Listening Comprehension:
Put Down the Grammar Book and
Open Your Ears
When people start to learn a language, listening comprehension comes second to vocabulary and
grammar.
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But many beginner and intermediate learners have realized that they do not understand as much as they would like when people speak in English.How do humans learn their first languages? We sat on our diapered bottoms and listened to it for about two years, without saying a word. Then we started to mimic, learn constructions, vocabulary, expressions etc.
Why shouldn't it be the same for adults? Some believe that your brain functions differently when you are a child than when you are an adult and believe that listening doesn't help as much as I believe. (Future Audio: My friend defends this belief about adults learning English).
I tend to disagree and feel that we can all learn a great deal by
passive listening even as beginners.
When you first start working on your listening skills it is best to do a lot of passive listening or better yet hearing. Listening to
English radio stations
is a great way to improve.
Surround yourself with English when you are not paying attention (doing other things like the dishes, cooking, surfing the Internet, cleaning etc) allows your ears to get used to the sounds of English.
I am not saying that you can learn EVERYTHING just by listening but it can help you in many ways.
After a while you will start to notice that you are able to find English words more easily, express yourself better and also your pronunciation will improve. It depends on the person but hearing English is the first step to improving your Listening comprehension.
(Want to know what else helps? More coming soon!)
Here you will find an archive of real conversations, thoughts, opinions and dialogs: including myself, my friends, other English teachers, family members and complete strangers. Most of the accents will be Canadian or British but maybe I'll be able to get an Aussie or American in there too.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How can I listen and learn English if I don't understand anything I hear?
How should you use MP3 files?
What is the best way to improve your listening skills?
How long does it take to notice a difference?
What else can I do, in addition to using audio files, to improve my listening comprehension?
The key is to surround yourself with English as much as you can, and with time and patience you will start to notice an improvement in your listening skills, pronunciation and general communication in English.
Happy Listening!
Diana :)
Done working on your listening comprehension for today?
Click here for motivation to keep you going!
Got a question about grammar that you can't solve? Click here!
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