Have you ever given your child, student, or employee a set of instructions and it seems like they simply couldn't understand the words coming out of your mouth? It's at that moment that we realize the importance of an overlooked skill: listening.
The truth is that listening is an extremely important skill that has multiple uses. We listen to obtain information, understand, for enjoyment, and to learn. That means that listening is one of the most valuable skills that a student can sharpen.
Improved listening skills helps a student now by letting them become better learners, and the effect is almost immediate. As soon as they become better listeners, they can become better students. At home and a job, it makes them better at following instructions. Good actively listening skills have been linked to strong leadership qualities. Successful entrepreneurs also tend to be good listeners.
While I could go on explaining why teaching students good listening skills are important (and I will in future articles) you're probably wondering how. What tools are there available for educators to improve listening skills?
Let me introduce you to one of my favorite tools--podcasts, and in particular Pinna.
Pinna makes learning fun and easy by bringing educational content from the web to your child's ears. It helps parents and teachers give children access to a rich, immersive media experience with audiobooks and podcasts created just for them – including award-winning titles, well-known voice actors, and originals. Kids can listen to Pinna on their devices, at home, or on the go with the mobile app. There are so many choices that every child is bound to find something of interest to them!
My personal favorite is Hero Hotel. That's right, I enjoy it too! It's an educational audio source that isn't just adult tolerable, it's actually enjoyable.
One of the best secrets tucked into the Pinna site is the free resource section. All Pinna subscribers can get access to this area that has lessons plans and activity sheets. That means that if you used this tool you wouldn't have to do a lot of preparation before the student listens to the audio to be prepared to teach.
I also love the fact that it has a wide variety of subjects. You can find fiction, of course. However, there is an impressive amount of non-fiction, science, history, and tech-related content too. That means I can just about always find a way to tie something from the site into our current learning.
Adding the fact that Pinna has an app that goes on almost any mobile device makes taking the lesson with you extremely easy.
In upcoming articles, I'll talk about how to improve your student's listening skills. In the meantime try Pinna for free for 7-days using my link. If you like it, you can get unlimited access for the next month for only $3, and you can cancel anytime!
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