Making Time to Talk - Why Being an Active Listener is Important

Active listening is one of the most powerful foundations for early communication. In this episode, we explore why listening matters so much in the early years, how it supports language development, and what the EYFS says about listening and understanding.

We break down practical ways adults can model active listening—being present, responding with attunement, validating feelings, and noticing non‑verbal cues. The episode also introduces the EEF’s ShREC approach and shares simple strategies to help young children become active listeners through open‑ended questions, thinking time, playful listening games, and reducing background noise.

This episode is ideal for early years practitioners, students, parents, and anyone interested in child development, communication, and high‑quality early learning environments. If you’re looking for evidence‑informed strategies to strengthen children’s language and listening skills, this conversation offers clear, actionable insights you can use right away.

Subscribe, share, and step into a podcast made for reflective early years practice.

Episode Six References:

Rogers, C.R. and Farson, R.E., (1957). Active listening. Chicago, IL.

Jardri, R., Houfflin-Debarge, V., Delion, P., Pruvo, J.P., Thomas, P., & Pins, D. (2012) ‘Assessing fetal response to maternal speech using a noninvasive functional brain imaging technique’, Int J Dev Neurosci., 30: 159–61.

Links to website:

EEF ShREC approach

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/early-years/the-shrec-approach

Early Years Foundation Stage Framework

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2

Help for Early Years Providers

https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/

Hosts:

Deborah Brown www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-brown79

Dr Jacqueline Young www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jacqueline-young

Podcast produced by:

Luke Young www.linkedin.com/in/lukeyoungcomposer

Title music by:

Luke Young www.linkedin.com/in/lukeyoungcomposer