The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand, but we listen to reply.
You may have your own reasons to understand spoken English. You might want to qualify for TOFEL in order to do some foreign studies. You also may have a reason to understand English like you might like to listen to English music or watch English movies. Whatever reasons you may have, you will always need to work on your English listening skills. Listening is a power like no other. If you already find yourself highly well versed in English, even then you would need to improve your English listening power. Not because it is expedient, but because it is right.
Here in this article, we are presenting the ideas below that we believe will help you build your listening skills.
What a movie
Many times English learners are advised to watch English movies that eventually help them increase their English. When English learners watch movies, they focus more on what is written in the subtitle so that they can read and know what is being said. However, this is a wrong practice.
It is imperative for English learners to Listen carefully to the dialog and understand what is being said. Focus on words being used in communicating the dialogue. If you cannot make out what is being said, then read the subtitles to be able to get it. Repeat the scene several times if necessary to understand each word that you are listening to and don’t stop until you know you have understood each word. After the scene, if you are sure that you understood correctly then begin by asking questions yourself. What was the scene all about? What happened in the scene and what was actually it? Once you have the answers then verify them again to ensure that you were correct at your answers. This will eventually turn out to be the most powerful technique for you to increase your power of listening to English.
Listen to News Broadcast
Just like watching a movie, you can watch an English-speaking newscast as well. If you are able to see the “Closed -Captioning” provided by the broadcast station, please turn it on.
Listen carefully, read if you have to. Once the news session is over, ask yourself the following questions. What happened? Where did it happen? You are free to come up with questions of your own. Try to recall specific details about the stories that you listened to. If you think that you missed some of those points, then you are supposed to catch the broadcast again to ensure that you understood it properly.
Translation, please.
If you are so passionate about improving your English then you can volunteer to take an English speaker on a tour of your own town. You can simply get in touch with anyone who deals with local tours & travels or bus companies. They might be seeking someone to assist their tourists. The other option where you can get some help with your English is other cultural sites where you see a lot of tourists coming for sightseeing. If you come across anyone who needs some help to reach a destination then helps him out. However, you must give importance to what he/she wishes. Many times English speakers get overwhelmed with people who wish to practice their English.
Learning new words? Jot them down in your notebook.
One of the best practices that are suggested to English learners is to note every single new word they read in their daily life. You are supposed to prepare a notebook where you can note all the new words that you are learning. While having a conversation with an English speaker, if you come to know a new word then you can ask him to help you get the meaning of it. The reason I am emphasizing more on explaining things by the person is that there are many words in English that have multiple meanings. There is a phrase that has a meaning which does not translate literally. For instance, a phrase like “My heart was in my throat. This obviously can’t be translated as how it was written. It has different meanings such as someone was excited about something and also fearful at the same time.
You, therefore, are advised to learn how a particular word can be appropriately used and where. You can’t use that word wisely until you know the exact meaning of it. For this, you must listen to the person and understand the exact meaning of it and then try to practice it in your daily life. So that you get accustomed to that new word. The same process has to be executed when you learn new words.
Writing down the words and phrases which are new to you causes your brain to make a better record of these new items and you are more likely to remember them.
Developing English listening skills is undoubtedly challenging, but can be fun. Use the ideas above to improve your skills and join English speaking classes in Mumbai India to improve your listening to English.
