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November 19, 2004
Listening Comprehension
Today I decided that whatever time I thought was enough listening comprehension practice for language learning, I have to quadruple it! I found that when listening to normal conversational speed Korean, I often cannot even hear things that I do know and understand. It’s because the words and phrases I know sound different in my head than what I am hearing. So I intend to spend more time on listening comprehension practice until the end of this semester.
On a deeper level, listening comprehension of the heart is a skill that also needs to be practiced. Sometimes we do not really understand what people are really saying because we are often not as observant as we think we are. Tonight my daughter and I had a really good discussion about her computer needs and the problems she has been having. She brought it to my attention that I wasn’t really listening to her before. She What she was really saying to me was that she tried to communicate with me that she needed my help but what I was hearing was that it wasn’t a big deal. She ended up taking her computer to a friend to fix. I can handle troubleshooting and resolving many computer problems, but truly understanding another human being escaped me. Now I have to work harder on listening comprehension. To fully understand another person, we have to practice looking beyond the spoken words. My daughter needed her father’s attention and needed me to place a high priority or importance on her. Instead what I was hearing in my head did not match what her heart was saying. Whatever I thought was enough practice truly hearing and understanding another human being, I need to quadruple it. It’s a lesson in awareness.
After our conversation tonight we both agreed we’d work harder together at our communication skills and at the same time, set some priorities for fixing her computer problems. I wondered how much I have missed in the past because what I was hearing was not the same as what was being said.
Posted by carl1236 at November 19, 2004 11:35 PM | Love your Neighbor