The present state of listening activities in elementary school music lessons, and didactic suggestions for the integration of these activities in school teaching The thesis looks into the employment of listening activities at contemporary Czech schools. Its primary aim is to boost the motivation of school children to listen to classical music by means of choosing their preferred pieces in music lessons. The thesis consists of two parts, the theoretical part and the practical part. The theoretical part analyses available sources connected with listening activities, such as materials for teachers, and textbooks certified by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as one of possible tools. It looks into the place of listening activities in the contemporary Czech curriculum, and presents also information about listening from the music therapy point of view. The practical part analyses the present situation in the employment of listening activities at our schools. It detects spontaneous preferences of pupils in listening to classical music, and suggests how to use these spontaneous preferences to enhance the quality of music education at school, and build and encourage positive attitude of school children to classical music. The practical part is based on the interview and experiment methods. The...