Spoken English Upper-Intermediate

Module 1
Listening Skills – Active Listening

By the end of this task you should be able to use paraphrasing to give feedback and
check understanding while actively listening.

Task 1: (35 minutes)

a) What do you think active listening means? How can you show a speaker that you are
interested in what they are saying?

_Active listening means, listening effectively to the speaker._

______________________________________________________________________

_By maintaining eye contact and show my interest to the speaker___

___________________________________________________________________________

b) Watch the video on the link below. Add any points you missed to your answer above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WER63AY8zB8

c) Complete the following expressions the speaker uses in the video. Why does she use these
expressions?

1. So, _what________ you're ___saying__________ is …

2. So, what you __really_________ mean __is________ this...

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

That's right. She uses them to show that she's going to check her understanding of what was said
after the speaker completes his/ her point.

Here are a few more expressions you can use.

Let me see if I understood you properly. You're saying that ....

If I’m hearing you correctly . . .

So, in other words..

Let's see if I've got this right ...

I think I understand. You’re saying that . . .

I get it. You mean to say that ...

So, what you mean is ....

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 Spoken English Upper-Intermediate
Module 1
Listening Skills – Active Listening

__so, I reckon that____

_________________________________________________________________________

___In my belief
____________________________________________________________________________________

Add 2 more expressions of your own to the list above.

d) When we listen we sometimes don't remember the exact words the speaker used. When we
paraphrase we can put the information we heard in our own words or use synonyms.

1. Certain words in the speaker's speech are highlighted. Help the listener paraphrase the
highlighted words using the options given. One is done for you.

body language what they have to say facial expressions

genuinely keen on willing to consider
Speaker: I use my face and my body to convey that I'm open and interested in what this person
is trying to communicate.

Listener: So, what you're saying is that my body language and

__ facial expressions tell the other person that I am ___ willing to consider __ and

am _____ genuinely keen on listening to _ what they have to say .

2. Paraphrase what the speaker has said. Fill it in the listener's dialogue space. Remember to
begin it using a suitable expression to show you are checking understanding.

i) Speaker: I realized I was not engaging with the person who was right beside me and that was not
good. So now in my own life I'm trying to implement this thing called active listening and three
words come to my mind - be here now.

Listener: So, in other words speaker wants to say that when you are listening to someone else, you
should engage with the person, so that the person can feels that you are interested in the topic.
Speaker implement this in his/her life which is called active listening
_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________
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 Spoken English Upper-Intermediate
Module 1
Listening Skills – Active Listening

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

ii) Speaker: Listening is such a powerful tool. It conveys to people that you are here to listen to
them, that you're not preoccupied with something that's distant and irrelevant.

Listener: If I’m hearing you correctly you are saying that listening can convey the people that you
are here to listen to them and not preoccupied with something that’s distant and irrelevant
_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

e) How does paraphrasing help the listener and speaker?

Listener: It will help the listener to get involve in the topic

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Speaker:

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Task 2: (20 minutes)

As you can see, the skill of paraphrasing is an integral part of our everyday lives! Counsellors and
therapists use the skill of paraphrasing while actively listening in their careers. Read the article on
the link below for an example on how this skill is used.

http://counsellingtutor.com/basic-counselling-skills/reflecting-and-paraphrasing/

Some more examples are present here:

http://www.csun.edu/~hcpsy002/Psy460_GrpTask05_Paraphra.pdf

Get ready to practise using a role play!

Student A: You are a therapist. Student B will call you with a problem. Use the skill of
paraphrasing to show B that you understand their problem. Offering a solution is optional.

Student B: You are facing a problem and are going to discuss it on the phone with your therapist.
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 Spoken English Upper-Intermediate
Module 1
Listening Skills – Active Listening

You can use an original problem you would like to get off your chest, an imaginary one or simply
use one from the list below:

i) Your wife/ husband has just got a good job in another country. You are very happy here and don't
want to move.
ii) Your boss thinks you are not ready for a promotion although you have been working hard in the
same role for 5 years.
iii) Your girlfriend/ boyfriend thinks she/ he is a very good singer and has a chance to make it big.
You think she/ he is a terrible singer.
iv) You borrowed your dad's car and damaged it. Now he won't talk to you and has taken away your
bike keys.

Clarify the problem to Student A if he/ she doesn't understand you.

Switch roles.

Record and post your conversations on Edmodo. Listen to your classmates' conversations and give
them feedback on their use of paraphrasing.

Task 3: (5 minutes)
Where will you use the skill of paraphrasing while actively listening in the coming week? How will
you change the way you usually listen?

_____I will use the paraphrasing skill in the upcoming spoken English
class.__________________________________________________________________________

_____I will involve myself with the speaker when he/she is speaking and make points about what
all is topic
about__________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

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