What is listening for the specific detail

listening for specific information

Listening for specific information – students listen for particular information at word level.

Listening for detailed understanding

To listen to or read a text in order to understand most of what it says or particular details.

Listening for detailed understanding: you want to understand all the information the text provides.

5) listening strategy
Listening strategies are techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension and recall of listening input. Listening strategies can be classified by how the listener processes the input.
Top-down strategiesare listener based; the listener taps into background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come next. Top-down strategies include

Extensive listening

Listening to or reading long pieces of text, such as stories or newspapers.

7) pre-listening
Pre-listening activities are things learners do before a listening activity in order to prepare for listening. These activities have various purposes, including pre-teaching or activating vocabulary, predicting content, generating interest and checking understanding of task.Example
The learners are going to listen to a radio programme about sharks. First, they work in groups to pool their knowledge of sharks and then tell the rest of the class.
In the classroom Pre-listening tasks include discussion questions, true or false statements, vocabulary work, prediction tasks and brainstorming the topic.

While-listening

While-listening activities are what students are asked to do during the time that they arelistening to the text.As far as listening comprehension (i.e.listening for meaning)is concerned,the purpose of while-listening activities is to help learners develop the skill of eliciting messages from spoken languge.

Students tend to listen carefully if they have a purpose or a task to perform based on the listening. A thorough procedure could be like the following. Students should:

 Listen to the entire passage (maximum 2 minutes in length). [Don’t let students do anything. Their job is to just listen.]

 Ask for clarification if something is unclear. [If at all possible, give clarification in English.]

 Complete the task; use the notes if necessary.

 Listen again and check answers, fill in missing parts.

 Compare work with a classmate(s) before teacher checks student work.

 Go over answers or responses as a whole class.

Remember: While-Listening Activities answer the question: “What are we listening to?”

Three Choices for While-Listening(you should only do one)

• Listen to Main Idea: This listening is for understanding the general picture.

• Listen to Specific Events: Good for making timelines and categorizing.

• Listen to Details: close activity, multiple choice questions, etc.

Post-listening

The post-listening stage is where the teacher can determine how well the students have understood what they listened to, but it is important to design the tasks well.

A post-listening activity represents a follow up to the listening activity and aims to utilize the knowledge gained from listening for the development of other skills such as speaking or writing. If we have listened to a TV program presenting a certain point of view regarding health care, for example, we can ask the students to do some research and identify some opposing views to present them in class. Alternatively, we may want to engage the students in a discussion of the merits of the views that were expressed in the listening segment.

Like post-reading activities, post-listening activities allow for recycling and further activation of vocabulary and structures as long as they are interesting and engaging and are carefully thought out.

Tapescript

The written version of the words learners hear when doing a listening activity. These can often be found in a

teacher’s book or at the back of the learner’s book.

Teaching reading 1

Key terminology

receptive skills When learners do not have to produce language; listening and reading are

reading for gistTo read or listen to a text and understand the general meaning of it, without paying attention to specific details.

reading for specific informationTo read a text quickly to pick out specific information, e.g. finding a phone number in a phone book.

reading for detailed understanding(intensive reading)to read and be able to understand the topic and theme and details.

Reading stratedgy

extensive reading When learners are reading extensively, they are primarily focused on the message of the text and what it is saying.

SkimmingTo read a text quickly to get a general idea of what it is about.

ScanningTo read a text quickly to pick out specific information, e.g. finding a phone number in a phone book.

pre-readingis an activity used by teachers to ensure their students are prepared to read a specific text and understand the reasons they are reading the text.

while-readingcan require the students to draw inferences from the events or the spoken words in the text

post-readingtasks are intended to verify and expand the knowledge acquired in the reading

Types of Listening

Most people, most of the time, take listening for granted, it’s something that just happens.В It is only when you stop to think about listening and what it entails that you begin to realise that listening is in fact an important skill that needs to be nurtured and developed.

Listening is perhaps the most important of all interpersonal skills and SkillsYouNeed has many pages devoted to the subject, see Listening Skills for an introduction. Further pages include The Ten Principles of Listening, Active Listening and Listening Misconceptions.В

Effective listening is very often the foundation of strong relationships with others, at home, socially, in education and in the workplace.В This page draws on the work of Wolvin and Coakely (1996) and others to examine the various types of listening.

