How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Ask specific questions about your target languages. Beginner questions welcome!
User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby Carmody » Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:17 am

I am very grateful for everyone taking so very much time to answer this question in such detail. It is greatly appreciated.

Now, what I have to do is study everyone's responses and see what works for me over time. And it will probably change as my study progresses, but I certainly have a lot to work with.

Thank you so very much.

...i am a work in progress...
0 x

User avatar
sporedandroid
Blue Belt
Posts: 656
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:54 am
Languages: English (N), Spanish (heritage/intermediate), Hebrew (A2-B1)
x 1371

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby sporedandroid » Sun Jan 02, 2022 7:00 am

-Do you slow down the speed when listening?
No, but at A2 and below I repeat audio clips
-Do you use subtitles?
When they’re available I do, but I listen to plenty of podcasts without transcripts.
-Do you listen to the same material many times at different speeds?
I don’t bother changing speed like I said before. I also don’t like to relisten to the same material if it’s very long.
-Do you have it running in the background during the day?
No, but I like to listen to podcasts while going for walks or playing simple video games.
-Do you listen intensively for a short time or do you listen extensively for a long time?
As a beginner I definitely did more intensive listening. There wasn’t really anything that was my level and I just find textbook dialogues too tedious. For a while I did a mix of both. I extensively listened to podcasts on familiar topics, but intensively listened to news stories on YouTube with subtitles. Lately I haven’t really been doing intensive listening. I think I’ll start using GLOSS more this year, which has listening comprehension questions that push my comprehension further. I’m at a stage where it’s getting easy to ignore the things I don’t understand.
4 x

Caromarlyse
Green Belt
Posts: 387
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:31 pm
Languages: English (N), French (C1-ish), German (B2/C1-ish), Russian (B1-ish), Portuguese (B1-ish), Welsh (complete beginner), Spanish (in hibernation)
(All levels estimates and given as a guide only)
x 1611

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby Caromarlyse » Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:58 am

-Do you slow down the speed when listening?
Only if I need to go back and catch something I missed.

-Do you use subtitles?
Sometimes, but only in the TL. Even the auto-generated ones can help if you're completely stuck. Sometimes I'll put them on and use them to help me write a transcript.

On that note, doing dictations can be helpful, especially for a language like French that is not phonetic. It may also help your grammar (and I have found it a way to pick up new vocabulary). There are a lot of dictées available for free online (with answer keys to check your work), or you can use listening exercises from textbooks if transcripts are available.

-Do you listen to the same material many times at different speeds?
No, unless I'm checking something (as above) or, if I want to quickly find a part and listen again, I'll speed up the audio (out of impatience, rather than anything else).

-Do you have it running in the background during the day?
I've found this kind of passive listening to be surprisingly helpful in terms of driving progress. It's not the only thing I've done, but combined with more active listening, it's been of use for me. And if you're doing it at times when you wouldn't usually be doing anything else of note, I don't think there's much to lose. I do find I listen better if I do this when walking or cleaning rather than whilst being less active. I also like something where I know the subject matter; I find international-type news more accessible than parochial news stories (the cultural barrier then comes into play).

-Do you listen intensively for a short time or do you listen extensively for a long time?
As above, both.

An exercise I've found to be useful is to listen to something (as many times as you need) and take notes, then summarise in writing, and then summarise again orally. You're not going to want to do this all the time, but it does mean you make sure you understand everything and then recycle in your own work authentic turns of phrase. Writing then speaking works for me (I need all the repetition I can get), but either/or would be fine if you had time constraints. For something like this, the clip can be pretty short (3-5 minutes).
6 x

Kraut
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2600
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:37 pm
Languages: German (N)
French (C)
English (C)
Spanish (A2)
Lithuanian
x 3204

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby Kraut » Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:21 am

Caromarlyse wrote:
An exercise I've found to be useful is to listen to something (as many times as you need) and take notes, then summarise in writing, and then summarise again orally. You're not going to want to do this all the time, but it does mean you make sure you understand everything and then recycle in your own work authentic turns of phrase. Writing then speaking works for me (I need all the repetition I can get), but either/or would be fine if you had time constraints. For something like this, the clip can be pretty short (3-5 minutes).


Then you could also do old-fashioned dictations. There are some very good sites with modern, up-to-date material for varied levels. While I consider dictations less helpful for languages where you hear where a word begins and ends, this is the major problem in French with its uninterrupted flow of words. Dictation demands a high level of concentration which is the first condition of long-term retention.
5 x

User avatar
allf100
Orange Belt
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 8:32 am
Location: China
Languages: Hokkien(mother tongue, yet less fluent than my Mandarin)
Mandarin
English
German(A little)
Japanese(A little)
Persian (A little, completely forgot it.)
Sankrit (Just for alphabet, and forgot them all)
x 139

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby allf100 » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:30 am

First, I recited a lot of new words in order to be able to understand. If a person doesn't have enough vocabulary, it will be difficult to improve listening.

Second, I turned on English news. Most of time, I didn't watch or listen to it seriously. Sometimes, I went to another room, and then came back. I didn't understand what anchors were sputtering about then. I was just able to catch some words or some sentences , though written words were not strangers to me.

After around three months, I found myself suddenly could understand 70% or 80% of English news. It was a thrill for me. I thought my subconscious mind had been working for my English listening.

The English programme is not available for me now. I want to brush up my English which becomes rusty. A few days ago I've just downloaded some copyright-free novels in audio. I chose simple novels for listening i.e. Alice In Wonderland. I am playing it aloud when I am walking around, doing housework. I hope the miracle will fall on me again, and I do believe it will.

