losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Ask specific questions about your target languages. Beginner questions welcome!
drp9341
Orange Belt
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:21 pm
Location: NY, USA
Languages: Native: English (US)
C1/C2: Spanish, Italian
B2+: Portuguese
B2: French, Polish
A1: Russian, German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=5978
x 962

losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby drp9341 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 6:38 pm

Hello everyone!

So this is something that really bothers me. Out of all the 4 major skills, (reading, writing, speaking, and listening,) listening is probably the skill I value to most.

Unfortunately, it's the skill I'm often the worst at. And it's a skill I loose very quickly. To give you an example, exactly 1 year ago I was living in Argentina. I was able to watch Argentine soap operas, and if I had headphones and the audio was decent quality, I was honestly able to hear every word. I could effortlessly comprehend dramatic exchanges between characters, without subtitles. (I admit, Sometimes I would need to look up a word :( , but that doesn't have much to do with listening comprehension.)

I haven't really spoke Spanish or used Spanish at all since the end of last February except for a few sporadic conversations, and last week I started watching a TV series in Spanish. It was Spain Spanish, and my comprehension without subtitles was ~75%. I figured it was a question of accent, so I watched an episode of the same Argentinian show I used to watch, and my comprehension was still, maybe 85%.

This week, I've been working on my Spanish a lot, watching a lot of TV in Spanish, with good headphones, paying really close attention to try to hear every word and improve my listening comprehension. I'm back up to about 98% comprehension for regular dialogue, but when the characters speak really fast, I can't keep up.

Is this normal? It seems that most people once they reach a high level of listening comprehension, are able to retain it quite effortlessly.

This is something I've never heard discussed before, and I'm curious to know about everyone here's experiences. Any input is much appreciated!
5 x

User avatar
Dylan95
Orange Belt
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Feb 29, 2016 3:11 pm
Location: USA
Languages: English (N)
Currently Studying
Russian C1
Uzbek B1
Ukrainian B1~

Previously Studied and mostly forgotten
French
Italian
Latin
x 399

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby Dylan95 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:55 pm

Considering you haven't really used Spanish at all for almost a year, I don't find this surprising at all. That's a long time. Just try and fit in a little bit of Spanish on a weekly or almost daily basis, and you'll be sure to maintain your listening abilities. It might be difficult to fit into your schedule, but I think it's certainly worth it.

My Russian comprehension always decays a bit when I'm at home in the US, but not too much, because I make sure to use it for at least 15 minutes a day.

My grandmother grew up with two native languages (English and Italian). She spoke Italian with her grandparents, who didn't speak any English, despite living in the US. They were both dead by the time she was 11, and after that she had no one to speak with. I'm not sure when she really started losing it, but she basically doesn't know any Italian anymore. I would say that I probably knew more than her after a week of intensive Italian classes.
3 x

User avatar
aokoye
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:14 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Languages: English (N), German (~C1), French (Intermediate), Japanese (N4), Swedish (beginner), Dutch (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19262
x 3309
Contact:

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby aokoye » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:38 am

I'm going to echo Dylan95 in saying that it is no real surprise that your Spanish listening skills have declined over the course of a year given that you haven't used the language much if at all in that time. Given the speed that language attrition can happen in adult L1 speakers it's to be expected that the same would happen to L2 speakers.
2 x
Prefered gender pronouns: Masculine

User avatar
rdearman
Site Admin
Posts: 7231
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 4:18 pm
Location: United Kingdom
Languages: English (N)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1836
x 23120
Contact:

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby rdearman » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:56 am

aokoye wrote:Given the speed that language attrition can happen in adult L1 speakers it's to be expected that the same would happen to L2 speakers.


Can you expand on this statement please?
2 x
: 0 / 150 Read 150 books in 2024

My YouTube Channel
The Autodidactic Podcast
My Author's Newsletter

I post on this forum with mobile devices, so excuse short msgs and typos.

