How to improve your listening skills - tips for self-learners

In general people have their strengths and weaknesses, and this also applies while learning a foreign language. There are people who love reading and are very good at it, others enjoy talking and making mistakes doesn’t stop them. Some people are fans of grammar and like filling grammatical exercises. However, if you want to excel in a foreign language you shouldn’t avoid practising any of the following skills:

reading - writing - listening - speaking.

No matter if you enjoy them or not.

Listening is a crucial but difficult skill. When you start learning a foreign language you usually begin with grammar and new vocabulary, which is fine. But don’t forget to train up your ears to the new language and get used to the way it sounds. You will be much more confident later on when communicating with native speakers or foreigners who you share the target language with. I recall my first visit to London (after studying English for several years) and how shocked I was that I could only understand very little of what the locals said. My ears were not used to the accent, let alone different dialects! That’s why I insist on training listening skills from the very start, the more authentic audios the better!

Lets’ have a look how you can improve your listening skills:

• Listen to podcasts. Nowadays there is a great choice of podcast for all levels. If you are just starting with your target language you can choose those aimed specifically for language learning. Later you can move on to podcast which meet your interests. Start slowly and listen just for a few minutes. If you do not understand stop the podcast and keep playing the part again until you understand. Sometimes there are transcripts available for some podcasts, you can look for the words which are not clear and simply translate them. Or, you can do the reading while listening.

• Listen to a local radio. In the car when going to work or at home when cooking - you will see that even passive listening is good and you can catch a word or two.

• Songs in your target language – look for music you like, play it and try to understand what the song is all about or at least catch some words. Find the lyrics and translate them. Now Spotify includes the lyrics of most songs, you can listen and check the lyrics at the same time. Or, you can use LyricsTraining - look for a song of your choice and fill the missing words. You can set up the target language, your level and choose from various options, multiple choice or fill the gaps. The same way works a mobile app LingoClip.

• Audio books – choose a book in your target language and listen. It might be easier to start with a book you already know or one you have an actual copy at home so you can check the text when you need to.

• Movies and series – with Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc. on offer I am sure you can find movies or series you like in your target language, with the option of adding subtitles either in the target language or in your mother tongue to start with. Always watch something you are interested in, you have fun and practise listening skills at the same time!

• Short videos, adverts, jokes – these are usually very short but authentic ways how to practise your listening skills, don’t be afraid of them!

You can choose from any of these options and listen either passively, in the background while doing something else, or you can use it as a form of your active language learning practice. Any listening exercise, active or passive, counts!

Do you find these tips useful but you still don’t know how to start improving your English or Czech? Have a look at our language coaching program, book a free consultation and we will be happy to explain more :-)