Listening and Hearing

Do you think there is a difference between listening and hearing? If you said yes then you are correct. Listening is something you consciously choose to do. It requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to learning. However on the other hand hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are hearing- impaired, hearing simply happens. I have learnt in my Strategies to Success class a symbol that the Chinese people use  for listening. According to them in order to listen effectively you must give your undivided attention, listen with your eyes, ears, heart. This means that you cannot be doing something else while listening you have to be focus and still.