We hope that this page will be useful to both teachers – as teaching listening skills can be challenging – and also to students and other learners who are interested in developing their listening skills.

Listening: the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or non-verbal messages.

– International Listening Association.

General Listening Types:

Discriminative Listening

Discriminative listening is first developed at a very early age – perhaps even before birth, in the womb. This is the most basic form of listening and does not involve the understanding of the meaning of words or phrases but merely the different sounds that are produced. In early childhood, for example, a distinction is made between the sounds of the voices of the parents – the voice of the father sounds different to that of the mother.

Discriminative listening develops through childhood and into adulthood. As we grow older and develop and gain more life experience, our ability to distinguish between different sounds is improved. Not only can we recognise different voices, but we also develop the ability to recognise subtle differences in the way that sounds are made – this is fundamental to ultimately understanding what these sounds mean. Differences include many subtleties, recognising foreign languages, distinguishing between regional accents and clues to the emotions and feelings of the speaker.

Being able to distinguish the subtleties of sound made by somebody who is happy or sad, angry or stressed, for example, ultimately adds value to what is actually being said and, of course, does aid comprehension.В When discriminative listening skills are combined with visual stimuli, the resulting ability to ‘listen’ to body-language enables us to begin to understand the speaker more fully – for example recognising somebody is sad despite what they are saying or how they are saying it.

Imagine yourself surrounded by people who are speaking a language that you cannot understand.В В Perhaps passing through an airport in another country.В You can probably distinguish between different voices, male and female, young and old and also gain some understanding about what is going on around you based on the tone of voice, mannerisms and body language of the other people.В You are not understanding what is being said but using discriminative listening to gain some level of comprehension of your surroundings.

Comprehensive Listening

Comprehensive listening involves understanding the message or messages that are being communicated.В Like discriminative listening, comprehensive listening is fundamental to all listening sub-types.

In order to be able use comprehensive listening and therefore gain understanding the listener first needs appropriate vocabulary and language skills. Using overly complicated language or technical jargon, therefore, can be a barrier to comprehensive listening.В Comprehensive listening is further complicated by the fact that two different people listening to the same thing may understand the message in two different ways.В This problem can be multiplied in a group setting, like a classroom or business meeting where numerous different meanings can be derived from what has been said.

Comprehensive listening is complimented by sub-messages from non-verbal communication, such as the tone of voice, gestures and other body language.В These non-verbal signals can greatly aid communication and comprehension but can also confuse and potentially lead to misunderstanding. In many listening situations it is vital to seek clarification and use skills such as reflection aid comprehension.

Specific Listening Types

Discriminative and comprehensive listening are prerequisites for specific listening types.

Listening types can be defined by the goal of the listening.

The three main types of listening most common in interpersonal communication are:

In reality you may have more than one goal for listening at any given time – for example, you may be listening to learn whilst also attempting to be empathetic.

Informational Listening

Whenever you listen to learn something, you are engaged in informational listening. This is true in many day-to-day situations, in education and at work, when you listen to the news, watch a documentary, when a friend tells you a recipe or when you are talked-through a technical problem with a computer – there are many other examples of informational listening too.

Although all types of listening are ‘active’ – they require concentration and a conscious effort to understand. Informational listening is less active than many of the other types of listening. В When we’re listening to learn or be instructed we are taking in new information and facts, we are not criticising or analysing.В Informational listening, especially in formal settings like in work meetings or while in education, is often accompanied by note taking – a way of recording key information so that it can be reviewed later. (See Note-Taking for more information.)

Critical Listening

When the word ‘critical’ is used to describe listening, reading or thinking it does not necessarily mean that you are claiming that the information you are listening to is somehow faulty or flawed. В Rather, critical listening means engaging in what you are listening to by asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is the speaker trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being presented?’, ‘how does what I’m hearing differ from my beliefs, knowledge or opinion?’.В Critical listening is, therefore, fundamental to true learning. (Also see our page: Critical Reading).

Many day-to-day decisions that we make are based on some form of ‘critical’ analysis, whether it be critical listening, reading or thought.В Our opinions, values and beliefs are based on our ability to process information and formulate our own feelings about the world around us as well as weigh up the pros and cons to make an informed decision.В

It is often important, when listening critically, to have an open-mind and not be biased by stereotypes or preconceived ideas.В By doing this you will become a better listener and broaden your knowledge and perception of other people and your relationships.

