Active Listening Techniques

Overview

In this lesson, students practise active listening by responding to a partner with clear, spoken “I heard…” repeat-backs. This builds on Lesson 1 by moving from basic listening to using simple strategies to show understanding.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers
• maintain attention during partner speaking and listening
• repeat back key words and ideas they heard
• take turns in a collaborative conversation, staying on the topic

Success criteria

Students can:

• listen without interrupting and wait for their turn
• repeat back at least one key part of what their partner said
• use a simple response starter such as “I heard…” or “You said…”
• show they are listening by looking at the speaker and using a calm listening voice

Curriculum links

• Spoken language – listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• Spoken language – maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments
• English – reading comprehension focus: participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say
• English – reading comprehension focus: explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them (through spoken clarification)

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Warm-up listening rules. Teacher reviews “Listen, Look, Wait” and models two short spoken messages; students freeze, then signal with thumbs up when they can retell what they heard.

2. 5–12 min · Model: repeat-back with a script. Teacher says: “I said: ‘The cat is sleepy.’” then models: “I heard you say the cat is sleepy.” Students practise echoing the sentence together, focusing on matching key words.

3. 12–22 min · Activity 1: Partner sound-and-word repeat. In pairs, Partner A chooses one picture from a small set (e.g., cat/dog/car/ball) and adds one simple action word (jump/sleep/run). Partner B listens and repeats back: “I heard you say ___ and ___.” Switch roles halfway. Teacher circulates and prompts with question prompts: “What did you hear?” and “Can you repeat the key word?”

4. 22–30 min · Quick feedback and listening check. Teacher selects 2 volunteers to demonstrate. Class uses a simple checklist: “Did we wait?” “Did they repeat key words?” Teacher praises specific strategies (e.g., “You looked at your partner and waited.”).

5. 30–39 min · Activity 2: Active listening “comment and reply”. Teacher introduces turn-taking sentence frames on the board:

• Starter: “You said…”
• Reply: “I agree because…” / “I like that because…” (for confident talkers) or “That’s a good idea.” (for all) Each pair shares a two-part idea using the same picture set: “You said ___ is ___.” Then Partner B replies using a frame. Students must stay on the same idea (picture/action they chose). Teacher models how to reply after listening, not during.

6. 39–45 min · Exit ticket speaking check. Teacher calls one student at a time to deliver a 10-second message to the class (e.g., “I like the ball. I can throw it.”). The class chorally gives a repeat-back starter as a group: “I heard you say…” ensuring key words are correct. Teacher notes who used clear repeat-back phrasing.

Resources

• Picture cards (common objects and actions suitable for Year 1: cat/dog/car/ball; sleep/run/jump/throw)
• Listening cue cards: “Listen, Look, Wait”
• Two-colour turn-taking prompts (Partner A / Partner B)
• Sentence frame strips: “I heard…”, “You said…”
• Teacher note sheet for assessment (quick tally of repeat-back clarity)
• Timer (visual, for switching roles)

Assessment

• Formative checks during partner work: observe whether students wait, listen without interrupting, and use a repeat-back phrase
• Teacher questioning during circulation: “What did you hear?” “What are the key words?”
• Exit check: class group repeat-back accuracy and clarity of key words

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence frame strips and first-word prompts (“I heard you say: cat…”) and allow students to match key word cards when repeating
• Support: model “repeat-back” in stages (one key word first, then two key parts)
• Extension: for confident speakers, ask “Can you add one more detail you heard?” or “Why do you think that?” while still staying on the topic
• EAL/SEN considerations: allow rehearsing the response with the frame before repeating; use visual picture support and reduce the demand to fewer details if needed