Whakarongo Tūāoma · Active and Critical Listening
Questioning, paraphrasing, Socratic methods, and oral traditions · Years 9–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Distinguish between active listening (clarifying and extending) and critical listening (evaluating validity and bias).
- Use open-ended questions, paraphrasing, and probing questions to deepen collaborative discussion.
- Recognise how purpose, audience, and form shape meaning across different spoken genres.
- Listen attentively to oral traditions — including mihi, pepeha, and whaikōrero — attending to language, rhythm, and intent.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can write one open-ended question and one paraphrase in response to what I heard.
- I can identify at least one technique the speaker uses to shape the audience's response.
- I can describe what I notice about the purpose, rhythm, or structure when listening to an oral tradition.
- I can explain the difference between summarising what someone said and evaluating whether it is valid.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Connections
This activity addresses the following English curriculum statement (Draft 2025, Phase 4 — Years 9, 10):
- Language Studies: Active listening involves questioning (open-ended questions, paraphrasing, asking for elaboration) for clarifying, summarising, and promoting collaborative thinking. Critical listening involves Socratic and probing questions to assess validity and identify bias. Listening across genres requires recognising how purpose, audience, and form shape meaning. Listening to oral traditions involves attending to language, rhythm, and delivery — including recognising the structure and purpose of mihi, pepeha, and whaikōrero.
Wāhanga 1 · Active vs Critical Listening
Goal: understand and extend the speaker's ideas.
- Ask open-ended questions: "What do you mean when you say...?"
- Paraphrase: "So you're saying that...?"
- Ask for elaboration: "Could you say more about...?"
- Invite others: "What does everyone else think about that?"
Goal: evaluate the validity and reasoning of the speaker's ideas.
- Probing: "What evidence supports that claim?"
- Socratic: "Is that always true? What about when...?"
- Bias check: "Who benefits from this view? Who is left out?"
- Clarify assumptions: "Are you assuming that...?"
Listen to a speaker (teacher, classmate, or recording). Write one active listening question and one critical listening question:
Active question:
Critical question:
Paraphrase what the speaker said in one sentence (your own words only):
Wāhanga 2 · How Purpose and Audience Shape Spoken Texts
A speech, podcast, debate, and lecture all use spoken language — but they work differently because their purposes and audiences are different. Good listeners notice these differences.
Spoken text you listened to (title or description):
One technique the speaker used to shape meaning (e.g. repetition, pause, inclusive language, statistics):
Wāhanga 3 · Listening to Oral Traditions
Oral traditions carry encoded knowledge in ways that written texts cannot replicate. Listening well to a mihi, pepeha, or whaikōrero requires attending to more than just the words.
A greeting that acknowledges place, ancestors, and relationships. Establishes connection before any business begins.
A statement of identity through connection to maunga (mountain), awa (river), waka, iwi, hapū, and tūpuna (ancestors).
Formal oratory on a marae. Has specific protocols, structure, and purpose — usually begins with a mihi and may include waiata.
Listen to (or watch a recording of) a mihi, pepeha, or whaikōrero. What do you notice about the rhythm and pacing? What role does repetition play?
What is being communicated beyond the literal words? (Consider: relationships, values, identity, context)
Aronga Mātauranga Māori · Te Ao Māori Lens
In te ao Māori, listening — whakarongo — is regarded as a form of respect and a prerequisite for understanding. The whakataukī says: "He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata" — it is the people, the people, the people. Knowledge travels through relationship, and relationship begins with truly listening.
Kōrero pūrākau (storytelling) and waiata (song) are structured forms of knowledge transmission that require an audience skilled in deep listening. The listener is not passive — they are a participant in making meaning.
How does understanding the purpose of whakarongo in te ao Māori change the way you think about your role as a listener in any conversation?
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
What is the difference between hearing something and truly listening to it? What gets in the way of your best listening?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Literary Essay Scaffold — Years 9–10
- Author's Purpose — Reading Strategies
- Ko Wai Au / Pepeha resources in Unit 1 — Te Ao Māori for pepeha templates
- Te Reo Māori unit — Kōrero 4: Tōku Pepeha for oral tradition practice