Factors of the active listening of preschool children

Active listening is a communication skill which is crucial for the development of cooperative relationships in the group, culture of friendship and fellowship, it is also important for the development of literacy skills and talent for speaking. Furthermore, it contributes to the improvement of the level of knowledge, skills and school achievement, as well as to the development of self-confidence of children. Developing of active listening is an important task in the activities with children of preschool age. In this paper, the author, wanting to determine the importance of the factors of active listening of preschool children, examines how preschool teachers (N = 198): (a) evaluate the importance of certain elements of active listening that relate to the speaker and the listener, and (b) estimate their role in the process of developing active listening skills of preschool children as an essential element of successful interpersonal communication. Results of the survey show that preschool teachers attach greater importance to the factors of active listening related to the listener (attention, listening skill, interest in the subject), than to the factors related to the speaker (motivation for listening, quality of the narrative). More than two-thirds of surveyed preschool teachers (172 or 86.9%) define its impact on the stimulation of active listening of children as significant. Work experience and professional qualifications as independent variables significantly influence the attitudes of preschool teachers about the importance of their impact in stimulating active listening. Preschool teacher is a key element of the training of preschool children in the area of the basic communication skills of active listening. In this sense, the results of our survey show that in the context of academic study programs for education of preschool teachers special attention is given to the communication skills and to their role in the development of active listening. But, bearing in mind the neglection of listening in comparison to other language skills, it is necessary to pay more attention to the improvement of the culture of listening, both in formal and nonformal, as well as in informal education and training of preschool teachers