Listening and the Language Arts.

This paper emphasizes the connections between listening and the language arts. It lists advantages of students who are good listeners, such as students can learn more when listening well, and students learn to be polite by listening. In addition, the paper lists the following conditions which improve student listening: teaching and learning situations which emphasize individual learning styles; a school environment which stresses a caring set of interactions between learners and teachers; and parental involvement with mutually accepted listening goals. It outlines how students can be taught to be good listeners, and suggests that students who are good listeners should be observed and imitated. Additional suggestions include the following: special class sessions devoted to guiding students to become better listeners; keep the learning environment free of unnecessary noises; and teachers modeling examples of good listeners. The paper provides a list of possible evaluations of students' listening improvements. Examples of such evaluations are: self-evaluation by students; observing students in various situations, such as in class discussions and lunchroom and recess conversations; and student portfolios. (Contains 12 references.) (PM)