Active listening is a tenet of learning, interpersonal communication and classroom achievement. In the case of a young child, the skill of listening and listening comprehension is not simply a matter of hearing, but of concentration, acoustic processing, and listening and recalling the words. Close listening comprehension is a direct contributor to literacy, instruction following, and cooperative play. Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready places essential emphasis on intentional development of listening skills as a part of our holistic approach to kindergarten readiness. By the systematic and motivating processes of Kinder Ready Tutoring, young learners receive a regular exercise in auditory attention and processing, and the foundation upon which increased confidence and academic achievement take place.
Interactive, dialogic reading is one of the most effective methods of strengthening listening skills. The practice will make the passive story time an active auditory activity. During a Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley tutoring session, a teacher reads expressively and intentionally makes pauses to pose predictive and inferential questions: “What do you think the bear will do next? ” or “Why is the girl feeling sad?” The child should take his time to hear the details of the story so as to come up with an answer. Moreover, the teacher can provide a two-step instructional task concerning the book, i.e., “Tap the blue house and point to the red bird. These exercises prepare the working memory of the child and the capability to process verbal information in a sequence, which can be directly applied in the setting of a kindergarten classroom, where one is expected to follow directions in a sequence.
The Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready mission is to introduce children to various forms of learning, and this includes auditory learning. In addition to stories, tutors use specially developed games that are specifically made to sharpen listening skills. It may involve playing Simon Says with more and more difficult instructions, applauding rhythmic patterns, or a sound-matching game where the children are expected to pick which two in a set of words rhyme or have the same ending sound. These are games of playing, but they demand listening and auditory discrimination. Kinder Ready Tutoring with an individual setting is best for this, as the educator can alter difficulty on the fly depending on the reactions of the child, keeping the child challenged without frustrating them, keeping the child engaged and having fun.
Finally, good listening abilities are also closely related to the confidence and self-regulation of the child. When a child is able to hear, process and take action with verbal information accurately, they are more likely to be successful in participating in group activities, following classroom routines and developing positive relationships with teachers as well as peers. This achievement minimises misunderstanding and misbehaviour of not listening. The self-esteem of knowing that I was told what to do, and I can do it, is deep. Kinder Ready Tutoring provides a child with one of the essential learning tools: by addressing the listening comprehension issues proactively and by using individualised and interactive approaches. This will make sure that they not only get to kindergarten where they can hear, but also listen, understand and react reasonably well to ensure a solid base of further academic and social interaction.
For further details on Kinder Ready’s programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethFraleyKinderReady
