Watching TV programmes or films, listening to the radio or podcasts, or even just listening to other people speaking English around you…how can this help you with your language learning?
- It gives you exposure to English outside of your lesson;
- It can remind you of words you’ve learnt but forgotten;
- It can help you to revise words that you’ve learnt recently;
- You may learn new words just from understanding the context;
- You’re likely to hear examples of correct pronunciation, grammar and word order.
The last example is more important than you might think. After all, the first stage of language learning is listening, and it’s how babies begin to learn their birth language. It’s what helps and encourages them to first try out sounds, then words, then sentences. And it is pretty much the same process for adults – the more we listen, the more we get used to and can then copy what we hear.
Having said this, some of my students get frustrated listening to English because they don’t understand everything, or maybe they don’t really understand anything at all. But the point is not to understand everything, it’s just to learn whatever you can and to not worry about the rest. For learning purposes outside of the classroom, listening can be relaxing. You don’t have to react, and there are no right or wrong answers.
If you find it frustrating or boring to watch or listen to something you don’t understand, maybe first watch something that involves a topic you’re really interested in, or that you’ve seen already in your first language. Hopefully, this should help you to enjoy it and understand a bit more, because not only is it more familiar, but you can also see what’s happening and get cues from facial expressions the way people’s lips move. If you are already at upper-intermediate level or higher, you could also turn on the subtitles. This may seem a strange thing to say - shouldn’t beginners do that? Well, no - and here’s why: If you’re a beginner and you turn on the subtitles, you’ll stop listening and just read your own language. But, if you have a good level of English, you can compare what you hear in English with what you see in the subtitles. Are there any missing words or sentences? Have the subtitles simplified what was said? Is the translation inaccurate or even wrong (this happens rarely, but it’s possible!).
As for listening only, i.e. to the radio and podcasts, this is definitely better than not listening to anything at all. And it’s particularly good (more challenging!) for advanced learners because you don’t get those cues I mentioned above.
I’d love to know what you watch or listen to in English and what you’ve learnt as a result – please don’t hesitate to write about it in the comments section below.
So now all you need to do is get comfortable and get listening!
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