Therapeutic or Empathic Listening

Empathic listening involves attempting to understand the feelings and emotions of the speaker – to put yourself into the speaker’s shoes and share their thoughts.В (See our page: What is Empathy? for more information).

Empathy is a way of deeply connecting with another person and therapeutic or empathic listening can be particularly challenging.В Empathy is not the same as sympathy, it involves more than being compassionate or feeling sorry for somebody else – it involves a deeper connection – a realisation and understanding of another person’s point of view.В

Counsellors, therapists and some other professionals use therapeutic or empathic listening to understand and ultimately help their clients.В This type of listening does not involve making judgements or offering advice but gently encouraging the speaker to explain and elaborate on their feelings and emotions.В Skills such as clarification and reflection are often used to help avoid misunderstandings.В (See our further pages:В What is Counselling?, Clarification and Reflection for more information on these topics).

We are all capable of empathic listening and may practise it with friends, family and colleagues. Showing empathy is a desirable trait in many interpersonal relationships – you may well feel more comfortable talking about your own feelings and emotions with a particular person. They are likely to be better at listening empathetically to you than others, this is often based on similar perspectives, experiences, beliefs and values – a good friend, your spouse, a parent or sibling for example.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

Learn more about the key communication skills you need to be a more effective communicator.

Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their interpersonal skills and are full of easy-to-follow, practical information.

Other Listening Types

Although usually less important or useful in interpersonal relationships there are other types of listening, these include:

Appreciative Listening

Appreciative listening is listening for enjoyment.В A good example is listening to music, especially as a way to relax. (See our page: Music Therapy for more about using music as a relaxation therapy).

Rapport Listening

When trying to build rapport with others we can engage in a type of listening that encourages the other person to trust and like us.В A salesman, for example, may make an effort to listen carefully to what you are saying as a way to promote trust and potentially make a sale.В This type of listening is common in situations of negotiation. (See: Building Rapport and Negotiation Skills for more information).

Selective Listening

This is a more negative type of listening, it implies that the listener is somehow biased to what they are hearing. Bias can be based on preconceived ideas or emotionally difficult communications. Selective listening is a sign of failing communication – you cannot hope to understand if you have filtered out some of the message and may reinforce or strengthen your bias for future communications.

Listening Skills

Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process.

Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, then listening is it.

Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, and increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work.

Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective listening skills. Richard Branson frequently quotes listening as one of the main factors behind the success of Virgin.

Effective listening is a skill that underpins all positive human relationships.

Spend some time thinking about and developing your listening skills – they are the building blocks of success.

Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including:

A greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work, and even better health and general well-being.

Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, attentive listening can bring it down.

Listening is Not the Same as Hearing

Hearing refers to the sounds that enter your ears. It is a physical process that, provided you do not have any hearing problems, happens automatically.

Listening, however, requires more than that: it requires focus and concentrated effort, both mental and sometimes physical as well.В

Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body.В In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages.В Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages.

Listening is not a passive process. In fact, the listener can, and should, be at least as engaged in the process as the speaker. The phrase ‘active listening’ is used to describe this process of being fully involved.

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. В Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen

We Spend a lot of Time Listening

Adults spend an average of 70% of their time engaged in some sort of communication.

Of this, research shows that an average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. (Adler, R. et al. 2001). That is, by any standards, a lot of time listening. It is worthwhile, therefore, taking a bit of extra time to ensure that you listen effectively.

The Purpose of Listening

There is no doubt that effective listening is an extremely important life skill. Why is listening so important?

Listening serves a number of possible purposes, and the purpose of listening will depend on the situation and the nature of the communication.

To specifically focus on the messages being communicated, avoiding distractions and preconceptions.

To gain a full and accurate understanding into the speakers point of view and ideas.

To critically assess what is being said. (See our page on Critical Thinking for more).

To observe the non-verbal signals accompanying what is being said to enhance understanding.

To show interest, concern and concentration.

To encourage the speaker to communicate fully, openly and honestly.

To develop an selflessness approach, putting the speaker first.

To arrive at a shared and agreed understanding and acceptance of both sides views.

Often our main concern while listening is to formulate ways to respond. This is not a function of listening. We should try to focus fully on what is being said and how it’s being said in order to more fully understand the speaker.

Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more than just your ears.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

Learn more about the key communication skills you need to be a more effective communicator.

Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their interpersonal skills and are full of easy-to-follow, practical information.

Barriers to Effective Listening

To improve the process of effective listening, it can be helpful to turn the problem on its head and look at barriers to effective listening, or ineffective listening.

For example, one common problem is that instead of listening closely to what someone is saying, we often get distracted after a sentence or two and instead start to think about what we are going to say in reply or think about unrelated things. This means that we do not fully listen to the rest of the speaker’s message.

This problem is attributed, in part, to the difference between average speech rate and average processing rate. Average speech rates are between 125 and 175 words a minute whereas we can process on average between 400 and 800 words a minute. It is a common habit for the listener to use the spare time while listening to daydream or think about other things, rather than focusing on what the speaker is saying.

Of course the clarity of what the speaker is saying can also affect how well we listen. Generally we find it easier to focus if the speaker is fluent in their speech, has a familiar accent, and speaks at an appropriate loudness for the situation. It is more difficult, for example, to focus on somebody who is speaking very fast and very quietly, especially if they are conveying complex information.

We may also get distracted by the speaker’s personal appearance or by what someone else is saying, which sounds more interesting.

These issues not only affect you, but you are likely to show your lack of attention in your body language.

Generally, we find it much harder to control our body language, and you are likely to show your distraction and/or lack of interest by lack of eye contact, or posture. The speaker will detect the problem, and probably stop talking at best. At worse, they may be very offended or upset.

Our page on Barriers to Effective Listening explains more about common listening problems, and our page Listening Misconceptions details some of the common myths and misconceptions about listening.

Finally, it is important not to jump to conclusions about what you see and hear. You should always seek clarification to ensure that your understanding is correct.

See our pages: Clarification and Reflection for more information.

Работа с песнями при изучении английского языка

Песни на уроках английского языка вносят в процесс обучения не только креативность и разнообразие, но также это отличный способ снять напряжение, разграничить учебные блоки занятий и переключиться с одного вида работы на другой. Легкий, непринужденный мотив и простая рифма быстро запоминаются, причем не только на период обучения, а на всю жизнь. Предлагаем Вашему вниманию несколько вариантов использования песен на уроке.

Песни как lead in

Песни можно использовать как введение в новый материал в начале урока. Попросите студентов закрыть глаза, послушать песню и представить картинку к данной песне. Например, для начала урока по фильмам Вы можете включить песню из вестерна «The good the bad and the ugly». Затем студенты в парах обсуждают свои идеи, что происходило в песне. Спросите какой тип фильма это может быть.

Песни как energizer

При работе с Young learners песни — это отличный способ сделать перерыв в процессе обучения, особенно когда дети начинают уставать. Даже взрослым сложно концентрироваться дольше 20 минут подряд, у детей максимум — примерно 10 минут. Если перерывы в занятии не предусмотрены, можно воспользоваться бодрящими пятиминутками, так называемыми «energizers», во время которых ученик отдыхает. Главное, чтобы песня была веселой, короткой и несложной. Вы можете спеть песню всем классом, используя движения или танцы. Тогда студенты повеселятся и зарядятся энергией для следующей части урока. Огромное количество песен можно найти на канале TheLearningStation, например, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Песни для отработки грамматического и лексического материала

Использование Jazz Chants позволяет вводить новые лексические или грамматические единицы, опираясь сразу на несколько каналов восприятия одновременно. Музыка и песни в музыкальном сопровождении отлично воспринимаются аудиалами, если песня сопровождается движениями или танцами, то она легко запомнится и кинестетиками. Если к песне подобрать картинки по сюжету, то не будет проблем и у визуалов с запоминанием этой песни. Чтобы задействовать тактильную память ребенка можно использовать пальчиковые игры, жесты. Пожалуй, все дети любят данные песни:

Отличные ресурсы с песнями для отработки грамматического и лексического материала: SuperSimpleSongs (+ worksheets); ABCMouse; BritishCouncil.

Например, для отработки модального глагола «Can» — Animal song «Yes, I can!».

Для подростков и взрослых можно разработать или найти worksheets на сайтах busyteacher.org или en.islcollective.

Почти любую песню можно использовать для отработки антонимов и дефиниций. Например, «A beautiful life» by 30 seconds to Mars.

