Listening and speaking

Introduction
Listening and speaking skills are used less than reading and writing skills in most OU courses, but you will need them in order to
•	make best use of the audio and video materials that form a valuable part of many OU courses
•	have phone conversations with your tutor, or other administrative or learning support staff at the OU
•	communicate in group tutorials, whether online or face-to-face, or at residential school.
In this activity you will
•	learn about students’ experiences of listening and speaking for their courses
•	select any suggestions that may be of particular use for you.
Watch both video extracts and then answer the question. 

Question
Based on the video extracts, what tips can you identify for improving your speaking and listening?

Points to consider
If you want to develop your listening and speaking skills, try to get as much practice as possible each day. Here are some suggestions:
•	Listen to the radio or watch TV and try to summarise in your own words the main points that you understood.
•	Find opportunities to join in conversations on a range of topics, in a variety of contexts, with different people.