Why teach ‘Whole body listening to the children in your class?’
Teaching whole body listening will make your life as a teacher a lot easier!
It will improve the quality of learning and lead to more co-operative, harmonious classrooms.
If you are a parent this technique could also greatly improve your communication with your children!
Many children have not been taught how to listen well. Perhaps this is a sign of our times when communication skills are changing due to the increasing use of technology for communication.
However, I feel that it is really important to teach our children good listening skills (also known as active listening) as this is the basis for all good learning and acquisition of knowledge and wisdom and will serve them well as they grow into adults.
Everyone feels more appreciated if they know someone has listened to them and acknowledged what they have said.
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What is whole body listening?
Whole body listening means using the whole body eyes, ears, body posture and facial expression to listen well to someone else.
You can use this concept each week in your sessions to remind the children of good listening skills. Ask them:
‘How do I know you are listening really well?’
‘Are you listening with your whole body?’
The following list explains how this works:
o Listening with your eyes – looking at the speaker, making eye contact (depending on the culture)
o Listening with your ears – listen to the speaker with your ears (not the person next to you)
o Listening with your mouth – the mouth should be quiet
o Listening with your body – your body is facing towards the speaker
o Listening with your hands – quiet hands (not moving)
o Listening with your feet – quiet feet
o Listening with your brain – thinking about what the speaker is saying
o Listening with your heart – caring about what the speaker is saying
If a child is not listening, then you can simply remind them in a gentle way such as
‘Harry I would like you to listen with your body. Can you show me how you do this?
There are other activities that you can do to improve listening and communication skills with the children in your class.
Here is a simple activity from our E-training course for teachers that you can do to show the children the importance of eye contact.
Role Play 1 – Communication – Listening Skills
Preparation: Children sit in chairs or on the floor back to back. Children are not allowed to turn around and look at each other for this activity.
Step 1. Child A talks about what he/she did last weekend or about their pet or a member of their family. Child B listens and responds.
Step 2. Ask each child in turn – How did this feel?
E.g. Did you feel listened to? What difference did it make not being able to see who you were talking to?
Step 3. Discuss and emphasize the importance of eye contact, posture and body language in communication. Discuss ‘How do you know you are being listened to with regards to a) eye-contact, b) body language and facial expression and so on?
For other sample ideas on improving social skills and communication in your classroom please contact us!
Other activities are offered which are based on breathing exercises and inner body work. This involves looking inside the body to find out where the feeling or hurt is and then breathing it and/or doing other exercises to express and release the feeling.
September 2013 and called for a later start to formal schooling. Do you agree?