As a new English speaker, your language skills are progressing well – grammar is now familiar, your reading comprehension isn't a problem, and you're communicating fairly easily – but listening is still a problem.
First of all, remember that you are not alone. Reading comprehension is
probably the most difficult task for almost all learners of English as a
foreign language. The most important thing is to listen, and that means as
often as possible.
The next step is to find listening resources. This is where the Internet really
comes in handy (idiom = to be useful) as a tool for English students. Some
suggestions for interesting listening selections are CBC Podcasts, All Things
Considered (on NPR), and the BBC.
Listening Strategies
Even once you start listening on a regular basis, you may be frustrated by your limited understanding. Here are some actions you can take:
1. Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.
2. Be comfortable when you don't understand - even if you have trouble understanding for a while.
Do not translate in your native language.
3. Listen for the gist (or general idea) of the conversation. Don't focus on detail until you understand the main idea.
4. First, translation creates a barrier between the hearer and the speaker. Second, most people constantly repeat themselves.
5. By staying calm, you can usually understand what the speaker said.
6. Translating creates a barrier between you and the person speaking.
While you're listening to another person speak a foreign language (English in this case), the temptation is to immediately translate into your native language.
This temptation becomes very strong when you hear a word you do not understand.
It is only natural because we want to understand what is said. However, when
you
When translating into the native language, you are shifting the focus of your
attention away from the speaker and focusing on the translation process taking
place in your brain. It would be nice if you could put the speaker on hold. In
real life, however, the person keeps talking while you translate. This position
clearly makes less - not more - sense. Translation leads to a mental block in
your mind, which sometimes does not allow you to understand anything.
Most People Repeat Themselves
Think for a moment about your friends, family, and co-workers. When they speak
in your mother tongue, do they repeat themselves? If they're like most people,
they probably do. This means that whenever you listen to someone speak, it is
very likely that they will repeat information, giving you a second, third, or
fourth chance to understand it.
By staying calm, not allowing yourself to be understood, and not translating while listening, your mind is free to focus on what matters most: understanding English in English.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of using the Internet to improve your listening
skills is that you can choose what you want to listen to and how often and how
often you want to listen to it. Listening to something you enjoy, you need.
Lots of Glossary Information
Can Also Be Found
Use Key Words
Use keywords or key phrases to help you understand general ideas. If you
understand "New York", "business trip", and "last
year", you can assume the person is talking about a business trip to New
York last year. This may seem obvious to you, but remember that understanding
the main idea will help you understand the details as the person continues to
speak.
Listen For Context
Let's imagine your English-speaking friend says, "I bought this great
tuner from JR. It was really cheap and now I can finally listen to National
Public Radio broadcasts." You may not understand what a tuner is, and if
you focus on the word tuner, you may be disappointed.
However, if you think in context, you'll probably start to understand. For
example; Bought is past, listening is not a problem and the radio is clear. Now
you understand: they listened to something - a tuner - to listen to the radio. A
tuner should be a type of radio. This is a simple example but it shows what you
need to focus on: not the words you don't understand, but the words you do
understand. Get more knowledge click the link: Fluent English
Speaking Course Online
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