Main University menu

• university »
• home
• colleges & services
• courses
• research
• contacts
• a-z
• help

Listening skills

What are these?

Since we are constantly surrounded by noise, many people have developed the ability to shut out extraneous noise so that it is possible to hear noise but without listening to the detail. Consequently, listening to lectures and other longer-style presentations can be challenging, in part, because society has moved to 'sound bite' presentations and because lectures tend to be less of a dialogue than you might have experienced in school or college. This means that the university lecture where students are expected to listen continuously for the better part of an hour can be difficult. The following aspects may be vital to the development of your listening skills learning:

• to listen with purpose by preparing for the lecture by following certain obvious steps before the lecture - looking at the course handbook, preliminary handouts, textbook references and previous lecture notes;
• to understand the structure of lectures since these may follow particular patterns according to the discipline. This means that if the lecturer typically outlines the format of the lecture at the start of the lecture, then people who come in late may find that they have lost the essence of the presentation or argument being presented; and
• to take notes effectively by experimenting with different approaches. You will find more information on this on Advance@Dundee.

How we can help

The Academic Achievement Teaching Unit tutors can help you with the development of listening skills by meeting with you to discuss and demonstrate ways in which you can become a better listener and note-taker but please note our expectations.

If you would like to receive some help with regard to developing these skills, then please contact the Academic Skills Advisors on aatu@dundee.ac.uk who will organise an appointment for you.

Information for staff

If you would like to discuss ways in which you can encourage students to improve their listening skills, especially in the contexts of lectures and note-taking, then please contact the Academic Skills Advisors on aatu@dundee.ac.uk or telephone 84308. This could present the possibility of some team-teaching activity designed to assist students to gain more from the lectures that they experience on your module(s).