А также можно подобрать песню для отработки определенной грамматики. Например, песня «Whatever it takes» by Imagine Dragons подойдет для отработки причастий.

Песни для развития навыка аудирования

1) Warm up

Перед тем как перейти к проработке текста песни, спросите студентов знают ли они данную группу, какие песни им известны. Разберите название песни, попросите студентов предсказать о чем она. С детьми проведите brainstorm лексики, связанной с темой песни. Например, перед прослушиванием песни «Old MacDonald had a farm» покажите карточки с животными, попросите студентов назвать всех животных, которых они знают, и какие звуки данные животные издают.

2) Listening for gist

Задание для первого прослушивания должно быть легче, поэтому попросите студентов послушать песню и ответить на вопрос — эта песня позитивная или грустная, про дружбу или любовь, где находится исполнитель. В таких песнях как «Tom’s dinner» by Suzanne Vega попросите студентов расставить картинки по порядку.

3) Listening for specific information

Для второго прослушивания можно использовать следующие типы заданий:

— Вставьте пропущенные слова (с подсказками в виде списка слов, картинок, первой буквы слова или без подсказок);

— Выберите правильное слово из нескольких вариантов;

— Unscramble the words;

— Вставьте глагол из списка в правильной форме;

— Соедините две части строки;

— Вычеркните лишнее слово;

— Расставьте строки по порядку;

4) Listening for detail

Вместо listening for specific information можно выполнить более сложное задание, которое требует более полного понимания текста песни. Например, задание для песни «One Headlight» by The Wallflowers:

What is the meaning of the song? Find the proof in the lyrics.

1. The singer feels lonely and deserted by friends and family. He can’t find his place in life or see its meaning. The song is a cry for help.

2. The singer has lost a close friend, but despite this, he believes there’s light at the end of the tunnel and he will move on.

3. The singer views life as a constant succession of parades, parties and joy. He enjoys every moment of it and wants all his friends to join the fun.

5) Follow up

После прослушивания песни попросите студентов придумать клип. Затем покажите оригинальный видеоролик и сравните с идеями студентов. Студенты также могут придумать еще один куплет для песни.

С детьми можно разыграть песню по ролям или спеть всем классом вместе с движениями.

How to Learn English by Listening (And Finally Understand English Speakers!)

I’m here to help you learn English by listening so that even the quickest, most confusing English speech becomes easy for you.

To wrap things up, we’ll see how to put these tips into action with a variety of audio resources to learn English by listening.

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Why Is It Important to Learn English by Listening?

Studies show that listening is the most frequently used language skill by students. English listening is important not only in communication, but also in how we learn.

According to these studies, listening is basically how you obtain—and learn—new information. Whether you’re in the classroom or not, listening takes up more daily communication time than other forms of verbal communication.

If listening is at the center of the lives of students throughout all levels of their educational development, why should it be any different in learning a language? In your efforts to improve your overall English, working on your listening abilities must be at the core of your learning practice.

But before you can start learning English by listening, you have to make sure you know how to listen effectively.

Listening effectively is something that very few of us actually do. It’s not that it’s difficult, it’s just that most of us never developed the habits that would make us effective listeners.

As you develop the necessary skills for listening effectively, the feedback you’ll receive on your performance as a language listener will help you correct mistakes and increase your motivation to keep on learning, as well as help you to develop your confidence in using the language.

Quick But Crucial Tips to Learn English by Listening

You’ve heard it on TV and read it on every language website: “This Is the Perfect Way to Learn English.”

Spoiler alert! You’ll learn in this article that there’s no such thing as a perfect way! What’s important is that you pick a plan, get started as soon as possible and make adjustments along the way.

There’s one more thing you should know about the “perfect” way to learn English:

The perfect plan is the plan that you actually follow through with.

The best methods, strategies and courses don’t mean anything if you don’t actually follow through with them!

Here are six tips to help you effectively learn English by listening.

Tip 1: Start with a Positive Mindset

The first thing you want to learn to do is to listen optimistically. Why? You have to actually believe that you can hear and understand what people are saying.

I know English listening can be very difficult, especially with speakers who have a strong accent or who talk really fast. But you’ve actually done it before! You learned how to listen and understand and speak a language when you were a baby. Why should it be any different now that you’re an adult? If you listen with a good frame of mind, you’ll see it’s not impossible.

