8 Practising your listening skills The best way to improve your listening skills is to get as much practice as possible. Some situations are solely listening situations, e.g. radio programmes, music, podcasts, telephone conversations and announcements. In these cases, you have to listen carefully to the person’s intonation so that you can interpret what is being said. In other situations, e.g. when watching television, films and videos, the context of the action, the speaker’s body language and gestures will also help you to understand what is being said. Try to listen to as many different types of authentic recordings as possible. Podcasts are a very good way to practise your listening skills. They are authentic recordings of different lengths, and they deal with many different topics. Listening to podcasts helps you to understand different accents and different types of English. Tip • Listen for keywords and key phrases to help you get the gist, e.g. names, numbers, places. Also listen for repeated words. Remember you do not have to understand every single word if you are listening for gist. • Once you have listened to a text for gist, concentrate on the details. • Listening in stages can also be helpful because you can then concentrate on a particular section of the text. • Take notes so you do not have to remember all of the details. • If you are talking to someone face-to-face or on the telephone, do not be afraid to ask them to repeat something or to explain something very clearly. • When you are on the phone, it can be helpful to repeat important information that was given to you by the other person. This way you are sure that you have understood it correctly. Example: You are meeting the person, so you repeat, “OK, we’ll meet on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in front of the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, right?” • Before you listen to an authentic situation, try to find out whether it is in British or American English or involves a dialect or a regional pronunciation. Do not feel bad if you have problems understanding what is being said. Someone from the US state of Alabama might not be able to understand a Cockney from London! T Useful phrases Could you repeat that, please? • Could you say that again, please? • I’m sorry, I don’t understand the word … . What does it mean? • What does … mean? • Could you spell that for me, please? • Could you speak a little more slowly, please? P 106 Famous speeches Listening skills Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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