Advice and resources : Listening and attention at school

Overview

Listening and attention are skills that have to be developed, much like walking and talking.

However, many young people can struggle to pay attention within a busy classroom environment. Some may have particular difficulty with listening and attention, whilst other areas of their development are age appropriate.

What you might see

If a young person struggles to listen or pay attention, they might:

• not actively listen to the teacher, by looking out of the window or turning around in their seat
• be easily distracted, such as paying more attention to movement or noise in or near the classroom
• ‘zone out’ or look ‘blank’ if they're trying to concentrate for a long time
• appear disruptive
• appear restless or fidgety and may become demotivated
• hear parts of what is being said
• have difficulties remembering all the parts of longer instructions
• start tasks slow or watch what their peers are doing if they're struggling to follow instructions 

How parents and carers can help

Look at the environment

• Remove any distractions, for example, close blinds, reduce background noise, sit the young person away from windows/doors
• Seat the young person at the front of the class and away from any vibrant or distracting information on the walls
• Be aware of possible distractions, like noise from a projector fan, or a window’s reflection on the whiteboard.

Use the structure of the lesson

• Make sure lesson objectives are clear, as this can help cue them into the topic of the lesson
• Use written instructions with your spoken information, like bullet points on a post it or small white board
• Break tasks down into smaller sub-tasks
• Give short, simple instructions, with pauses between each
• Give directions in a logical time ordered sequence, such as “first, next, and finally”
• Give examples of the completed activity so they can see the desired end
• Give them clues on what to listen out for beforehand, like keywords or specific details
• Allow them time to make notes of keywords or ideas while they’re listening to you or a clip 
• Allow listening breaks; try to ensure that they aren’t having to listen for more than 10 minutes without having to think, talk or write about what they have heard; this will support the development of active listening
• Use multi-sensory teaching methods to vary the activities
• Use visual support to reinforce spoken information and support listening and attention skills with objects, pictures, diagrams and demonstrations
• Use lesson plenaries to recap and reinforce key information that’s been covered.

Use individual strategies

• Use their name to focus their attention before giving an instruction or key information
• Use a level of language they can understand (see section on understanding language)
• Don’t expect them to listen and write at the same time
• Ask them to explain what they’ve been asked to do, rather than asking if they understand
• Provide specific feedback if they demonstrate good listening skills, for example, ‘I can tell that you’re listening because you’re looking at me’; this develops awareness of what good listening skills look like
• Consider providing written or visual reminders of what’s involved in good listening; this could be stuck in their planner or on a pencil case or ruler – it doesn’t need to be on the wall for all to see
• Explore the use of fiddle toys or let the young person doodle to help support and maintain attention.

What you can do as a young person

Think about what helps you listen to the teacher, and whether you can make little changes.

Focus on learning

• Make sure you know what the learning objective of the lesson is or what it is you have been asked to do
• Focus on the keywords the teacher is using, and ask your teacher if you're unsure 

Sitting comfortably

• Let your teacher know if it helps to sit at the front of the class or away from a particular person - change of environment could help if possible
• Try chair or table push-ups or an aerobic movement break
• If you find you’re becoming sleepy, stick your elbows out and push the palms of your hands together really hard for about 10 seconds - this should help you feel more awake
• Try stretching your legs out under your desk, or changing how you are sitting if you’re struggling to keep focused

Snacks and toys

• If possible try a crunchy or chewy snack or bottle of water to sip at
• Ask your teacher to give you something to fiddle with or if you can doodle on some paper, if this helps you listen

When to ask for help

If you’ve tried the steps outlined above and have seen no improvement after four months, please do speak to your GP or health visitor.

Our team run online workshops on early language development. They are designed for parents and carers and those working within early years settings. We have three training sessions available on different topics to equip you with everyday strategies to support your child, aged up to five.

• Early language development workshops