Why Study Listening

There are two main reasons to study listening comprehension:

• To learn how to listen better — learning to listen
• To improve general language skills — listening to learn

Learning to Listen

Listening requires a set of important language skills, which cannot be learned in any other way. For example:

• Knowledge of the basic sound system
• Knowledge of how the sound system changes in rapid speech
• Knowledge of the dialect and personal variation in speech patterns
• Knowledge of how intonation and tone of voice carry important meaning
• Knowledge of colloquial language use: some vocabulary and grammar is only used in speech
• Knowledge of how spontaneous speech production affects language

If language learners don’t learn these important skills through listening practice, they will never learn them.

There is one more crucial skill. People speak very quickly, averaging about 3 words per second. It is very difficult, almost impossible to learn this through speaking, reading or writing. Listening forces language learners to process language quickly and automatically. This is a crucial skill.

Listening to Learn   

Listening is also the best way to improve general language skills. Here are the main reasons:

Listening First:

Many researchers have claimed that the fastest and most efficient way to learn a language is through listening first. Start with the easiest passages at A2 level.

Content-Based Learning:

Many researchers claim that a focus on comprehension of the content, rather than study of the language, is the best way to improve general language skills. By listening and understanding what the speaker is saying, you are doing that.

Extensive Comprehension:

Many researchers have claimed that extensive comprehension is the best way to learn a language. It works with reading and it works even better with listening. Listen to lots of interesting passages.

Comprehensible Input:

Many researchers have claimed that the best way to learn new language is to comprehend something just a little bit above your current level (at i + 1). This means you should choose something a little bit challenging, and then listen and try to understand.

There is considerable evidence that extensive listening practice leads to effective language learning.

Some Ways Make It Work Better

Second Language Acquisition Theory:

While there is no general theory that is widely accepted, there is wide agreement that it is the urge to communicate that drives language acquisition. When learners are listening and trying to understand what speakers are saying they are communicating. If learners feel that the speakers are communicating with them, they will learn better.

Affective Involvement:

Research shows that we all learn better when we are having a positive experience. So learners should choose passages that interests them, and they should enjoy listening to what the speaker says.

Implicit vs Explicit Learning Systems:

Most of our first language is learned implicitly; we were not aware of learning. Much second language learning also needs to be implicit. When learners are just listening, they are allowing implicit learning to take place naturally.

The Size of the Task:

Learning a second language is a massive task, and it takes a long time to reach high levels of ability. There is no short cut! Learners should just keep listening, and allow nature to take its course. All experts agree that large amounts of listening practice are very beneficial at all levels of ability.

Just keep listening a lot!

Visit: https://englishlistening.com

Why And How Can English Listening Practice Help You?

Who does not want to speak English fluently? All of us, right!

As we all know that the English language is indeed very important to us. Be it educational or professional field, one should know how to speak in English. 

Learning English would not only help you speak it fluently but for many more powerful and good reasons which shall benefit you in the future. Some of the reasons are listed below;

• You can explore the world, professionally or educationally 
• You can interact with more people worldwide.
• Improvement of communication skills.
• Developing confidence, the more you interact the more you develop confidence.
• Personality development 
• More employment opportunities 

Above were some reasons but there are many more which shall help you. 

Listening and practicing are the best ways for learning a language. English listening can help you learn the language and excel at it. But you have to make sure nothing and no one can excel at anything without practice. As a student doing English listening practice is important to make things easier and understandable. Sometimes if one is unable to understand something, it’s okay. No one can be perfect!

Here, at englishlistening.com we provide you with the best, effective and easy way of learning. We also make sure that learning never becomes boring for the learners and teaching never becomes boring for the teachers. That’s why we provide fun, interesting, and enthusiastic passages in which, both the students, as well as the ESL teachers can have fun. 

Now there are over 500 passages available at different levels where students can filter them using various filters such as; level, accent, topic, etc. 

Keeping in mind that every student begins from the beginning, we have also got English lessons for beginners. Learning English by listening is one of the most effective ways. Children learn a lot of things just by listening and so can we and with practice, a beginner can also become an expert one day. 

Listening and learning a language is a challenging process and one can get better over time. Usually, we speak three words per second and for a beginner to understand it by just listening to it for the first time can be a bit challenging. 

To avoid such obstacles we have study aids which are listed below;

• Listening Several Times 

You can listen to a passage over and over again to understand it properly and get to know what the speaker is saying. So there is nothing to worry about. If you are unable to understand a word you can play/repeat it again.

• Summary 

This helps the student to get an overview of what the speaker wanted to say. It also builds a sense of confidence when the student completely understands by listening and it matches the summary. 

• Transcript 

If the student has trouble understanding what the speaker wants to say he/she can use this feature. It could also be the speaker’s fault as sometimes they speak a little faster and incorrectly. 

• Test 

This feature not only asks you to give a test of what you have understood but with this you can also understand why are the correct answers are right and the incorrect answers wrong.

 CONCLUSION

By doing English listening practice, one will eventually learn this language and develop a skill over time. Our site has everything available at the top menu making things easily accessible.

Also Visit: https://medium.com/@englishlistening