Learning a language can seem like an impossible task at times, especially if you’re living in a country where it’s spoken as the primary language.
Paying
attention to what people are saying around you is one of the easiest ways to
improve your English speaking and listening skills, and it can also help you
build confidence and make friends among native speakers – all while making
small talk at the water cooler! By putting yourself out there, you’ll find that
there are plenty of ways to practice English speaking and listening skills in
everyday life, no matter where you live or work.
What is active listening?
Listening
is an active process. Listening is not only about being quiet and not
interrupting; it’s about understanding what people are saying, too. You can
think of listening as a cycle where you hear, interpret, respond (and
remember), then repeat.
If you
make sure to go through each step in order—hear first, then interpret, then
respond (don’t forget!), and then remember—you have all your bases covered.
This leads us nicely into our discussion on types of listening . . . let’s get
started!
How can I listen actively?
Listening
is one of the most fundamental communication skills. In order to do it well, we
must do more than just hear. To be able to listen actively and take something
away from a conversation (or lecture, or podcast), there are certain things you
can do that will help you keep up with what's being said and allow you to pay
better attention.
Active
listening is a practice that involves focusing on both what’s being said and
how it’s being said. We have an innate ability to pick up on changes in tone
and inflection in others as they speak, which allows us not only to engage more
effectively but also avoid misunderstandings.
When should I be quiet and listen?
In our
lives, we have an abundance of opportunities to speak. But here’s a secret:
many people are much better listeners than they realize. In fact, it’s possible
that you know more about listening than you think. You listen every day—whether
you realize it or not.
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For
example, if someone says something new in a conversation, your brain makes a
split-second decision about whether or not it’s important for you to pay
attention. When your brain decides that what someone is saying isn’t important to
you, your ears tune out—that’s why when one person talks during dinner (and
everyone else is talking), you don't notice that their voice has gone quiet!
What are some common mistakes when we’re trying to speak another language?
Many
people think that speaking another language is simply a matter of mastering
vocabulary and grammar. While both are certainly important, there’s also an art
to learning how to speak another language properly. As a new speaker, it’s
common for you to make mistakes when you try and construct sentences in your
new language.
Some
mistakes you may encounter include using some of your native tongues in your
speech, mispronouncing words, and, using incorrect verb tenses or noun forms.
It’s easy to get discouraged when trying something new like learning another
language, but don’t let these simple mistakes stop you from continuing forward!
By being conscious of them as they happen – while practicing a bit more often –
you can easily correct yourself over time!
How do I encourage others to speak?
One
excellent way to practice is by making a habit of listening in on
conversations. There’s no need to try and actively participate, just listen
carefully and absorb what you hear. Learn from other people’s experiences,
thoughts, interests, and opinions.
And if
you’re someone who tends to talk a lot, that’s okay—just try sitting back for
once and taking in information rather than dishing it out. Being an active
listener will help you identify your own strengths when it comes to
communication.
Mistakes When Speaking a Foreign Language
Speaking
a foreign language is challenging enough—having to sift through all that’s
going on around you, process what you hear, and try saying something relevant
in return. Oh, and don’t forget to try to avoid common mistakes such as
mispronouncing words or accidentally stringing two languages together in one
sentence.
While
some are easy enough to fix (if you say qué tal? instead of hola it won’t
really make a difference), others can get in your way more than you realize.
For example, just because someone used leisurely instead of slowly, doesn't
mean your comprehension has improved.
Tips to Improve Listening Skills in Another Language
Listening
is often described as one of our most powerful senses. Most people equate
learning a new language with speaking, reading, and writing it—and these are
all important skills.
But
really, how many times have you walked into a party or meeting and instantly
felt lost because everyone seemed to know what was going on except you? It’s
painful to be left out because you didn’t listen well enough or caught a few
words but missed what they meant in context. To improve your listening skills
in another language, try these strategies
1)
Make sure you understand why listening is so important when studying another
language. If someone were to say that they don’t need to study hard for an
exam, we would agree that perhaps their coursework isn’t difficult enough; yet
if someone says that they don’t need to practice their pronunciation (one aspect
of listening), we might think something else is wrong. In reality, just like
any other skill, improving your ability to hear and understand will help you
become more confident when using English in real-life situations.
2) Try
not to translate while you listen; instead, focus on grasping the main idea
first and then worrying about details later. Many students make mistakes by
trying to convert everything they hear into their native tongue. Instead, let
yourself be swept up by what you’re hearing and use your powers of deduction to
figure out the meaning from context clues.
3)
Practice makes perfect! The more time you spend listening to English, whether
it's a podcast, audiobook, or lecture recording, the better you'll get at
understanding others' speech without needing subtitles. Remember that being
able to listen doesn't mean being able to speak fluently—it means being able to
understand information clearly.