The Key to Improved Listening Comprehension

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

I spend most of my time listening. Listening comprehension is where the action is, in my opinion. If you can understand movies, podcasts, conversations, the other end of the conversation, you can eventually get to where you can hold up your end of the conversation.

0:00 Listening comprehension is where the action is!
0:52 Two times in my life when I didn't understand what was being said to me in another language and what they taught me.
3:33 Don't criticize yourself when you don't understand; being in a situation where you don't understand is GOOD.
4:59 My advice when it comes to listening comprehension.

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My Podcast:

#listeningcomprehension #languagelearning #languages

[Thelinguist]

What kinds of listening comprehension activities do you find helpful?

[ish]

I smiled when you related the two incidents. I have friends, excellent English speakers, who had to leave their native country in the 1980's because of persecution. They'd learned English at school and spoke it well. They then spent two years in an intermediate country until they were assigned to the UK by the UN and during that time they conversed in English. As one of them said, all this time I'd been speaking English and felt prepared, then someone spoke to me at Heathrow airport when we arrived and "I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD!!!" 🤣

[helenemorgenstern]

I am a native Russian speaker. Ladies at the cashier desk on train stations are impossible to understand.

Thank you for the inspiration!

[thenaturalyogi]

😹 I've been speaking English my whole life and sometimes I still misunderstand things, so I'd expect as much in the other languages I speak and the languages I am learning.

[capslocked]

i love that steve promotes the idea that its fine to not understand everything in one go, you pick things up subconsciosly and sometimes forget the simple things, its all part of the journey

[Elspm]

I think it's good to remember that in our native language we fairly regularly ask people to repeat themselves in new situations. We're just way more vigilant of it in our target language!

[mainlander]

I frequently notice how sometimes I don't understand some terms and slang people from younger or older generations say in my own language, so we really shouldn't be hard on ourselves about not understanding something in a foreign language we speak, even if we have a good proficiency level.

[tedc]

Very very helpful. It explains what we've all experienced. The two short stories were a very good way to explain by example. Listeners will remember them and think "Oh, this is just like what happened to Steve..."

[petecam]

I can attest that doing a lot of listening is key. When I started learning Spanish, I couldn’t understand anything when they were talking fast, but since I’ve kept at it, I can understand more and more natural spoken Spanish. At first I could only really understand Spanish that was being spoken for learning purposes very slowly and enunciated perfectly. Now I can understand most naturally spoken Spanish.

[fleetze]

So many of your lessons can be summed up as "go easy on yourself and just keep trying". An important lesson though nonetheless and it bears repeating in a world that is harsh to itself and each other.

[coryjorgensen]

So true, Steve! I had a similar situation in Keflavik, Iceland. My level was near B2 and I could easily understand audiobooks, podcasts, radio, etc. I went to buy a coffee and the server asked if I wanted a receipt. For some reason it threw me off guard and made her repeat in English. Needless to say, I learned that phrase!

[jimmyf]

Very true - listen, listen and listen. I was brought up in an English speaking school and my English level was quite good. When I first went to study in the U.K., I could only understand roughly 70% of what the teachers said in class, which really surprised me because I thought I would be able to understand more than that. But being immersed in the country and by listening and talking to school mates and teachers, I could already understand over 90% in a few months’ time, except some of the rare words or vocabularies they used. Having said this, I think a lot have to do with the different accents I encountered rather than not actually knowing the words…….

[kerim.peardon]

I remember my second year of Spanish, our previous (American) teacher left and was replaced by a woman from Mexico in her first teaching position. She greeted the class the first day and asked something very basic. And we all sat there and stared at her. She repeated herself. And we continued to look at her blankly. And she grew very alarmed that we didn't know something so basic, even though we were second-year students. She wrote the sentence down on the board and asked, "You don't know this?" And then the entire class said, that's what you were saying!" and we were able to reply to her.

It took us a few weeks to adjust to the way that she, as a native speaker, pronounced things.

[justlove]

i always listen to you at least 1 video on youtube, i found that i can understand mostly 95% . Thanks our teacher, really appreciation .

[kurtthecat]

I had the same experience at different German bakeries around the country. They will usually ask "anything else?" but can ask it several different ways. There was one time I was caught off guard and didn't know what they were asking.

[tomaaron]

We moved from Montreal to the .Black Forest in Germany when .I was a teen. My German schoolmates and I I would cross over to Alsace, France. They would get frustrated at not being understsbd the locals despite taking French in school. I would tell them not to feel bad as I went to school for 8 years in French and even I only understood 80% at first. Asking someone to clarify a word or expression can be a real positive in opening up a more intimate dialogue as they are often then curious about your background and happy to help. I always try to praise their local dialect and culture. Sometimes we even start exaggerating our dialect and vocabulary for fun,

The same happened with English when visiting my mom’s family in London. It’s good To turn being ‘different’ into being a positive novelty as it gives chance to have lots of speaking opportunities.

[flashgordon]

I've said it before, but I'll say again, thank you for all your advice and perspective! It really has helped to keep me from getting discouraged as I grind my way through Japanese, which I love, but it is so hard...

[romanlakes]

Thank you Steve, I’ve been really pushing myself with exposure to Spanish and being quite resilient in regards to not understanding things, but still getting frustrated if I don’t understand at times. This is a great reminder and I think it’s important no matter what level you’re at. I’ve been here before a lower levels and now I’m here again, just with a higher level of comprehension!

[DG-xzno]

Earlier in my life I spent a few years reading in English, but I didn't listen much in those days. And now I've been listening a lot for a few months to improve my listening comprehension and to balance my skills. Also, I didn't even try to speak in English previously, but recently I've started to message with Nomi AI and to write comments on YouTube.

[tobikrutt]

I have found language partners to be helpful to prepare for the kinds of everyday situations that you describe. They can help you role play things like ordering in a restaurant, buying a train ticket, asking for directions etc. I have always learned things to say or not to say in these scenarios that I would never have known otherwise. I actually was just talking to an Italian language partner yesterday about restaurants and asking directions, and learned some vocabulary, phrases, and "do's and don'ts" that I don't think I ever would have found in a book or video.