BAB 5

LISTENING SKILL

Topic: Listening for the Main Idea.

Did this ever happen to you? You told a friend that you had just heard a fine speech, but
when he asked you what it was about, you were unable to give him even the main ideas. “Oh, but
I remember that the speaker told a very funny story,” you might say, and then retell the story to
your friend. Sometime, you may remember a story or a joke and, even in a well-made speech,
fail to remember the main idea the story supports or illustrates.

The most essential of the listening skills is ability to recognize and comprehend main
ideas. From a speech—or for that matter, from any kind of verbal discourse—you must be able
to short out the important ideas from their supporting details. All other listening skill are
secondary to this.

But how can you discover the main ideas in a speech? When you read, if you miss a
point, you can always go back and reread. In listening to a speech, however, there is no
opportunity to back up. You must be able to recognize the main ideas as they come—or you will
flounder in a current of words.

Trained speakers are aware of this problem of the listener and take pains to secure proper
emphasis and order in expressing their ideas. They organize their speeches so that main ideas are
easy to spot. Often these well-organized speeches are divided into three sections—the
introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Both the introduction and the conclusion frequently
outline the main ideas for the whole speech. In other words, a speaker will frequently tell you
what he means to say, they say it, and finally, he will tell you what he has said. By bearing in
mind this pattern of presentation, you will be better able to identify the main ideas in the
speeches you hear.

An experience speaker will provide his audience with verbal clues to indicate that he is
about to introduce a main idea. In this respect he is similar to an actor cueing a fellow actor to
make his appearance on the stage.

The following are some of the clues a speaker may use to introduce a main idea: “in the
first place,” “next we find that,” “another important consideration,” “in the last analysis.” You
should be on the alert for verbal clues that precede the restatement of a main idea: “put it another
way,” “in other words,” “in short.” In his conclusion, a speaker will often summarize all the main
ideas of his speech. He will then provide such clues as, “the points I have tried to make are,” or
“finally,” or “in summing up.” Such summarizing statement s will usually provide an accurate
check on your written or mental notes.
 IMPROVING OUR LISTENING

Effective listening involves attention, comprehension, critical judgment, memory and courtesy.

Guide for listening

1. Adjust to the listening situation.

2. To memorize, repeat immediately to yourself each important point. Take notes if you can.
Keep receiving the main ideas that the speaker has covered.
3. Listen whole heartedly but critically.
4. Beware of prejudice, yours or the speaker’s.
5. Watch for relationships between a speaker’s main ideas and details or examples.
6. Look closely at the speaker to see how he/she feels about what he/she is saying but resist
being completely carried away by his/her looks, manner, voice or gestures.
7. Be a courteous member of an audience. Laugh with, not at the speaker. Remain until the
speaker has finished, or if you must leave early, do so quietly. When audience reactions are
invited after a speech, be kind and tactful in criticizing, questioning, and objecting.
8. Be polite in conversation. Show interest by an occasional nod or words of agreement. Avoid
inattention, interruption and ridicule.

Exercises (1): Listen to the following narrations

Questions:

1. What is the main idea of the narration?

2. How was the condition of the day when the narrator was walking up the hill towards the
station?
3. How was the condition of the traffic at that time?
4. What happened when the narrator was just crossing the road near the top of the hill?
5. What did the narrator do then?
6. How was the condition of the driver?
7. Who phoned for an ambulance?
8. Did a policeman arrive shortly afterward?
9. What did he do?
10. Where did the ambulance bring the driver to?
11. What did the narrator do on Monday Morning?
12. What information did he get from the hospital?
Exercises (2): Listen to the following narrations

Questions:

1. What is the main idea of that narration?

2. What made the narrator not to use the car?
3. According to him what is the benefit of not using the car?
4. What does he say about “habit?” Please, quote what he says.
5. What trouble does he get when he tries not to do the habit of using a car due to the petrol
price?

Complete the transcript of the listening material below:

A ….. 1 .…. accident

It was ….. 2 ….. heavily as I was ….. 3 ….. up the hill ….. 4 ….. the station at ….. 5 …..
o’clock on a ….. 6 ….. morning. At this early hour there ….. 7 ….. much traffic and there ….. 8
….. many people in ….. 9 ….. Just as I was ….. 10 ….. he road near the ….. 11 ….. of the hill, a
….. 12 ….. came round the corner. It was ….. 13 ….. very fast and the ….. 14 ….. was obviously
having ….. 15 ….. in controlling it. Suddenly it ….. 16 ….. violently, skidded on the ….. 17 …..
road, ….. 18 ….. a lamp-post and ….. 19 ….. over.

At once I ….. 20 ….. to the car to ….. 21 ….. the driver, but he was ….. 22 ….. and there
was a lot of ….. 23 ….. on his face. A young ….. 24 ….. hurried into the ….. 25 ….. and ….. 26 …..
for an ambulance while I ….. 27 ….. care of the driver. A ….. 28 ….. of other people gathered
round the ….. 29 ….. , but there wasn’t a great deal we could ….. 30 ….. . A ….. 31 ….. arrived a
few minutes later and ….. 32 ….. me a lot of questions about the ….. 33 ….. . Shortly afterwards
the man ….. 34 .…. and he was ….. 35 ….. quietly when the ambulance arrived at ….. 36 ….. speed
and ….. 37 ….. him away to hospital.

On ….. 38 ….. morning I ….. 39 ….. to the hospital to ….. 40 .…. about the man. They …..
41
….. me that his ….. 42 ….. were not serious after all and that he was ….. 43 ….. getting over the
….. 44 ….. of the accident.