Of course, being an active listener is not easy and you\u2019ll need to take things step-by-step.<\/p>\n
The following tips will help you make the progress you need to meet your goals, without being too difficult or overwhelming.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Focus on the most important information<\/span><\/h2>\nA great place to start is to try to listen for gist<\/strong><\/em><\/span>. This is when you just focus on understanding the keywords (nouns, verbs and adjectives) which carry the most important information in a sentence so you can understand what the people are saying.<\/p>\nListening for gist is a useful stepping stone<\/strong><\/em><\/span> on the way to understanding the more complex detail of what people say.<\/p>\nTry this at home:<\/strong> Find a 5-minute video on YouTube<\/a> on a topic that you are interested in. Watch the video without any closed captions (subtitles) and write down as many of the keywords as you can hear. If you need to you can repeat this a few times, in order to see if you can piece together<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the gist of the video. When you\u2019re ready, you can turn on the subtitles and check to see if you\u2019re right!<\/p>\nIn addition, check out our specific blog post for using YouTube to improve your English<\/a> for more tips like this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2. Make some predictions<\/span><\/h2>\nThe situation you\u2019re in can give you some really useful clues<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to the content and language you might expect to hear.<\/p>\n![\"Make](\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/rendered_1.jpg\")
We can probably guess a lot of what is being said in this situation<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n
This is something we do a lot in our own language without realising – how often are you asked a question by someone completely out of context? For example, if you\u2019re ordering food in a restaurant you would expect the waiter to ask you about your order, or tell you about tonight\u2019s specials. However, if he suddenly asked you about last night\u2019s football you would find it a little odd<\/strong><\/em><\/span>!<\/p>\nBy predicting a lot of the language you might hear, you can begin to experiment with listening for more detail in a conversation.<\/p>\n
Try this at home:<\/strong> By using Vimeo<\/a> or YouTube, watch some short clips without the sound or subtitles on. A really good place to start is travel vloggers, such as Mr Ben Brown<\/a> or FunForLouis<\/a>. See if you can predict the content of their videos by only using what you can see. Where are they travelling, and what are they doing or eating? Do they look like they are enjoying it, and what words might you hear to suggest this? Now watch it with the sound and subtitles on, were you right? Did you hear any language that you predicted?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
3. Expand your vocabulary<\/span><\/h2>\nOnce you start listening for more detail, you might begin to notice that there are a lot of words and expressions that occur<\/strong><\/em><\/span> regularly, but you don\u2019t understand. By noting these down and actively learning these words and phrases, you can start to grow in confidence when interacting with native speakers outside of the classroom.<\/p>\nA great place to start is to build your understanding of linking and signposting<\/strong><\/em><\/span> expressions. This may be quite simple, such as the words \u201chowever\u201d<\/em> or \u201cdespite\u201d<\/em> to show a contrast in the conversation, or more complex like \u201cyou\u2019ll never guess what happened next!\u201d<\/em> which suggests you\u2019re about to be given some surprising information. <\/p>\nOnce you have a better understanding of these expressions, it will help you be able to better predict the content of a conversation, and help you follow the story you\u2019re being told.<\/p>\n
Try this at home:<\/strong> Take a look at our 7 podcasts to improve your listening<\/a> post to find one which is appropriate for your level, and try them out. When you hear a new linking expression or slang<\/strong><\/em><\/span> word you don\u2019t quite understand, look it up online (or on a transcript) and try to use it in your next English conversation to help you remember it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
4. Listen to different accents<\/span><\/h2>\nThe wonderful thing about English is that it is spoken by so many people around the world. However, this means that you will need to understand more than just the Queen\u2019s English to get by<\/strong><\/em><\/span> if you\u2019re travelling.<\/p>\nAlong with the different expressions you can hear between American, British, Irish or Australian speakers, to name just a few, the way they pronounce their content words is usually very varied. However, with the use of Netflix<\/a> you don\u2019t need to travel to these countries anymore to listen to these different accents.<\/p>\n
Listening for gist is a useful stepping stone<\/strong><\/em><\/span> on the way to understanding the more complex detail of what people say.<\/p>\n Try this at home:<\/strong> Find a 5-minute video on YouTube<\/a> on a topic that you are interested in. Watch the video without any closed captions (subtitles) and write down as many of the keywords as you can hear. If you need to you can repeat this a few times, in order to see if you can piece together<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the gist of the video. When you\u2019re ready, you can turn on the subtitles and check to see if you\u2019re right!<\/p>\n In addition, check out our specific blog post for using YouTube to improve your English<\/a> for more tips like this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The situation you\u2019re in can give you some really useful clues<\/strong><\/em><\/span> to the content and language you might expect to hear.<\/p>\n We can probably guess a lot of what is being said in this situation<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n This is something we do a lot in our own language without realising – how often are you asked a question by someone completely out of context? For example, if you\u2019re ordering food in a restaurant you would expect the waiter to ask you about your order, or tell you about tonight\u2019s specials. However, if he suddenly asked you about last night\u2019s football you would find it a little odd<\/strong><\/em><\/span>!<\/p>\n By predicting a lot of the language you might hear, you can begin to experiment with listening for more detail in a conversation.<\/p>\n Try this at home:<\/strong> By using Vimeo<\/a> or YouTube, watch some short clips without the sound or subtitles on. A really good place to start is travel vloggers, such as Mr Ben Brown<\/a> or FunForLouis<\/a>. See if you can predict the content of their videos by only using what you can see. Where are they travelling, and what are they doing or eating? Do they look like they are enjoying it, and what words might you hear to suggest this? Now watch it with the sound and subtitles on, were you right? Did you hear any language that you predicted?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you start listening for more detail, you might begin to notice that there are a lot of words and expressions that occur<\/strong><\/em><\/span> regularly, but you don\u2019t understand. By noting these down and actively learning these words and phrases, you can start to grow in confidence when interacting with native speakers outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n A great place to start is to build your understanding of linking and signposting<\/strong><\/em><\/span> expressions. This may be quite simple, such as the words \u201chowever\u201d<\/em> or \u201cdespite\u201d<\/em> to show a contrast in the conversation, or more complex like \u201cyou\u2019ll never guess what happened next!\u201d<\/em> which suggests you\u2019re about to be given some surprising information. <\/p>\n Once you have a better understanding of these expressions, it will help you be able to better predict the content of a conversation, and help you follow the story you\u2019re being told.<\/p>\n Try this at home:<\/strong> Take a look at our 7 podcasts to improve your listening<\/a> post to find one which is appropriate for your level, and try them out. When you hear a new linking expression or slang<\/strong><\/em><\/span> word you don\u2019t quite understand, look it up online (or on a transcript) and try to use it in your next English conversation to help you remember it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The wonderful thing about English is that it is spoken by so many people around the world. However, this means that you will need to understand more than just the Queen\u2019s English to get by<\/strong><\/em><\/span> if you\u2019re travelling.<\/p>\n Along with the different expressions you can hear between American, British, Irish or Australian speakers, to name just a few, the way they pronounce their content words is usually very varied. However, with the use of Netflix<\/a> you don\u2019t need to travel to these countries anymore to listen to these different accents.<\/p>\n2. Make some predictions<\/span><\/h2>\n
3. Expand your vocabulary<\/span><\/h2>\n
4. Listen to different accents<\/span><\/h2>\n