of strategies to prevent or overcome them.

Performance Expectation Category
L2.1.1 Recognizes his or her own internal variables that can pose barriers to effective listening and uses a variety of strategies to manage them.	L2.1-1.5 Considers his or her own internal variables that can pose barriers to effective listening (e.g., lack of prior knowledge and experience, emotional state, prejudices, stereotypes, attitudes toward speaker and topic that interfere with understanding) and monitors and adjusts the use of a variety of strategies to manage them (e.g., activating prior knowledge, researching information related to the topic, avoiding inappropriate generalizations, taking inventory of emotional state and attitudes toward speaker and topic and trying to keep these emotions and attitudes from interfering with listening).
L2.1.2 Understands that language represents and constructs how listeners perceive events, people, groups, and ideas and that it has both positive and negative implications that can affect listeners in different ways.	L2.1-2.5 Explains how language represents and constructs how listeners perceive events, people, groups, and ideas. Explains positive and negative implications of language and how it can affect listeners in different ways depending on context. Explains how language conveys intended and unintended meanings for listeners.
L2.1.3 Recognizes that external variables can pose barriers to effective listening and uses a variety of strategies to prevent or overcome them.	L2.1-3.5 Anticipates and prepares for external variables that may pose barriers to effective listening (e.g., noise and distractions) and uses a variety of strategies to prevent or overcome them (e.g., making changes in the physical setting, requesting clarification or repetition from the speaker, recovering from distractions and refocusing attention).

Standard 3: Listening for Diverse Purposes

Students understand that there are multiple purposes for listening, including listening to comprehend, to evaluate, and to empathize. Students use a variety of mental and physical strategies to direct and maintain attention while listening. Listeners apply specific strategies for understanding, critiquing, and empathizing. Listeners respond verbally and nonverbally in ways appropriate to each purpose.

Objective L3.1: Student listens to comprehend.

Student uses a variety of strategies to listen actively to enhance comprehension and recall of messages. Student monitors the speaker’s purposes for speaking and draws conclusions about what the speaker knows, believes, and feels about a topic. Student uses a variety of response strategies to clarify explicit and implicit meanings of messages.

Performance Expectation Category
L3.1.1 Uses a variety of mental and physical strategies to listen actively in order to direct and maintain attention and monitor level of understanding.	L3.1-1.5 Uses a variety of strategies to listen actively, including monitoring changing purposes for listening, focusing and maintaining attention on the speaker and the speaker’s ideas, taking notes, making connections to prior knowledge and personal experiences, asking himself or herself questions to direct and maintain attention, and monitoring level of understanding.
L3.1.2 Uses a variety of strategies to enhance comprehension and recall of messages.	L3.1-2.5 Uses a variety of strategies to enhance comprehension of literal and implied information and recall of messages (e.g., listening for contextual clues to infer meaning of unknown words, interpreting figurative language, interpreting nonverbal cues to further analyze the message, listening to distinguish among main ideas and details, listening for transitions, noting sequence and organization of ideas, extending speaker’s ideas based on prior knowledge and personal experience, visualizing, using mnemonic devices, summarizing and synthesizing). Evaluates effectiveness of selected strategies.
L3.1.3 Monitors speaker’s purposes for speaking and draws conclusions about what the speaker knows, believes, and feels about a topic.	L3.1-3.5 Analyzes and critiques speaker’s implicit and explicit purposes for speaking; draws on his or her prior knowledge and experience to evaluate speaker’s expertise on the topic; and analyzes what the speaker knows, believes, and feels about a topic to guide interpretation.
L3.1.4 Uses a variety of response strategies to clarify explicit and implicit meanings of messages.	L3.1-4.5 Uses a variety of response strategies to clarify, elaborate, and synthesize explicit and implicit meanings of messages (e.g., asking questions of self to determine what more he or she needs to know; integrating new learning with prior knowledge; asking questions to guide and clarify inferences; understanding, and interpretations; asking the speaker to extend or elaborate his or her meaning; paraphrasing meaning back to the speaker).

Standard 3: Listening for Diverse Purposes

Student uses a variety of mental and physical strategies to direct and maintain attention in order to listen critically. Student uses cognitive strategies to process, predict, and critique the content of a message and to understand the speaker’s perspective and potential biases. Student frames mental, verbal, written, and/or behavioral responses based on an evaluation of speaker credibility and of the coherence, validity, and effectiveness of the speaker’s arguments.

Objective L3.2: Student listens to evaluate.

