The art of listening

Lesson plan overview

This lesson plan is dedicated to active listening, and how we can become better at it. It is most suitable for B2-level students, and can be used both as a Business and General English class. Other communication-related lessons you might find interesting are: “Communication styles: assertive vs aggressive”, “Why debates turn into arguments“, “Hard skills vs soft skills”, “Business relationships“, “Idea generation techniques: brainstorming”, “Business meetings: getting your point across, “Small talk”, “Giving and receiving feedback“, “Emotional intelligence at work”, as well as the worksheet: “Phrasal verbs: communication”.
The lesson starts with a few speaking activities. First, students look at a list of communication skills (e.g. active listening, non-verbal communication, giving and receiving feedback, public speaking, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution) and discuss their importance.After that, they look at 4 quotes related to listening and talk about them. Next, they discuss 5 questions given.
Vocabulary: Students take a look at different barriers to active listening (e.g. external distractions, prejudice, mental distractions, lack of interest, information overload) and match them to the short descriptions. Then, they discuss a few questions. After that, students read about different types of ineffective listening (e.g. assumptive, judgemental, authoritative, defensive) and discuss situations in which each one might occur.
Listening: Students watch a TED talk called “4 things all great listeners know” and complete the notes with the correct words.
Confusing words: Next, students look at the difference between the words listen and hear, and complete a gap fill activity. As a vocabulary extension activity, students learn expressions with “listen” and “hear”. They take a look at 7 short dialogues, and they need to choose the correct word to complete the expressions (hear me out, listen with only half an ear, listen up, I hear what you are saying, never hear the end of it). Then they complete 7 sentences with the correct expression. Finally, they are asked to write down 3 conversation questions using the expressions, and discuss them in pairs or small groups.
For more speaking practice, you can use the conversation cards.

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Teacher’s lesson plan

Student’s worksheet

Student’s interactive PDF

Conversation cards PDF

Pre-class activities

All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.

The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:

To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.

https://theenglishflows.com/lesson-plans/the-art-of-listening/pre-class-activities/

In-class activities

Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet

Conversation cards PDF

Student’s interactive PDF

Additional resources

Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.

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Teacher’s lesson plan

Student’s worksheet

Student’s interactive PDF

Conversation cards PDF

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