When you learn another language, you must determine ways to improve your listening skills. As you develop the four skills necessary to help you communicate and understand others, listening should be a priority. Reading helps you decode written content like texts, books, essays, etc. Speaking allows you to interact with others verbally. Writing helps you communicate through texts. In a previous post, we covered some tips and general information about writing.
Today, we will tackle another skill: listening. The mix of these four skills is the vehicle for human communication. Do you think listening is as important as the other skills? We will talk more about today. Are you ready?
What Is Listening?
Listening is classified within the receptive skills set, which allows you to receive information. Frequently, you listen to a message or direction to perform an action or because you are interested in the subject. Some students unconsciously receive what is called passive learning in their English classes. This doesn’t enable them to ask questions or make comments to the speaker.
There are times when passive learning can be useful,such as during presentations or listening exams. However, for the first years of your learning process, you should ask as many questions as possible. This is so you have clear communication with the other speaker.
Techniques to Improve Listening Skills
Input is necessary to improve and learn any language. You are exposed to a language when you go out or talk to a friend who has moved to an English-speaking country.
- Find material for your level. Pick a series or TV show where people speak the language slowly. As time passes, choose other materials that will challenge your vocabulary and comprehension skills.
- Slow down the video. This can be a replacement to turning on the captions.
- Dedicate some time to practice listening and comprehension skills. Some days might be busier than others, but dedicating some time to hone this skill will pay off.
- Listen to a variety of speakers. When you feel like audios, movies, or videos are getting easier to understand, switch to dialects from other English-speaking countries. Discover other English accents from around the world.
Understanding Words vs. Understanding the Main Idea
Communication would be impossible if the receiver doesn’t pay attention to what the speaker is saying. You must listen to comprehend what the other person is saying. One thing is to understand individual words and another is to understand the idea or message. English learners know these two issues perfectly.
When students are learning to develop their listening skills, they tend to focus on each word and the way terms are pronounced. Unless it’s for a vocabulary test, students should focus on the message. Centering your attention on the amount of words the other person is saying will make it difficult to develop your comprehension skills. Therefore, don’t identify each word but pick up important pieces of information.
Frequently, understanding the main idea while listening follows the same steps as reading. Some of the important points are said at the beginning, then immediately explained in detail in the next couple of sentences. At the end of the conversation, the speaker is likely to restate or provide more important bits of information.
What Should You Listen To?
Students often find a two-way road when they’re learning a new language. As a beginner, you must develop your listening skills step by step. Start slowly. Some free resources on the Internet are podcasts and news programs. The information is spoken clearly and slowly. Create your own playlist on YouTube or a podcast app to listen to them when you’re on your way home or on a long trip. Plus, you can add dialogue tailored to beginners.
Now, what happens if you’re already an advanced English learner? Raise the ante. Look for English documentaries, TV shows, and movies. You set your own limits. Listen to different accents, such as Australian or Irish accents. If you want more of a challenge, find a speaking partner from another country to have a conversation via video call or voice note messages.
Subtitles On?
Turning the subtitles on has been a debated topic among English learners and teachers. Whenever students don’t get a word in a movie or series, they tend to rewind the program. Listening to the word again allows you to understand the main point. However, constantly doing this can make you focus more on the subtitles than what is actually happening in the program.
What is the solution? Learn more vocabulary words and find out their pronunciation when in doubt. The more words you know, the easier it’ll be to communicate and understand a language. There are different tips on how to memorize vocabulary, and so can choose the one that best fits your needs. Set a goal to learn a certain amount of words daily and record your progress.
Takeaway
Millions of people speak English every day. As a learner or someone who wants to take your language abilities to the next level, you must pay attention to your listening skills. Mastering this takes time, but it’s not impossible. Coming up with a plan is helpful for you to see what is working. Do you have any other tips for improving your listening skills? Let us know!
