Listening
"They speak too fast" is almost never the real problem. The real problem is that spoken English does not sound like written English.
Why fluent speech is hard to follow
Three things happen in natural speech that never happen on a page. Once you know about them, listening becomes far easier.
- Words run together. What do you want becomes something like Whaddya want. You are listening for four words and hearing two.
- Small words disappear. To, of, and, a, the, for are swallowed almost completely. Fish and chips becomes fish 'n' chips.
- Sounds change at the joins. Did you becomes didja. Would you becomes wouldja. Ten pounds becomes something closer to tem pounds.
The key habit
Listen for the strong words, not for every word. In I'm going to the market to buy some vegetables, only going, market, buy and vegetables are said strongly — and those four words carry the whole meaning.
Trying to catch every word is what makes listening exhausting and unsuccessful. Catch the strong ones and let your brain fill in the rest, exactly as it does in your own language.
A daily listening routine
Ten minutes a day, not an hour a week
Listening improves with frequency, not with duration. Ten minutes every day beats a long session on Sunday.
Listen once without stopping
Whatever you understand, you understand. Do not pause, do not rewind.
Listen again with the text if you have one
Reading while listening shows you exactly which words you missed, and why. This is the most useful single exercise for listening.
Listen a third time without the text
You will now hear things that were invisible the first time. This third listening is where the improvement actually happens.
Repeat difficult phrases aloud
Saying a phrase the way a native speaker said it makes you able to hear it next time. Listening and speaking improve together.
What to listen to
News bulletins
Clear, careful speech, and you often know the story already, which does half the work of understanding it.
Anything with subtitles
Watch with subtitles first, then again without. The second viewing is the practice.
Interviews and conversation
Harder than the news because it is unscripted, with interruptions and hesitations — which is what real listening is like.
Songs you like
Read the words while listening. Songs stay in the memory, and so does the language in them.
Podcasts for learners
Spoken more slowly and clearly, and usually with a transcript.
Real conversation around you
Listen to English being spoken near you without joining in. There is no pressure, and no need to reply.
When you do not understand
Have these ready and use them without embarrassment. Asking is a skill, not a failure.
- Sorry, I did not catch that.
- Could you say that again, more slowly, please?
- Do you mean…? — repeat back what you think you heard.
- What does … mean?
- Could you spell that, please? — invaluable for names and addresses.
- Could you write it down for me?