If you don’t believe that you can listen and understand what people are saying, in the words of Jedi Master Yoda from “Star Wars:” “That is why you fail.”

Having a hard time? Focus on actively listening. When people are talking, don’t focus on what you’re going to reply, don’t try to translate what they’re saying, don’t analyze the grammar structure of the sentences… just listen.

Tip 2: Choose Diverse English Listening Materials

Don’t just listen to the same kind of English audio materials all the time.

Don’t stick to listening to only the news, or only watching the same TV shows over and over. Instead, listen to a variety of different kinds of situations and topics.

As long as you find a resource that makes you happy, keeps you learning English by listening and lines up with your goals and interests, you have my full support.

Tip 3: Predict Audio Content

Pretend you’re listening to the radio.

You hear a helicopter in the background, and a speaker is mentioning the names of streets, roads and avenues, and talking about how many vehicles are currently on these roads.

What do you imagine he’s talking about? Most likely, you’re listening to a traffic report.

You can then expect to hear other words like “bottleneck,” “traffic jam” and “rush hour.” You’ll probably also hear the imperative (command form of verbs): “Don’t take the highway” or “Avoid 4th Avenue.”

Based on the context, you can often predict the words and even style of language you will hear. That’s a big first step forward!

Unless you know nothing, like Jon Snow from “Game of Thrones,” your previous knowledge of the world will help you predict what information you’ll likely hear. When you predict the topic of a conversation, all this knowledge and related vocabulary stored in your brain will be turned on to help you better understand what you’re listening to.

Next time you’re watching or listening to an English TV show or the radio, pause after every few sentences. Try to predict what’s going to happen or what the speaker might say next.

For instance, the words “avenue,” “vehicle,” “jam,” “bottle” and “neck” all have their own separate meanings, but when you hear them together, they form the context of a traffic-related conversation.

A powerful way to practice this is by creating mind maps. Whenever you learn new words, try to group them with other words used in a similar context.

Tip 4: Listen for the Big Ideas

At first, you should resist the impulse to try to understand every single word people are saying. It’s more important to keep up with the conversation and try to understand the main ideas.

English is like a road. As with any road, there are “signposts,” which are words that help us follow the sequence of what’s going on—in this case, they help us understand what we’re hearing. These words link ideas and help us understand what people are talking about. They’re especially relevant in talks or presentations.

For example, if a university professor giving a lecture says, “I will talk about three reasons supporting…” be on the lookout for expressions such as “first of all,” “moving on to” and “in summary,” that link the ideas and indicate the next parts of the lecture.

Focus on keywords like these to grasp the most relevant parts of a conversation. Once you relax and make it a priority to understand the main idea, you’ll have the freedom to complete your comprehension with the details and clear the air later by asking questions.

Tip 5: Listen for the Details

After you’ve focused on the big picture, now look for specific details that will help you understand better.

When listening for details, you’re interested in very specific information such as a name or a number. Ignore anything else that doesn’t sound relevant to what you’re listening for. This way, you’ll be able to zoom in your search and get the details you need to understand the message.

For example, if you’re interested in knowing the age of a person, pay attention to any words related to age like “old,” “years,” “born in” or even a number, which could be that person’s age.

An excellent way to practice listening for details is to decide what kind of detailed information you want to practice listening for and then listen to radio shows where you would get this information.

Let’s say, for example, that you want to practice listening for details about the weather. You could listen to a weather report and focus on the names of cities and the temperatures in every one of them.

Intonation is a very important part of speech that we usually don’t focus on. If you’re interested in making your intonation more natural, you should focus on it specifically.

Similarly, try focusing only on stress. When you use stress wrong, English speakers have a hard time understanding you. It can even change the meaning of what you’re saying. That’s why everyone should invest some time focusing on it.

Tip 6: Listen and Write

As an English learner, your main focus should be turning the sounds you hear into words, and then turning those words into a message.

Many of the exercises described in this article help you learn listening skills by performing English listening comprehension activities. But writing what you hear forces you to decode individual sounds.

Transcribing (a fancy word for “writing what you hear”) gives you a surprisingly fun way to improve your listening skills. Listening and writing down what you hear helps you not only learn new vocabulary but also improve your pronunciation. You can learn by listening and writing down every single word. You can learn new words or discover that certain words are pronounced very differently than you thought.