My two cents.
4 x
Anyone who would like to correct my writing mistakes will be always greatly appreciated.

jackb
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 2:04 pm
Languages: English (N), French (Intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12251
x 789

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby jackb » Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:52 pm

-Do you slow down the speed when listening? No
-Do you use subtitles? Yes, but they are never on when I'm watching the show. I don't seem to possess the talent to watch, listen and read at the same time. I only get 2 out of three. I prefer to read them before, then watch shortly after I've read the so they are fresh in my mind.
-Do you listen to the same material many times at different speeds? I listen to the same material at normal speeds
-Do you have it running in the background during the day? Only after I've listened to it and it all makes sense to me
-Do you listen intensively for a short time or do you listen extensively for a long time? A little of both. It depends on the activity. The best case scenario is that once the intensive material in complete, it will become the stuff that runs in the background. If I'm watching a show or listening to the podcast for fun, then I'll listen extensively for a long time.

If I was in your situation, I would go about it this way:
- Take a week or so to (re)do pronunciation. If my reading far outstrips my listen, I know that I would have a mangled version playing in my head. You may not.
- Head over to GLOSS ( https://gloss.dliflc.edu/ ) and use that for intensive work (transcription, shadowing, repeated listening etc)
- Listen to the completed GLOSS lessons in the background and watch some long documentaries or travel shows on youtube for extensive work
- Once I felt comfortable with that, I would hit a long series iguanamon style

Now that I look at it, this should work at any level. Why am I not doing it now?!?!!! :shock: :roll: :roll: This is why posting is good. Off to GLOSS.

ADMIN EDIT: Fixed the URL BBCode
3 x

User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby Carmody » Thu Jan 06, 2022 3:24 pm

jackb

Many thanks for your comments. I tried out GLOSS and it looks really good.
1 x

User avatar
zenmonkey
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2528
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:21 pm
Location: California, Germany and France
Languages: Spanish, English, French trilingual - German (B2/C1) on/off study: Persian, Hebrew, Tibetan, Setswana.
Some knowledge of Italian, Portuguese, Ladino, Yiddish ...
Want to tackle Tzotzil, Nahuatl
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=859
x 7030
Contact:

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby zenmonkey » Thu Jan 06, 2022 3:40 pm

-Do you slow down the speed when listening?
Not on purpose but I do listen to content that is slowed down. For example, the early ASSIMIL lessons are slowed down, and "Slow News" podcasts were useful early on. But relatively quickly I try to get to regular speed. Now, starting a new language, I find slowed-down content annoying.

-Do you use subtitles?
Yes, absolutely, I use them extensively. I will she shows or sections with subtitles, then without but really only at the A2-B1 level. Or I'll see something in a language I know and re-see it in a target language.
But I try to avoid L1 subs, I find these counterproductive to learning to listen. Or I'll watch with L1 subs and consider that I'm not listening and then watch with L2 subs.

-Do you listen to the same material many times at different speeds?
I will listen to material x10 to x50 when it is small snippets like Assimil or Anki phrases I've chopped from movies. I listen with the text a few times, without then with again.

-Do you have it running in the background during the day?
Never as just background, but I do listen to 2 minutes sections while I drive and *try* to concentrate on the meaning but after the 10th or so repeat, my mind wanders. So I let it wash over me or I stop it and listen to something else before coming back to these dialogues.

I also walk the dog with earphones, but I use that time to listen and repeat. A lot of my listening time is also repeating time.

-Do you listen intensively for a short time or do you listen extensively for a long time?
At the beginning mostly intensively with a lot of repeats. But, as someone noted, it doesn't matter if I don't understand, I'll get it later. I listen so that I can sort of get the gist of the content and move on. When I'm at the point where I can listen to a series or a full podcast it tends to be extensive, I don't take notes, I don't repeat the content.
I rarely listen and take notes but I probably should.

For German, at the B1-B2 level, I also used Anki cards with sound a lot that I had made using subs2srs tool. These were very helpful.
Last edited by zenmonkey on Thu Jan 06, 2022 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
5 x
I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

User avatar
sfuqua
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1642
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:05 am
Location: san jose, california
Languages: Bad English: native
Samoan: speak, but rusty
Tagalog: imperfect, but use all the time
Spanish: read
French: read some
Japanese: beginner, obsessively studying
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9248
x 6299

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby sfuqua » Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:56 pm

I've never had a huge jump in my comprehension in Spanish even with 20 000 minutes of listening/watching. I've watched shows with and without subtitles
I usually just watch shows one time.
I have never had the big jump in comprehension that I had with reading at about 7000 pages.
I mean in Spanish, I can understand audiobooks or the news almost completely, but I have big trouble with emoting people in TV dramas. I have trouble understanding the construction guys around my apartment when they talk to each other. Any suggestions?

Maybe I need the construction guys to hold subtitles when they talk.
2 x
荒海や佐渡によこたふ天の川

the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way
Basho[1689]

Sometimes Japanese is just too much...

seito
Yellow Belt
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed May 02, 2018 10:36 am
Languages: English (N), Japanese (N4/N3)
x 109

Re: How do you begin to listen in your target language?

Postby seito » Thu Jan 06, 2022 8:35 pm

Just wanted to comment on slowed-down audio:

My experience with Japanese audio was that most learner-oriented audio was slowed down, but some was faster with lots of pauses and repetition. It took me similar amounts of effort to learn to understand both. However, with the former, my ability to listen to audio at a faster speed didn't seem to improve much, while the skills I gained from the latter seemed to transfer nicely to audio without the pauses and repetitions.

As a result, I don't try slowing down native audio--while it would help me to understand what's being said in that audio, I don't think it would do much to improve my overall listening ability. Instead, I just load things into WorkAudioBook and repeat a lot.
5 x


Return to “Practical Questions and Advice”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests