Improving Listening Comprehension in English Through ESL
In order to best understand spoken English you need to first have realistic practice. This can be done best in the classroom environment because teachers of English know how to carefully pronounce and utilize familiar grammar and words. Outside of the classroom English is often spoken rapidly and with many accents and slang terms that can be unfamiliar and confusing to new English speakers. Practice in a guided environment is very beneficial. Take advantage of the wealth of resources available to help you practice your listening skills.
An amazing opportunity awaits you if you already live in an English speaking country because you get to interact with native English speakers everyday if you take the initiative. For students, living in a dormitory can present you with unique opportunities to interact with native speakers daily in a variety of situations. If the dorm life is not for you, you could look into a home stay situation with an English speaking family. Request at your school to see if there is help for finding a language partner who wants to practice speaking your language and then you can help each other out!
It is important to take the initiative to speak to native speakers of English everyday. Many non-native speakers hesitate to initiate authentic conversations. It is important that you do not limit your interactions with people to only include those who speak the same language as you. By creating reasons to initiate conversations it will force you to practice and apply the English you are learning. Each day set one goal of starting a conversation, whether you make a phone call to find out about a flight, ask a waiter for the ingredients of your meal, stop into local businesses to ask questions or directions, each opportunity to practice is ging to improve your English.
There are many other strategies that you can use to improve your English. Create an interview that you could ask anyone on the street. Pretend it is an assignment for your English class. Listen closely when a native speaker is answering you and concentrate on what is being said. If you find you are lost in the conversation ask the speaker to repreat it slowly and you can repeat it back to check. Ask a lot of questions. There is no wrong question when you are trying to learn. You may find that you want to join a sports team or club or even volunteer. Television watching with teh use of close captioning can be an asset to your English skills as it shows the written text in English while you hear it spoken. What is better than that?
In countries where English is not the native language it can be more challenging to find opportunities to practice. In large cities you will have a better chance of locating native English speakers with whom you can practice. Research your area to see if there is an American library where you can check out books on tape, reading as you listen. Be very careful using the books on tape as often in English words are spoken differently than they are written and often words are shortened or lengthened to change the meaning slightly. The bonus is that you can rewind the tape to listen again and again.
We are lucky to have technology at our fingertips no matter where you live. A great resource is satellite television which allows you to view television programs that are broadcast around the world such as CNN International or the BBC which are English language stations covering world news. Even without satellite television the English programming is right here on your computer if you have internet access. Interested in international affairs, you can access President Obama’s speeches. Love to cook? Watch any number of cooking shows right from your computer. Find yourself a pen-pal in an English speaking country to write and speak to using Skype and videoconferences. Just practice speaking and listening and have fun!