Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation
Transcript
Presenter: So, today's expert teacher is Gabriella, a university English teacher from Leeds. Gabriella, hi and thanks for joining us today.
Gabriella: Thanks for having me!
Presenter: So, I have to confess today's topic is something I am really bad at: listening. Most people say speaking is the most stressful part of learning a new language but, for me, with my B1 German, speaking isn't so bad. At least I'm in control of it. But listening … woah … people speak so fast and it's like my brain just shuts down. Am I just really strange and bad at listening? Tell me, honestly, I can take it.
Gabriella: No, you're not strange. In fact, it's really common. You know, in exams most people do pretty well in speaking compared with listening. Of course, exams are a different situation from real life because in an exam you can't ask for something to be repeated or explained. You usually have just one or maybe two opportunities to listen to the dialogue and then it's gone.
Presenter: Right, but in real life I feel stupid always saying, 'Sorry, can you repeat that, please?', especially if I still don't understand even when they repeat it. And people out there listening, I hope you don't do this – quite often the person just repeats what they said equally as fast and I'm still lost!
Gabriella: They do, don't they? In real life, you've got two strategies. One is to pretend to understand and get out of the conversation as fast as you can.
Presenter: Yep, sounds familiar!
Gabriella: But, obviously that's not going to help if it's a conversation with high stakes. It might have important consequences. I mean, if you're just chatting with a stranger at the bus stop, it doesn't matter. But imagine you're at a government office or a bank, trying to find out what paperwork you need to get your ID or open a bank account. What can you do then?
Presenter: I hope you've got the answer, Gabriella, because I'm coming out in a cold sweat just thinking about either of those situations!
Gabriella: The other strategy is to summarise what they said.
Presenter: But how can you do that if you didn't understand what they said?
Gabriella: Ah, well, you only start the summary, so you might say, in German in your case, 'OK, so the first thing I have to do is …?' and make it a question. Or, for example, 'And which office is that again?' Break it down into smaller questions and the other person will naturally start answering them. That way you're controlling the conversation a bit more.
Presenter: I get you ...
In real life it's difficulte to grasp all what others are talking especially if they are talking to fast, but when I watch something on the internet I tried to make subtitele to understand better.
To help improve my listening I try to watch videos with English subtitles with the audio in all the English accents I can, from different parts of the United States and Britain, so I watch and listen to the audio without looking to the subtitles, but if I don't recognise a word or I can't understand some part of the audio then I look to the subtitles and try to comprehend the meaning of the passage. It's a bit more difficult for me to understand the audio without the video because I have to imagine the context of the conversation, whereas If I see the video with the audio I already have the context and it´s easier to understand the meaning of it.
Thanks for the lesson.
Great site!
To help with listening, my strategy is to listen at here every day that I can. The first, I do preparation task for learning the new vocabulary. Then, I attempt to locate myself in high stakes and start to listening the conversation for the first time. The second time, I do the task 1 and 2 until all the answers are correct. The third time, I listen and look at the transcript to get all content of conversation. Finally, the last time is the same with the first time, I only listen what just learned.
I liked this listening exercise! Thank U!
Hello, Team Learn English,
Is there a common misconception where I'm poor at listening than speaking or is it false?? Also, is it for all foreign languages like English??
Hi siddhuk,
Yes, many people find listening to a foreign language difficult. But whether it's easier or harder than speaking really depends on what type of listening and speaking practice you are doing. Some people find speaking easier than listening. Other people find they can understand things easily, but have difficulty speaking.
If you can find practice material that is the right level for you, I'm sure you will make progress in all your skills. So, keep going! I hope you find the learning materials on this site useful. :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Of course, listening is a difficult task but I practice a lot to become master in listening skills
I believe in practice. That's reason I'm here.
I am learning English and I would like to send you the most sincere sharing, I hope it helps you:
The shortest way to learn English well is to start with pronunciation.
It improves speaking and listening skills significantly. Because pronunciation helps you understand the principles of speaking (IPA, Reduction sound, connect sounds, intonation, ..)
When you understand the principles of speaking, you will know how to listen better
To avoid getting bored while studying, you need to learn from easy to difficult. In accordance with your own level, When you choose listening material, you should choose listening material that you understand 70% of the listening material, then it is suitable for you.
Do you know how to play games, we play games from easy to difficult and like them
And remember that English is a game of perseverance and you have to accept that it will take a lot of your time. However, the more difficult a task, the higher the results it brings. The results can change your life