Good Listeners Become Better Readers: The Link Between Listening Skills and Literacy

When it comes to English literacy, parents tend to focus on reading and writing practice. You may have them learn spelling words, practise handwriting or write compositions.

However, one crucial skill is often overlooked: listening.

Strong listening skills actually form the foundation for language comprehension, vocabulary growth, and confident communication. After all, before a child can read fluently, they must first learn to understand and process spoken language.

In this article, we’ll explore how listening supports reading and writing development, why it’s essential for early English literacy, and how parents can nurture this ability both at home and through English enrichment classes in Singapore.

How Listening Skills Boost Reading Ability

Long before a child learns to decode letters on a page, they must first learn how to listen. Listening skills are more than just hearing words. They include:

• Paying attention to the details in what someone says. 

Where did they go, what did they do, or how did they feel? Understanding these details helps children follow a story or conversation more accurately, a skill that also supports reading comprehension.

• Understanding tone, emotion, and meaning of spoken words. 

For instance, can your child tell the difference between an excited “Really?” and a disbelieving “Really?” This awareness helps them interpret intent, mood, and emotion when communicating with someone or thinking about a character’s motivation in a story.

• Interpreting context. For example, who is speaking? Why? What message is being shared? 

Knowing when a friend is sharing a joke or when a teacher is giving an instruction helps children respond to the speaker in the right way. This same ability translates into reading. Understanding who is speaking in a story, why something is happening, and how the situation fits into the bigger picture all contribute to stronger comprehension and critical thinking.

• Remembering information. Good listening also involves recalling what was heard earlier. 

This helps children connect ideas, follow a storyline, and retain new vocabulary, all skills which are key to comprehension in both listening and reading.

• Honing active listening skills. Maintaining eye contact, nodding to show understanding, not interrupting, and asking follow-up questions; these are all elements of good listening. 

More than just absorbing what someone says, these signs show that a child is engaged, thinking critically about what they’re hearing, and learning to respond thoughtfully.

When a child grows to be a good listener, they can naturally become better readers as well:  

• When children hear stories, they start linking the spoken words to printed words, building phonemic awareness. This is the basic ability to hear and identify individual sounds in words.
  
  
• Children can absorb new vocabulary and grammar structures naturally from conversations and stories.
  
  
• They learn to follow a narrative, predict what comes next, and identify cause-and-effect relationships, which are crucial for understanding more complex books later on.

For example, a young child who listens attentively to a story like The Very Hungry Caterpillar isn’t just hearing about different types of food. They’re also learning the sequence of time through the days of the week, words that may be new to them (“cocoon,” “butterfly”), and the rhythm of repeated sentences.

When that child later encounters those same words in another book or conversation, they’ll already recognise them, strengthening both their understanding and vocabulary skills.

Research also supports this connection. Studies have shown that children who are strong listeners tend to have:

• Better reading comprehension and writing skills.
  
  
• A greater ability to understand abstract or complex ideas.
  
  
• Higher empathy and social awareness, as they’re more attuned to others’ emotions and perspectives.

Every time your child practices good listening, whether in a classroom discussion or during a conversation at home, they’re building the mental pathways that strengthen their overall communication skills and English literacy. This is why listening skills are such a core part of English enrichment classes at ICR.

Barriers to Good Listening Skills

Many children today begin school with weaker English listening and literacy skills than before. This is a trend observed in classrooms around the world, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

These children don’t lack intelligence or curiosity, but their environment and habits have shaped their listening abilities. 

Shorter attention spans in the digital age

With constant exposure to fast-moving videos and instant content online, children are becoming used to intense visual stimulation. Listening, on the other hand, requires patience and focus, both skills that will take time to develop.

Overreliance on visual learning

When most learning or entertainment comes through screens or images, such as cartoons, YouTube, or mobile phone apps, children may rely less on processing spoken words. They may struggle to follow longer verbal explanations or stories that don’t have accompanying visuals.

Fast-paced classrooms

In busy classrooms, teachers often need to move quickly through lessons to cover the syllabus. Some children, especially those who need more time to process auditory information, can “tune out” when they feel left behind or overwhelmed.

The good news is that listening skills can always be strengthened, and parents play a big role in directly supporting their child’s reading comprehension and overall English literacy.

