Listening and understanding
How to support children's listening and understanding and give them the environment they need to develop these skills.
Contents on this page
Why listening and understanding is important
Communication requires 2 foundation skills, listening and understanding. Children develop these by observing and reacting to others. This influences communication and talking later in life.
Listening is different to simply hearing. It means interpreting different sounds, while beginning to understand social interactions. Understanding means processing what’s being communicated, beginning with simple ideas and vocabulary.
Most babies are born able and eager to interact, but some need extra support. You can play an important part in all children’s overall communication development. Listen to children’s interests and engage in warm interactions with them. Use children’s names to get their attention and keep it.
Children should develop close listening and attention skills, so do not have music on all the time. Think also about playing a variety of sounds, such as environmental noises like rain or the rainforest, as well as stories and rhymes.
In return listen closely to the children. Attend to their wants, needs and individual interests. Children will feel their input is valued, and that they’re appropriately supported. They’ll be much more motivated to listen, understand and learn from others.
Video
In this video, an early years expert explains the importance of listening and understanding in the early years foundation stage framework. There are also some tips on how to support children in this area.
Transcript
Transcript
Good attention and listening skills help with all areas of the EYFS, and particularly the development of children’s social skills, their understanding, ability to follow instructions, and overall communication.
So when we’re teaching children about listening and attention, it’s really important that we show them how to do this, modelling what full attention really looks like, so that they really see what giving something a focus feels and looks like.
I’m wondering how you do that as part of your practice with children.
When they are doing their explore time, we modelling for the children how we speak to them and how we talk to them. Sometimes we sit down, and we put our knee down to put their levels, so we make eye contact, and that child has got time to think what they want to say.
Getting that attention first before you give the message or the information that you want to pass or engage that child in conversation is really important, and I think particularly with the younger children, it can be really explicit about sort of turning your whole body so it’s really clear that you’re looking and giving them your full attention.
I’m just thinking about how we use non-verbal communication to support attention and listening. Yeah, so starting with the youngest children, we use real objects, objects of reference, a lot to support the children’s understanding of the routine and help them to understand what’s going to happen next.
So for example, when it’s time for them to have their nappy changed, we’ll show them their nappy or their nappy bag or the real things, and we’ll get their attention first.
Before we start with story, we prepare for the props. Children can understand easily when they see the props. If we do Goldilocks, the storybook, we show the children the characters, how the character changing their voice. We show the expression, changed our voice, our physical expression.
Those children that are sometimes in a position where listening attention is a bit more difficult, and how you might support children in a really inclusive way, perhaps for children who’ve got special educational needs or disabilities, in terms of their listening attention. I think getting to know that child really well, working with the parents initially, investing that time to find out what’s that child’s strengths, what are the things that they are motivated by, and then really capitalizing on that.
So perhaps for a child who has a hearing loss, for example, we would think very carefully about the environment, make sure that there’s lots of opportunities during the day, that they’re in a space, a physical space, where the hearing that they may have is utilised as much as possible. So can you give me some examples of how you support the children in your setting whose first language isn’t English, and how that supports their listening and attention skills?
First thing I do is I ask parents what that child like it or has that child has got something special like family photos, which is help with that child’s confidence and extended with that child’s communications. And also, I speak that child’s language. Gives the children, build up their confidence and listening and attentions.
And learning songs and listening to stories in other languages is incredibly important to get that richness.
I think that really helps us to give that really clear message to parents of us really valuing the family’s home language and that being bilingual is a real asset. It’s going to really support them.
Children who have English as an additional language can be supported to listen by adults who know them well and have learned a few words in their home language.
Children who find listening and attention difficult are supported by adults who spend time noticing their strengths and what makes the difference for their unique communication style. Listening, attention, and understanding are so important for language development and can be challenging skills for young children.
Practitioners tuning in to children’s play and demonstrating active listening will help them to really want to concentrate and listen.
What the EYFS framework says
By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children’s language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive.
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, page 7, childminder EYFS, page 8, group and school-based EYFS.
What this means in practice
To support early listening and understanding, consider your setting’s physical and emotional environment. Children should be able to practise listening closely, and be encouraged to focus their attention. They will benefit from a quiet environment when they are learning to listen and understand. There are different attention stages:
- Generally between 0 and 1 year, children are easily distracted. Keep their attention by giving them your full attention. Demonstrate focus when playing with and responding to them. Use wait-and-see activities such as ‘peek-a-boo’.
