Some things that English learners can do to improve their listening
1. Work diligently.Carolyn: One thing that English learners need to remember is just to be patient. Listening is hard work, and it takes a lot of effort to listen to someone and understand them as they speak.
Alfredo: So patience is something just to keep in mind. And so even if they’re not getting the results that they want, they need to realize that you’re not going to learn English after just a couple of days.
2. Ask for repetition.Carolyn: And not being afraid to ask someone to repeat something–
Carolyn: –to hear it again.
Alfredo: When we think about improving with listening–often if someone is going to listen, maybe through a CD or an MP3, using an audio device to listen–there are not as many advantages to understanding as there are in a situation, perhaps in a real-world situation where you’re actually speaking with someone else, like I’m in from of you right now. So what are some advantages of actually being with a person and seeing that person while you are trying to understand what they are saying?
3. Observe body language and reactions.Carolyn: A lot of language is communicated through body language and people’s expressions, so if you can practice your English or the language you are learning with somebody who is speaking that language, you can learn a lot from their reactions to what you’re saying, and even how they use their English on an everyday level that you may not get just from the textbook or learning vocabulary words.
Alfredo: Yeah. So body language is important. I imagine sometimes even when people use gestures, they can perhaps demonstrate what they’re talking about. For example, if they use the word “umbrella,” what does that mean?
Well, perhaps they will perform the action of opening an umbrella. And that gesture helps them to understand what the word is.
Carolyn: That’s true.
Alfredo: So a gesture might be helpful. Even if–whether the person is re-enacting (is performing) the activity that the person is speaking about–or even just other body language is often helpful for people to understand. Are there other examples of non-verbal communication that can help besides body language?
4. Identify words that you already know.Carolyn: Something that has helped me in learning Chinese is to listen maybe for words that you know and then to look at how people in the group are interacting with each other. And I kind of can piece together how what they are saying is relating to words that I know. And it helps me to fit the conversation together.
Alfredo: Ok, so taking the things that you’ve already heard, and making a connection.