6 Simple Ways Parents Can Build Listening Skills at Home

You don’t need complex tools or long lessons to nurture strong listening habits. Many of the most effective strategies can be built naturally into daily routines:

1. Read Aloud Regularly

Try to keep this habit alive even as your child grows older. In addition to sharpening their listening skills, time spent reading together is a great bonding activity and a way for parents to model a positive relationship with books. 

As you read together, make the experience an interactive one by pausing to ask open-ended questions like, “Why do you think the character did that? Did something happen earlier in the story that would make them act like this?”. This helps your child practice comprehension, information recall, and reflection as they listen.

2. Use Audiobooks as an Alternative to Screentime

Give your child’s eyes a break from screens with audiobooks. Listening to stories read with expression helps children absorb the rhythm and melody of language, pronunciation, and emotion, all of which are essential for both listening and reading comprehension.

Audiobooks also prompt children to use their imaginations to picture scenes and characters in the story, encouraging the development of better focus and a stronger attention span. 

3. Play Listening Games

Simple activities like Simon Says, Story Chain, or the Telephone Game give children a fun way to strengthen their ability to focus, follow instructions, and remember what they hear.

Games like these turn listening into an active process, training children to pay attention to details and sequence information accurately. Over time, this playful practice enhances their ability to understand spoken or written stories more effectively.

4. Model Good Listening Habits.

Children naturally mirror their parents’ behaviours and attitudes, so one of the best ways to teach them listening skills is to show them what it looks like.

When speaking to your child, maintain eye contact, nod, and respond thoughtfully. For example, when your child tells you about their day, pause what you’re doing, look at them, and show interest through follow-up questions. This teaches them that listening is more than just being quiet; it’s also about being engaged, respectful, and attentive. Over time, children will begin to use these same habits with teachers, friends, and classmates.

5. Keep Instructions Simple and Digestible

Bombarding children with too much information at once can overwhelm and confuse them.  

Instead, break your instructions down into separate steps and give your child time to process them. Rather than saying, “Put away your toys, wash your hands, and get ready for dinner,” try reducing it into smaller parts: “First, let’s put away your toys”. Once your child has accomplished this, say, “Now, wash your hands.” 

This method helps your child stay focused, remember the tasks they’re supposed to do, and feel more confident completing them successfully. As their listening and memory improve, you can gradually increase the number of steps in each verbal instruction. 

6. Help Improve Attention Span Gradually.

Many children’s attention spans may be shorter than before, but the good news is that paying attention is a trainable skill:

• Reduce distractions such as TV or other background noise during conversations, so that your child can better focus on one thing at a time. 
• Set short, focused listening activities, like following along to a short story or recalling three things they heard in an audio clip. Slowly increase the duration of these activities as their concentration improves. 
• Celebrate small improvements to keep their motivation high. A little progress each day goes a long way in strengthening listening stamina.

To support your efforts at home, consider enrolling your child in English enrichment classes in Singapore, which provide structured opportunities for children to practise listening and communication in engaging ways.

How I Can Read (ICR) Supports English Literacy Through Enrichment Classes

At ICR, we believe that strong English literacy begins with strong listening. 

That’s why our English enrichment classes in Singapore focus on developing all four essential skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, in an engaging, balanced way.

• Interactive class discussions encourage students to listen actively and express their thoughts clearly through speaking in front of their classmates and teacher, question-and-answer sessions, and guided storytelling.
  
  
• Small class sizes ensure that teachers are able to give personalised feedback, guide quieter learners to speak up, and help each student strengthen both their listening and speaking skills in a supportive, encouraging environment.
  
  
• Specially trained teachers design lessons that incorporate listening and comprehension activities, such as role-playing conversations or discussing story themes, to help children connect what they hear with what they read and write.

By nurturing attentive listeners and confident communicators, ICR’s English enrichment classes help children build strong literacy foundations that support lifelong learning.

Every Great Reader Starts as a Good Listener

Strong literacy begins with attentive listening. When children learn to focus, interpret meaning, and connect ideas, they naturally become better readers and writers. 

Parents play an important role in nurturing these habits daily, and the right English enrichment class in Singapore can reinforce them through expert-led practice.

Book a free literacy assessment today and discover how ICR can help your child build listening, comprehension, and literacy skills that will last a lifetime.