Address them. Nobody wants to talk to someone who does not appear to be listening or responding. Addressing the children is an active way of good listening. According to Adele Pillitteri in Maternal & Child Nursing: Care of the Childbearing & Childrearing Family, actions such as nodding your head, continuing eye contact, stopping all your activities to attend what is being said, and even repeating some words that have been uttered indicates that you are listening. This is the first step in educating a child to pay attention. Pillitteri adds that children who feel appreciated are more likely to consult feelings and concerns compared to those who sense that they are unimportant. This facilitates instruction, making it more productive.
Show them. Social learning theorists introduced the notion of how environment influences behaviors and alters people's actions. By modeling how and what you do when listening, the children being the observers now learn. As the model, you must be more aware of the proper ways of listening such as addressing the listener appropriately and noting the key ideas of the conversation to impart to the child. Give an incentive if the student was able to imitate or learn this concept. Simply praising a child is usually incentive enough to instill positive behaviors.
Train them. Practicing will improve the skill in listening. Reading books aloud or listening to audio tapes will develop the child's sense of finding the key ideas and filtering the insignificant ones. Moreover, using materials that relate to children enhances faster absorption. Asking them questions to test how well they paid attention is the best way to evaluate how well they listened.
Engage them. Children learn better when listening is incorporated in games. By making listening interactive and enjoyable at the same time, children would learn faster. The British Council website for kids has numerous programs which children could access. The website integrated learning with entertainment to hasten education. When a child is just uncooperative, play a game as basic as Simon Says and simple learning will take place.