Listening is one of the hardest parts of learning English, it can make you nervous because you
can't understand what's being said.
How do you become a fluent listener of English?
Let's find out.
Before we look at how to become a fluent listener of English, make sure you click that subscribe
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So in today's lesson, we're going to learn how to listen in English.
I'll teach you how to become a fluent listener, how to improve your concentration, and also
how to use a podcast to improve your English language listening skills.
So how do you listen in English effectively?
According to science, there are two different ways that we actually listen.
The first way that we listen is when we hear the features of the language, you actually
listen by hearing the sounds, the words, the phrases, and the sentences of English, the
vocabulary, the grammar, and the pronunciation.
This is called bottom up listening.
This is where you're listening to all the different parts of the language.
But there's another way that you listen as well.
This second way that we listen is called top down listening.
And this is where you bring all of your understanding of the world, all of your background knowledge
to the listening, for example, you draw upon your past experiences, and your memories,
and your understanding of the topic that you're listening to.
So the first way that we listen is pure listening from the language itself.
The second way that we listen is using all of our background knowledge about the topic.
So how do you become a fluent listener of English?
So firstly, you need to have a broad vocabulary, a big vocabulary, you need to understand lots
of different words.
And you also need to understand the grammar or the rules around these words, you need
to understand 9 out of every 10 words that are spoken in order to understand what the
person is saying.
Now, listening is very different to reading.
When you're reading, you're reading the written language.
But when you're listening, you're hearing the spoken language.
When somebody speaks, they speak very differently to when they write.
Speaking is very messy.
And there are all these different parts of spoken English.
So listening is very different to reading.
You might be a good reader, but you might not be a good listener, because spoken English
has all those different parts.
Now, how do you become an automatic listener?
How do you become a fluent listener in English?
Now, when you begin learning English, you're probably going to translate everything you
hear into your first language.
So when the speaker says something, you will hear it, and then translate it into your first
language.
As you become better and better at English, the less and less you will translate what's
being said, and the more what you hear will be automatic.
So to become a fluent listener, you need to translate less and less, you need to understand
what's being said automatically.
And you do this by exposing yourself to more and more listening, more and more content.
But how do you improve your concentration when listening?
Listening can also be difficult because our minds wander, we can't concentrate, we can't
keep paying attention.
There are two reasons why you will lose concentration.
The first reason is that your mind will wander, you'll start to think about lunch or you'll
start to think about what your boyfriend or girlfriend said to you last night.
The second reason you will lose concentration is because the content, what you're listening
to, is too difficult.
You simply cannot follow it.
I've got something really exciting to talk to you about that is going to help you to
improve your listening in English.
E2 English has launched a new podcast called Everyday English with E2.
The Everyday English podcast with E2 is written by English language teachers for English language
students.
And importantly, the topics are about English language, how to boost your vocabulary, how
to improve your grammar, and how to refine your pronunciation.
So make sure you subscribe to our brand new podcast.
It's really going to help you out with all of your English language skills, click the
link in the description below.
But how do you use a podcast to improve your English?
First thing you need to do is download the app.
You can choose between Spotify, Apple, or Google.
So when you're listening to a podcast, you can actually use the different features of
the podcast or on your phone to help you to listen more easily.
When you listen, use the skip forward and skip back buttons in case you can't understand
something and also find the slow audio button if you need to slow down what the speaker
is saying.
All of these features will help you to understand what's being said more easily.
Some podcasts like the Everyday English podcast with E2 also have a transcript so you can
actually read and listen at the same time if you need to.
So make sure to subscribe to the Everyday English with E2 podcast.
This is how you're going to become a fluent listener in English.
My name is Jay.
I'll see you soon.