Performance Expectation Category
L3.2.1 Uses a variety of mental and physical strategies to direct and maintain attention in order to listen critically	L3.2-1.5 Monitors listening engagement and uses a variety of strategies to listen actively in order to make evaluations, including monitoring changing purposes for listening, focusing attention on the speaker and arguments, monitoring the speaker’s purposes, mentally anticipating direction and significance of arguments, linking what the speaker is saying to what has been said, attending to the entirety of the message before forming conclusive judgments, taking notes when appropriate, and asking himself or herself questions about the speaker’s implicit and explicit messages.
L3.2.2 Uses a variety of strategies to analyze arguments, draw conclusions, and make evaluative judgments	L3.2-2.5 Monitors the progression of an argument and uses a variety of strategies to analyze and critique a message (e.g., listening to critique main ideas and arguments; distinguishing facts, opinions, and inferences; evaluating the connections between claims and supporting evidence; evaluating evidence for timeliness, relevance, and believability; identifying logical, authoritative, and emotional arguments and evaluating their effectiveness; noting common logical fallacies and propaganda devices; determining speaker’s conclusions and recommendations and developing alternative recommendations.
L3.2.3 Monitors speaker’s purposes for speaking and draws conclusions about what the speaker knows, believes, and feels about a topic; reviews speaker’s credentials to determine speaker credibility.	L3.2-3.5 Analyzes and critiques speaker’s implicit and explicit purposes for speaking; analyzes and critiques what the speaker knows, believes, and feels about a topic, including speaker’s cultural perspectives; and evaluates speaker’s expertise, credibility, and possible bias and compares and contrasts this bias to his or her own beliefs and values and those of the audience.
L3.2.4 Frames mental, verbal, written, or behavioral responses based on speaker credibility and an evaluation of the coherence, validity, and effectiveness of the speaker’s arguments.	L3.2-4.5 Frames and determines appropriate mental, verbal, written, or behavioral responses (e.g., using appropriate verbal and nonverbal cues to indicate level of agreement while listening, asking questions to clarify judgments, weighing arguments and evidence, raising possible counter-arguments) based on an evaluation of the validity of the speaker’s arguments and the credibility of the speaker. Monitors the effect of responses and modifies responses as appropriate.

Standard 3: Listening for Diverse Purposes

Student listens empathically to understand and respond to the ideas and feelings of others in order to enhance speaker/listener relationships. To listen empathically, the student uses physical and mental strategies to maintain attention and understand the content of and feelings behind a message. Student uses cognitive strategies to process the content of an interpersonal message and to understand the speaker’s perspective. Student responds using a variety of verbal and nonverbal strategies that show both understanding and empathy.

Objective L3.3: Student listens empathically.

Performance Expectation Category
L3.3.1 Uses a variety of mental and physical strategies to focus attention on the speaker, the speaker’s message, and the speaker’s emotions in order to listen empathically.	L3.3-1.5 Monitors engagement in order to maintain and refocus attention on the speaker, draws on personal experiences to internalize the speaker’s message, anticipates what direction the dialogue is taking, monitors what emotions are involved, and considers what behaviors and responses will best meet the speaker’s needs. Observes speaker’s response to given feedback.
L3.3.2 Uses a variety of strategies to interpret the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal cues, feelings, attitudes, and message in order to empathize with the speaker.	L3.3-2.5 Interprets the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal cues to gain insight into the speaker’s feelings and attitudes related to the message and speaker’s emotional state; monitors his or her own reactions to maintain empathy and resist making judgments. Draws upon personal experiences to better understand and empathize with the speaker’s feelings.
L3.3.3 Uses a variety of strategies to analyze relationship to speaker, the speaker’s motivation and purpose, the content and delivery of the message, and the speaker’s perspective and experiences related to the topic to guide interpretation of the message	L3.3-3.5 Analyzes the speaker’s motivation and explicit and implicit purposes for speaking, draws on his or her prior knowledge and experience to make connections with the speaker’s message, and analyzes the speaker’s values and beliefs to guide interpretation. Reviews speaker characteristics that influence perspective, including age, gender, and culture
L3.3.4 Uses a variety of verbal and nonverbal strategies to respond to the speaker’s message in order to indicate support, keep the speaker talking, and build understanding and empathy.	L3.3-4.5 Uses a variety of strategies to respond empathically to the explicit and implicit meanings of a message, responding with indications of specific understanding, and paraphrasing meaning and feelings back to the speaker (e.g., “You’re saying that...” or “You sound angry”) in order to indicate both understanding and empathy. Demonstrates a cooperative attitude by hearing the speaker out, asking questions necessary for full understanding, and building on what the speaker said.