“The harder the climb the sweeter the view.”
For some students, listening is unquestionably one of the hardest skills. Let’s analyse how to change that and have a better experience.
Becoming overwhelmed because your understanding is poor might take you down a road of negativity and make you shut down which will, in turn, prevent you from grasping at least general ideas.
Instead of being put off by it, make it one of your main battles to fight.
Gone are the days when language learning had a prevalent grammar approach. While learning grammar rules is one of the pillars for becoming a confident communicator, this will not take you far if you have trouble understanding your interlocutor. Shift your focus of attention to what your real weaknesses are.
Hopefully, some of this advice might be of help.
Get used to accents
Contemporary textbooks expose you to a wider range of accents than ever before. Submitting students to nothing but RP (Received Pronunciation) or standard British accent is a recipe for future disappointment and frustration when you are travelling as RP speakers are in the minority in the UK.
In light of that, be open and positive about accents when you come across them as a student because they will gear you up for future encounters.
Connected speech
This may well be the main culprit for your trouble with understanding. Face up to it by learning the connected speech patterns and putting them into practice. Once you understand the ins and outs of how it works, your comprehension will improve drastically. You can check out these brilliant books that examine all aspects of pronunciation (including connected speech) and provide extensive models and practice. Or read more about connected speech here.
English Pronunciation in Use Intermediate
English Pronunciation in Use Advanced
Jotting down words while listening helps you concentrate
Free up some time to give your full attention to this task. Select a listening suitable for your level and, pen in hand, give it a listen while you write down useful words and phrases. This may take some practice, but if you do it often enough you will be able to understand much more than you would if you were simply sitting and listening. Being fully engaged activates your listening skills and language acquisition.
Pick two listenings of similar levels of complexity and try retelling what you have heard in case 1 (just listen) and case 2 (listen and take notes).
Grab your headphones
Using headphones can be a temporary strategy to gain confidence in your listening skills. The isolation it provides creates this bubble in which you can discern words and voices much more clearly. On top of that, your power of concentration is higher. When you are having a rough time with a listening, grab a pair of earphones and try to relax while you listen. There will be bits that are still incomprehensible, but altogether, you will be able to pick up more. Closing your eyes also helps understanding, you can resort to this when a chunk is particularly problematic.
Bear in mind that it would be helpful to round off this exercise by finally listening to it without the use of headphones. By now, you probably know the ropes of that listening and it will be a much easier task.
A final note:
These are, by all means, steps that may ease the process of feeling more positive about your listening capacities but over the long run, they should be combined with other forms of listening.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good
As language learners, we should be aware of the fact that striving for perfection can be a double-edged sword. A learner is by definition someone who doesn’t master the subject. Bearing that in mind when we are a bit lost, helps us to be more in tune with our lack of comprehension. Remember this: don’t aim for 100% of what is being said. Seek general understanding. You are entitled to get lost; it just happens. It is the process of learning. The more you listen, the more you will grasp, but don’t beat yourself up in the process. Just go at it, as often as you possibly can, which leads us to the next point, frequency.
Practice makes perfect
Small steps in the right direction can take you long distances. Have a go at some listening every day. Even 1 minute is better than nothing and the BBC has just that, a one-minute news bulletin.
For a 10-minute input in American English, you could watch the CNN regular videos, which include a link to a transcript.
For levels A1-2 and B1-2, you could give this one a try: https://www.newsinlevels.com/
Alternatively, for more extensive listening, you can resort to podcasts. In this day and age, the offer is plentiful and for the most part, free.
You can find listening exercises graded by level here.
So, choose how you are going to start and go ahead! Better listening is possible. The sooner you start, the better.
Thanks for reading! 