The key to being a great communicator is having the ability to listen. The key to having a conversation of any kind is being able to listen to the person talking so you can understand what they are saying. Everybody wants to be heard, and sometimes goes to great lengths to make sure that happens, but hearing others is often something that people struggle with. However, people that struggle with listening still understand that it’s an important trait to inherit at all times. It’s not just conversations where listening is needed, but also in the classroom, workplace and any other place where a message is being received with intention. After finishing this article, if you still need help with your English listening skills, you can always use HiCafe Private English Tutoring services.
Why Practice English Listening Skills?
For those that are learning to speak English, indirectly, they will need to learn to practice their English listening skills. New English speakers are obviously used to listening to their native language but when it comes to their newfound language, there’s certain things they can’t understand right away. Each language has its own uniqueness, whether it’s the slang that comes with it or the way the sentences are structured. On paper, it can be easier to recognize when an English language learner is reading the words. However, listening to the words themselves, or early in their learning journey, can be a tough task as they are learning to process the language and might not be as sharp on hearing English spoken in a naturally flowing manner. This could make it difficult to carry on conversations, but it doesn’t stop there. Perhaps this new English learner is a new student in school, unable to follow the directions because he or she is not very good at all the words of their new language. A better example would be a traveler visiting an English speaking country and unable to understand a message communicated to him, that could either be instructions or directions to get somewhere in a safe manner. So listening becomes a factor in more than conversation, but also for the well being of someone.
However, there are many ways to practice your English listening skills, a lot more than you think. These methods and resources extend far beyond the practice of finding someone to talk to, which can be a time-consuming task. Any audio and visual material can provide you with the support of practicing your English listening skills on your own, so you can develop at your own pace. And if that doesn’t work, then you can go find a partner to hold a conversation and develop your English listening skills.
What can Be done to Help Learn English Listening Skills?
Audio and Visual Materials
The most obvious answer to practicing English listening skills would be holding a conversation, but sometimes you don’t need to do an exchange to practice your listening. Seeking out audio and visual mediums can help you improve your listening. The thing about these materials is that most of them do not require any feedback. They are merely just put in place for you to receive the message and process it. They also come in a variety of forms, so you have plenty to choose from for your learning journey.
Audio materials can come in different forms so you can pick one best suited for you. You can start by recording yourself speaking a phrase in English then playing it back to yourself. You’ll notice how you sound when saying certain words and notice where you slip up. When you practice and keep recording your attempts, you will hear the improvement in your voice and begin to gain more confidence.
Another audio medium to consider would be music. Music is a good audio medium to learn from, because a lot of song lyrics are short and memorable. Certain genres of music, such as country or rap, tend to be clear and concise in their vocals. This can make it real easy for listening to English, but there is another thing to be cautious about. Rap, just like a lot of other genres, can be filled with plenty of phrases and words that are considered slang. Slang is just informal language that is used to describe everyday items or occurrences. Every language has its own slang but sometimes even native speakers get lost trying to keep up with it.
Visual materials to practice your English listening skills come in a wide range of forms too. Watching a newscast will help you listen to English and indirectly help you on how to write it better. News anchors tend to read off of teleprompters that are written in complete sentences. Hearing spoken English in a high level manner such as this would give you the direction of what you should be listening for. Since the news is on television, you can also watch normal television programming. TV shows with characters exchanging dialogue will be a great way to observe subtle things such as tone or body language. Judging by someone’s physical movements when they’re talking, you can get an idea on whether the conversation is positive or negative. This is good practice for when you’re preparing to go talk to a peer in real life, so you can watch for those clues in real time.
Basically, any video you watch can be helpful for your English listening skills, no matter which platform you choose. This can include social media videos, which sometimes have humor in them to create a light hearted experience. These can be fun tools to learn from as you’re watching these entertaining clips, but also picking up jokes that you share with your English speaking friends, especially if it’s a really popular clip that has been going around. Another form of video would be to record yourself. This is similar to the audio example, except this time you have a visual of your entire self and how you look when speaking English. This can be a good way to examine tone, similar to the TV show example. All you would do is decide on a tone you want to convey in your message, then watch the video playback to determine if you delivered that message properly.
Listening In-Person
Seeking out audio and visual materials can certainly help with practicing English listening skills, but some might consider simply sitting down with someone and listening to the conversation they have. This might be the more proactive approach as you are engaged in dialogue and have to provide a response in real time. However, key to this won’t be what your response is in the conversation, but if you comprehend what is being said at all. This will start with understanding the words and the context around them. Context refers to what the conversation is about, which brings clarity to what is being discussed at the moment. It also helps understand why certain words are being spoken at that time. This also can be used to figure out the tone, or mood, of the conversation. So when you figure those things out, it helps you listen to the person more intently and understand them better.
Even though responding isn’t an important part of practicing English listening skills, there is an approach with it you can use to enhance your listening. If there is something you’re not understanding from the speaker, feel free to ask questions for clarification. Asking questions won’t make it look like you’re not listening, but it will do the opposite if done right. When asking questions, try to recite the exact detail the person said, but in a question form. That way you will let them know that you were paying attention, but you still need them to be more clear in their message. Some people get caught up in how they talk and don’t realize that they might not come across as clear as they think they do, even to those who speak the same language as them. Don’t be afraid to get clarity from anybody you don’t understand, because it will help you in the long run.
Even though learning to speak English requires a lot of proactive learning as far as starting off certain conversations or seeking out materials, there is a reactive part to this which is practicing English listening skills. Being a good listener requires just as much work as being a good speaker. The good news is that there are just as many resources for English listening skills as there are for the speaking ones. Since there are so many, choose the one that is best suited for you. Whether it’s watching a news broadcast to pick up on structured English speaking, listening to your favorite song to remember fun phrases or slang or simply talking with a friend and observing how they communicate, especially picking up on the tone they deliver in the conversation. For those interested in the in-person listening method, HiCafe App for Android and iOS can help them practice English listening skills by attending online meetings with other language learners to discuss different topics. Click here to download the App today!