- Generally between 1 and 2 years, children can keep focus but cannot shift it alone. Support early understanding with instructions, gestures and prompts, for example showing a child their nappy before changing it. Respond to their play and words, to help them concentrate and listen.
- Generally between 2 and 3 years, children can shift focus between tasks more easily. However, they will need your support. Do this through light touch and using their name.
- Generally between 3 and 4 years, children pay attention to different things at the same time. However they may still find this difficult and need support. Use clear prompts to help them switch their attention between tasks and listen to instructions. Something like calling their name, followed by a simple sentence like ‘please stop and listen’ would work well. This prepares them for the more structured learning in the reception year.
Suggested activities
Songs to encourage sound and word play
Children love singing silly songs, especially involving actions, movement and laughter. Playing around with sounds can develop listening skills in a fun way, encouraging confidence with new words. Changing words in familiar songs is great fun, and children can consider the sound differences they hear.
You’ll need some of your favourite songs that have easy words to play with.
Try these examples of song word play:
’Polly puts the pizza in’, to the tune of ‘Polly put the kettle on’. Change the verses with different children’s names, such as:
‘Suzie sizzles sausages’
‘Ben bites biscuits bit by bit’
‘Carly crunches cabbages’
’A Hedgehog is very prickly’ to the tune of ‘One finger, one thumb, keep moving’.
’A hedgehog is very prickly
A hedgehog is very prickly,
A hedgehog is very prickly
He couldn’t be anything else!’
Choose a new animal, changing the describing word each time, such as ‘a crocodile is very snappy’, ‘a kitten is very fluffy’.
You can choose whichever songs you like, in line with current classroom themes or children’s special interests.
These song examples are from ‘Bingo Lingo’, by Helen MacGregor.
How this activity links to the other areas of learning
Children can learn different ways of using songs and words (widening vocabulary). They will consider how similar sounds can be amusing (comprehension). They can explore the fun of song and performance (expressive arts and design). They can learn how to work with others while having fun and learning relationships.
Listening treasure boxes
You’ll need items that make interesting noises in a ‘treasure box’, for example:
- crinkly paper
- noise-making toys
- pots and pans
- musical instruments
Introduce the box to a small group of children, encouraging them to explore the items.
Listen carefully to individual sounds as the children take turns. Turn-taking is also an important communication skill, needing careful listening.
With older, more capable children, get them to take turns bringing an item behind a screen, making the noise while the group guesses what it might be.
Once the group is familiar with all items, take one away and ask if they can remember, replicating or even describing its noise.
The box can be left out for children to explore freely, with positive interactions from you to support listening development.
How the activity links to other areas of learning
Children can learn how to hold instruments and other noise-making materials (fine motor skills). They can arrange the best way to cooperate with friends and take turns (relationships). They can develop their memory skills to think about which items might be missing (patterns and connections). They can develop their skills around music and performance (expressive arts and design).
Other activities
Every Child a Talker, various activities for children aged 0 to 5.
Confident communicators a video about communication and understanding.
Learn Makaton - a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.
What other nurseries and childminders are doing
“We use ‘sound bags’ in focused small groups, suitable for children 15 to 18 months, but easily adapted. Use a calm, quiet, distraction-free space. For smaller settings, this may be whilst other children are napping or engaged in independent activities. Gather some objects in a bag, represented by a sound. Choose familiar or motivational objects for a specific child, such as their favourite animal. Get children’s attention by showing the bag, bringing objects out one-by-one and making the sound. Let the chosen child hold and play with each object, providing a multi-sensory approach. Ask them to take turns listening and finding objects for each sound. If a child seems comfortable, encourage them to make the object’s sound themselves, but do not force this. To adapt to each child’s needs, use signs or symbols, rather than sounds, and encourage them to explore objects using the sense they rely on most.”
Amy, Pen Green Centre, Northamptonshire.
Summary
- Basic communication begins with two important skills: listening, and understanding.
- Listening and understanding are the foundation for later learning and development, for example talking, writing, and communicating with friends.
- Good listening and understanding helps with all EYFS areas, particularly developing social skills, attention, following instructions and wider communication.
- Babies, toddlers and young children must develop the ability to focus and maintain concentration, in order to learn.
- Listening, which is different to hearing, means interpreting sounds and understanding their source, as well as meaning.
Next steps
- Consider your setting’s physical and emotional environment.
- Consider opportunities for children to listen and understand sounds.
- Discuss the importance of listening and understanding with parents and carers.
- Notice and make time for listening and understanding during everyday interactions.
- Review your curriculum to ensure you cover the requirements in the EYFS for this area of learning.