There are plenty of websites where you can listen to short audio recordings and write down every word that you hear. Make sure to keep going back and playing each sentence again and again until you’ve transcribed the whole thing.

Tip 7: Practice and Listen Repeatedly

Finally, the best way to learn English by listening effectively is to simply listen to English as much as possible.

There’s no magic fix, but you should be sure to listen to things that interest you. If you don’t, it’ll be be difficult for you to continue. You’ll get bored and eventually stop.

You can take advantage of the spaced-repetition technique to improve your listening skills. Listening to the same thing allows you to listen more deeply. When you listen to new vocabulary for the first time, you should repeat it several times.

Go back later the same day to practice again. Repeat it again the following day. Come back to it in a week. And again in a month. What you’ve learned should be ingrained in your brain by then.

Put the Tips into Action: Incredible Audio Resources to Learn English by Listening

Now that you know the right ways to learn English by listening, let’s go through all the ways and places you can listen to interesting English audio.

English TV Shows

Watch a show in English that interests you. Watch it from beginning to end. Follow the plot, the storylines and all the characters. Unsure about what to watch? Don’t worry: FluentU’s got your back.

How does this help? Watching a TV show is a great way to practice consistently for a long time. If you enjoy the show, you’ll easily spend hours watching it, continually hearing English.

What should you do? Choose a particular scene or a short part of the show and repeat it line by line. Try to match tone, speed and accent.

The cool thing is that FluentU makes this whole process a lot easier than just watching regular TV.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

Try FluentU for FREE!

English Radio Shows

How does this help? You work, you ride the bus, you exercise, you cook dinner, you wait in line. You could also be listening to English radio while doing any of those activities.

Find a radio station (here are some suggestions) and put on your headphones so the radio is playing in the background. That way you’ll be learning English by listening without adding any extra time to your schedule.

What should you do? You can choose different radio shows and focus on listening to different dialects and accents from English speakers around the world, as well as the stress or intonation.

English YouTube Channels

Go visit YouTube. Find an interesting English video. I’ll even help you: we’ve picked the top channels to help you learn English on YouTube.

Turn the volume down so that it’s a little difficult to hear—that can force you to concentrate. Try to figure out what people are saying.

Go ahead, seriously. I’ll wait here.

How does this help? You can’t normally control how loudly people talk. Practicing your listening comprehension in these difficult situations is a great way to improve your skills.

What should you do? Challenge yourself! Listen to a YouTube video on low volume. Write down words or phrases you understand. Re-watch the video, using the captions, and check how many words you got right!

And if you want all kinds of useful tips for learning English from videos, films, TV shows, music, TED talks and more, subscribe to the FluentU English channel on YouTube.

The FluentU English channel is on a mission to make real-world English resources accessible to learners at every level. The same team that brings you immersive English learning on the FluentU app and platform shows you even more learning techniques:

If you hit the notification bell, you’ll never miss a tip or a trick from FluentU English.

English Videos with Transcripts

There are plenty of websites such as elllo or TED Talks that allow you to listen to conversations or talks while reading the transcripts (written versions of the dialogue) included on the page.

How does this help? Listening while reading transcripts helps you match what you read with how it sounds in reality. You see, most English speakers often pronounce words very differently from what you might have learned.

If you’ve learned mostly through reading or in a classroom, you might be confused by how differently people pronounce words in reality. Listening while you read along helps you match your expectations with this reality.

What should you do? Visit some of the websites mentioned above. Choose a conversation or a talk that seems interesting and read the transcript before listening. Listen again later while reading the transcript, noting how different the words sound.

English Podcasts (Every Episode!)

Download every episode of a podcast and try to listen to at least one a day until you’ve listened to them all.

Now, before you say “ain’t nobody got time for that,” let me tell you, you can listen while you’re waiting for the bus to arrive, while going to work, while you’re waiting in line, while in a traffic jam in your car, while you’re waiting for your water to boil or while you’re sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.

You can turn these little parts of your day, which otherwise add up to a huge amount of unproductive time, into another opportunity to learn some English.

If you have no idea where to start, you should check out this amazing list of podcasts for English Learners.

How does this help? Besides developing a positive habit that makes English practice part of your day, you also start to understand a person’s speaking habits when you listen to them speak for a long time. You’ll also start to look forward to new episodes—or at least you should if you’ve chosen an interesting podcast!

