Attention and listening for students in school

Students need to have good listening skills at school. They need to be able to listen to the teacher when given instructions in the classroom. If they are completing an activity in the classroom, they need to be able to switch their attention from the task to the speaker.

A student with attention and listening difficulties may be unable to focus on what they are hearing. They may also have difficulty retaining the information long enough to act upon it. This can affect their performance at school.

Here are some strategies to help students improve their listening and attention:

Use Visuals: Introduce them to the ‘good listening’ poster. You can put this poster next to where they are seated. This will remind them to practice their ‘good listening’ skills.

‘Good listening’ means:

– eyes looking at the person who is talking

– quiet body, sitting still

– thinking about what the speaker is saying

Before giving an instruction, you can also point to your ears to help them to be aware of when they need to make a particular effort to listen.

Reduce background distractions: When giving the student instructions, ensure you have his/her full attention. Think about where he/ she is seated- is he/she distracted by the students walking pass the classroom or something out of the window? Reducing distractions in the environment will help the student focus his/her attention on the speaker.

Pair them up with a listening partner: A listening partner can remind them of what to do. This will provide the students who are still struggling with a good role model.

Keep your instruction short: Break down the directions to single instructions. Take pauses in between thoughts and repeat your instruction if needed. This will give the student time to process the information and act upon it.

These strategies will build the student’s ability to listen to instructions and improve their ability to learn.

Written by Tasneem Abdul Samad, Speech Pathologist.