Listening Style as a Situational Demand: Exploring Speech Communication Instructors’ Listening Behaviors at the Time of The Pandemic

Abstract

Teachers are called upon to be a particular kind of listener in the classroom; active-empathic listening has been recognized invaluable to effective instruction. The shift in delivery modalities following the Covid-19 pandemic –from traditional face-to-face to modular remote instruction–exacerbated and catalyzed many instructional communication-related challenges that instructors now have to address and alleviate. This study sought to explore how speech communication instructors adjust their listening styles to adapt to the different communication demands of a remote classroom. Utilizing Bodie, Worthington, and Gearhart’s (2013) Listening Styles Profile-Revised (LSP-R) as a self-report tool, speech communication instructors of the University of the Philippines Diliman evaluated their listening styles 1) in the traditional face-to-face classes they had pre-pandemic, and 2) in the online synchronous classes they facilitate during the pandemic. Aside from identifying the differences in listening styles and communication demands, the study was able to highlight non-academic communication challenges (technology and connectivity issues, pandemic-related anxiety, public health issues) affecting the changes in the instructors’ listening styles.

Presenters

Marielle Justine Sumilong
Instructor, Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts, University of the Philippines, Philippines

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Pedagogy and Curriculum

KEYWORDS

Listening, Instructional Communication, Pandemic, Speech Communication