How to learn to understand English speech better

24.05.2016

6491 0 1

How to learn to understand English speech better

Do you remember those awful minutes on English lessons at school when your teacher would take a cassette, turn the player on and you had to listen to English speakers and answer questions after? Or, if you took a state exam on English, you must remember listening tasks when you would prey the speakers American rather that British accent (read more about British vs American accent in our article).
If you recognized yourself in one of these situations or you just have trouble understanding native speakers, you are welcome to read our article!
Why is it so difficult to understand English speech?
You have probably come across such term as language barrier while studying English. However you might have not heard about such this as listening barrier. Like the former, the latter is difficulty with listening comprehension. What causes such a problem? Here are some reasons:

Low knowledge level. Of course, if you have just started learning English, you shouldn’t get upset because it’s difficult for you to understand what Tony Soprano and his mafia friends say (from «The Sopranos»). Learning material should be chosen according to the current level. An experienced teacher can evaluate your level.
Neglecting listening tasks. A common misbelief is that it’s completely unnecessary to pay attention to all aspects of the language if you need only one of them. It’s just not true. You can’t speak well if you don’t understand what your interlocutor says. It’s important to develop all aspects together.
Lack of knowledge of slang and abbreviations common in everyday English. Colloquial language is very different from textbook examples. Language resources saving is the main principle of colloquial speech. That’s why if saying gonna is faster and easier than going to, than the former is a more preferable option. Naturally, such knowledge is vital for understanding native speakers.

How to learn to understand English speakers better: tips and recommendations
1. Do the listening exercises your teacher gives you. Yes, you can say that there are only professional speakers on the training tapes, so it’s all far from the real language. You are partially right. However, it’s important to understand that your teacher chooses the learning materials according to the 20/80 rule (20% of new material, 80% of familiar material). This way practice isn’t too hard, but not easy enough to be useless either. Listen to the text twice. At first don’t concentrate on words you don’t understand; try to understand the main point of the text. Then read the listening task and listen to the file again looking for answers.
2. Repeat after the speakers. Apart doing the main exercises, you can ask your teacher to give you the script of the talk. After listening to the talk enough times, try to read the text simultaneously with the speaker. Work on your tone (you’ll know when to make pauses and stresses), your pronunciation, and listen for the parts you couldn’t understand when listening without the script. It happens very often that words get combined in fast speech, and it’s hard to hear where one word ends and the other starts. If you pronounce this difficult combination yourself a few times, you will be able to understand it later.
3. Work on your vocabulary. It’s not about your active vocabulary, but rather about the passive. You won’t be able to understand native speakers unless you learn a lot. Focus on slang, idioms, and interjections.
4. Speak English as much and as often as possible. Use any opportunity: speak with your friends and colleagues, practice with teachers, and start taking Skype lessons. The thing is that every person has his or her own accent. If you have a friend with bad diction, than you know the situation when somebody new speaks to that guy and doesn’t understand him though you do because you have known him for a long time. The same goes for a language: the more variations you hear, the more chances that you understand what people say there are.
5. Listen more. Subscribe to YouTube channels or podcasts you like. No matter what the topic is, it has to be in English and has to be fun.
Try not to treat listening as a challenge. Don’t think: «it’s over, I can’t understand»! Yes, you can! Everything seems to be hard in the beginning: from riding a bicycle to cross-stitching. Practice makes perfect!

Please, login to leave a comment

Blog

Popular

How to learn to understand English speech better

Why is it so difficult to understand English speech?

How to learn to understand English speakers better: tips and recommendations

You may like