5 ways to listen better In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, “We are losing our listening.”
In this short, fascinating talk, Julian Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening — to other people and the world around you 5 ways to listen better.
There are some great tips here for language learners.
Listening is probably the most difficult task for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. The most important thing is to listen, and that means as often as possible – regularity really is the key.
Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated by your limited understanding.
Here are a few action steps you can take:
- Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.
- Stay relaxed when you do not understand — even if you continue to have trouble understanding for a while.
- Do not translate into your native language.
- Listen for the gist (or general idea) of the conversation.
- Don’t concentrate on detail until you have understood the global ideas.
First, translating creates a barrier between the listener and the speaker. Second, most people repeat themselves constantly.
By remaining calm, you can usually understand what the speaker had said.
However, understanding is the final goal and there is a long road to get there, fist you need to be able to hear the sounds that make up a language.
Go on, try these 5 ways to listen better