Welcome to Speak English with Tiffani.
I am Teacher Tiffani and today we are going to learn How to improve your English listening
skills.
This lesson will improve your ability to understand native speakers and will also improve your
ability to speak like a native English speaker.
Are you ready?
Well then, let’s jump right in.
Here’s the problem.
You have studied English for months and maybe even years.
You have read through tons of books on grammar, conversation, and many other English topics.
But, there has always been one aspect of your English learning that has caused you to feel
stressed…That aspect is your English listening skills…
So, you ask yourself, “How can I improve my English listening skills??”
Well, today you can stop asking yourself this question, because today’s lesson will teach
you the 5 easy steps to improve your English listening skills.
Let’s look at these steps together.
To begin, we must first look at how babies learn a language.
Yup, that’s right babies.
When babies are born they are not able to speak at all.
They are not able to say any words until around 6 months, and those words are usually just
mommy and daddy.
Then, between 18 months and 2 years old, babies begin to form 2 to 4 word sentences.
Like “I am hungry mommy.”
Or “I want water please.”
So, up until the age of about 2 years old babies are simply listening.
Over and over and over again.
Listening to the sounds around them.
Taking information in from the sounds.
Making connections.
Processing and repeating them.
And then responding to what they hear.
And over time, their ability to understand improves because they are constantly listening
and making connections.
The same is true when it comes to improving your English listening skills.
Let me explain.
Here are the 5-steps for improving your listening skills as an adult.
Step #1 Listen to the audio Step #2 Listen again and pick out the 5Ws.
Who, when, where, what and why.
Step #3 Listen again and Write down the new vocabulary words and find their meaning
Step #4 Listen and repeat what is being said Step #5 Listen one more time
Why are these steps so important?
Because you must remember how your brain works.
Your brain needs to have information to connect to what it is hearing.
So, the first time you hear something in English, the reason why it is difficult to understand
is because your brain has no information to connect the sounds to.
Let’s test these 5-steps on an example English dialogue.
Remember step 1 is to simply listen.
No notes.
No stress.
Just listen.
“Last year I went to the Bahamas for vacation with my family.
Man was it great!
We spent almost everyday on the beach.
It was immaculate and the weather was also amazing.
Of course the food was good too.
I even got to meet some of my old college friends who live in the Bahamas.
I can’t wait to go back again next year!”
Now, for step 2 you will listen to the dialogue again and pick out the 5Ws.
Who, when, where, what and why.
If you need to play the dialogue more than once to recognize each of the 5Ws, you can
rewind the video as many times as needed.
Let’s begin…
“Last year I went to the Bahamas for vacation with my family.
Man was it great!
We spent almost everyday on the beach.
It was immaculate and the weather was also amazing.
Of course the food was good too.
I even got to meet some of my old college friends who live in the Bahamas.
I can’t wait to back again next year!”
So, let’s look at the 5Ws…
For the Who we have - My family and I For the When we have - Last year
For the Where we have - The Bahamas For the What we have - Spent almost everyday
on the beach And For the Why we have - Family vacation
Now, for step 3 listen again and try to pick out any new vocabulary words or expressions
that you don’t know.
Then find their meaning.
“Last year I went to the Bahamas for vacation with my family.
Man was it great!
We spent almost everyday on the beach.
It was immaculate and the weather was also amazing.
Of course the food was good too.
I even got to meet some of my old college friends who live in the Bahamas.
I can’t wait to back again next year!”
Ok, so one of the new vocabulary words from this dialogue was
Immaculate, which means “Perfectly clean, neat or tidy”.
Moving on to step 4, this time listen to the dialogue and repeat.
You can pause the audio and repeat it at your own pace.
“Last year I went to the Bahamas for vacation with my family.
Man was it great!
We spent almost everyday on the beach.
It was immaculate and the weather was also amazing.
Of course the food was good too.
I even got to meet some of my old college friends who live in the Bahamas.
I can’t wait to back again next year!”
Finally, step 5.
Now listen to the audio one more time and you will see how your ability to hear and
understand what is being said has improved.
“Last year I went to the Bahamas for vacation with my family.
Man was it great!
We spent almost everyday on the beach.
It was immaculate and the weather was also amazing.
Of course the food was good too.
I even got to meet some of my old college friends who live in the Bahamas.
I can’t wait to back again next year!”
Alright amazing!
Today you learned How to improve your English listening skills in 5 easy steps.
The 5 steps are: Step 1 Listen to the audio
Step 2 Listen again and pick out the 5Ws.
Who, when, where, what and why.
Step 3 Listen again and Write down the new vocabulary words and find their meaning
Step 4 Listen and repeat Step 5 Listen one more time
Using these steps, you will be able to improve your English listening skills and be more
confident in your English ability.
Now try to use these steps at least one time today to improve your English listening skills.
And watch your spoken English improve too!
You can do it!
You can speak English!
I hope this video helped to give you more confidence in your English ability.
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This has been Speak English with Teacher Tiffani.
Have an amazing day!
Have a wonderful day!
And until next time remember to Speak English!