Depending on what you’re listening to, some speakers have certain habits that you can either pick up for yourself, or detect and purposefully avoid.

What should you do? You might listen to someone and catch that they say “you know” and “like” between ideas. Using these “filler words” is a speaking habit many people have, but it’s not necessarily a good habit.

You can work to eliminate them from your vocabulary so people can focus solely on your message.

It can be challenging, but through practice and persistence, you can do it.

Recording of University Lectures in English

Whether you’re attending an English-speaking university, preparing to attend one or simply want to improve your listening skills in an academic field, this solution is for you. Websites such as edX provide lectures from some of the greatest universities in the world, available for free to anyone who wants to learn.

You’ll increase your chances of success in university courses while improving your listening comprehension skills. You’ll practice listening to class lectures. You’ll also improve in common college tasks such as class discussions and presentations.

And all without burying yourself in debt!

How does this help? University lectures use specific vocabulary about academic subjects, depending on your interests or the profession you’re interested in.

If you’re serious about your academic pursuits, eventually you’ll need to learn about different types of conversations in academic settings. You’ll need to learn strategies to help you understand other people and to express yourself effectively. This can be challenging but it’s a great opportunity for you to practice and improve your listening skills.

What should you do? Choose a lecture from your academic field or any particular subject that you find interesting. While listening to your lecture or seminar, listen actively, taking notes or silently posing a question about the lecture topic, as if you were actually attending the lecture.

English Audiobooks

You might not have access to many English books. And even if you do, you might not have the time to sit down and read. It’s a busy world. What if you’re reading an English book but you’re not sure if you’re pronouncing the words in it correctly? Then, my friend, you need to get yourself an audiobook.

An audiobook is basically a recording of someone reading a book. Imagine your favorite author reading you his or her latest book and teaching you English at the same time! Audiobooks are all over the internet, and FluentU has collected a few places where you can find them.

How does this help? Audiobooks can be a great source of vocabulary since they use a wider range of words than common speech. People who read them often speak in a clear and articulated way. Also, audiobooks are highly entertaining, so it’s easy to listen for many hours.

What should you do? To learn new vocabulary, focus on the pronunciation of words you’re unfamiliar with. You can test yourself and check your understanding by answering questions about the story after you finish listening.

But my favorite thing to do with audiobooks is reading along! Get a physical or digital copy of the book and read along as you listen. Doing so, you’ll find it easy to concentrate solely on the words. You can practice pronunciation by reading out loud and trying to match what you just heard.

English Songs

There are so many ways you can learn English by listening to songs! The best part is that it’s difficult not to have a good time while doing it. Seriously, I dare you not to have fun while learning English by listening to music. You can try to write out the lyrics, to sing along (karaoke night, anyone?) or you can even skip the lyrics and see how much you know by heart!

How does this help? Have you tried listening to a rap song in English? Listening and understanding the lyrics in a song can be really difficult, even for native speakers. But trust me, once you figure out what the singer is saying, it will get embedded in your mind.

Next time you hear it, you’ll remember it—and you can even sing along!

What should you do? Music is an excellent way to improve your confidence. It’s okay if you sometimes forget the lyrics or you don’t have perfect pitch. Just try following the music and singing out loud.

Eventually, you’ll start memorizing the song. You’ll be ready to sing without looking at the lyrics. By then, you’ll find that your pronunciation will have improved a great deal.

Have fun singing along without looking at the lyrics. And remember, sing like nobody’s listening!

Yourself!

Finally, the last solution is to listen to no one but yourself. As crazy as it may sound, there’s no better way of improving your spoken English!

How does this help? Recording and listening to yourself speak will help you identify, check and correct any mistakes you’re committing. Feel free to use any of the many resources we’ve suggested in this article to compare to your speech.

You can quickly find problems in how you speak and if you continue to listen to yourself over time, you’ll see how much better you’re getting at speaking in English.

What should you do? Record yourself speaking English using your computer or phone. Play it back and listen to your own pronunciation and accent. Fix any problems that you notice and try again.

And there you have it! The ultimate guide to learning English by listening effectively. It can be a daunting task, but with guidance and lots of practice, anyone can improve their listening comprehension skills and learn English by listening.

Listening, like many things in life, will become easier with practice. Just keep working, and you’ll surely succeed!