User avatar
aokoye
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:14 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Languages: English (N), German (~C1), French (Intermediate), Japanese (N4), Swedish (beginner), Dutch (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19262
x 3309
Contact:

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby aokoye » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:35 pm

I was essentially describing what Dylan95 said but using different words. Language attrition is essentially the decline in language skills and is perhaps most prominent when an L1 speaker of a language moves from a place where that language is spoken to a place where it isn't frequently spoken. That said you can also have attrition of an L1 in an L1 environment like the loss of an accent or dialect and loss of an L2 in L1 contexts like, "I learned so much French and high school and forgot all of it!", among other situations.
0 x
Prefered gender pronouns: Masculine

User avatar
rdearman
Site Admin
Posts: 7231
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 4:18 pm
Location: United Kingdom
Languages: English (N)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1836
x 23120
Contact:

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby rdearman » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:37 pm

aokoye wrote:I was essentially describing what Dylan95 said but using different words. Language attrition is essentially the decline in language skills and is perhaps most prominent when an L1 speaker of a language moves from a place where that language is spoken to a place where it isn't frequently spoken. That said you can also have attrition of an L1 in an L1 environment like the loss of an accent or dialect and loss of an L2 in L1 contexts like, "I learned so much French and high school and forgot all of it!", among other situations.


OK, but you seemed to be implying that this was a quick process. I would expect that were I to move to Italy for a number of years my L1 English wouldn't be lost as quickly as my L2 French.
0 x
: 0 / 150 Read 150 books in 2024

My YouTube Channel
The Autodidactic Podcast
My Author's Newsletter

I post on this forum with mobile devices, so excuse short msgs and typos.

User avatar
aokoye
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:14 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Languages: English (N), German (~C1), French (Intermediate), Japanese (N4), Swedish (beginner), Dutch (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19262
x 3309
Contact:

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby aokoye » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:56 pm

rdearman wrote:
aokoye wrote:I was essentially describing what Dylan95 said but using different words. Language attrition is essentially the decline in language skills and is perhaps most prominent when an L1 speaker of a language moves from a place where that language is spoken to a place where it isn't frequently spoken. That said you can also have attrition of an L1 in an L1 environment like the loss of an accent or dialect and loss of an L2 in L1 contexts like, "I learned so much French and high school and forgot all of it!", among other situations.


OK, but you seemed to be implying that this was a quick process. I would expect that were I to move to Italy for a number of years my L1 English wouldn't be lost as quickly as my L2 French.

I think you may have misinterpreted me in terms of relative speed.

Edit, note I didn't say not try to imply that L1 speakers quickly have a total loss in their L1 skills.
0 x
Prefered gender pronouns: Masculine

NoManches
Blue Belt
Posts: 654
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:21 pm
Location: Estados Unidos (near the Mexican border)
Languages: English - (N)
Spanish - B2 +
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7942
x 1459

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby NoManches » Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:11 pm

I feel like I am having the same exact problem as you. It has been about a year since I actively studied Spanish, although I have had many small opportunities to use the language since I went from studying over 10+ hours/week to barely touching the language.

The other day I started to watch a television show I used to watch religiously when I was studying everyday. I could instantly tell that my listening skills had gotten worse, which isn't saying much because my listening skills have always been my weakest skill. If I understood 90%+ of the show in my "prime", then I only understand about 80% of it now (maybe 85% with certain characters). I picked up a book that I read about a year ago, and found that I understand over 90% of it (when I first read it I probably understood 95% of the book). Yesterday and today I have been speaking Spanish with my dog and find that I still sound very fluent (at least to myself) although there are certain words I completely forget. By the way, all of these percentages are rough estimates.

I can't really answer your question but it seems like what is happening to both of us is a normal thing.

I remember in grade school learning and "mastering" certain math skills, only to forget those skills weeks before the midterm or end of year exam. Then, after "relearning" the same skill you had once "mastered" you feel even more confident with it, picking it up even quicker the second time around. I remember relearning a skill and quickly understanding things that I previously did not understand. It was as if the break had given my brain time to consolidate everything and make links between different skills.

I'm hoping that you and I quickly get back to our old levels of comprehension, but this time do it in a quicker manner and make improvements we could only dream of before. Yes, I think coming back to the language we will be a bit rusty. But, it should only take a short time to get back to where we were before and only a bit longer to start to see new improvements.
2 x
DOUBLE Super Challenge
Spanish Movies
: 10795 / 18000

Spanish Books
: 4415 / 10000

User avatar
reineke
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3570
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:34 pm
Languages: Fox (C4)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=6979
x 6554

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby reineke » Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:50 pm

I've had multiyear and decade-long breaks with some languages with no noticeable change in my listening comprehension. Most recently, I spent around 500 hours on Portuguese of which (350 hrs in Nov - Dec 2016). After a 6-12 months of inactivity I noticed it slipping a bit.
1 x

User avatar
jeff_lindqvist
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3135
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2015 9:52 pm
Languages: sv, en
de, es
ga, eo
---
fi, yue, ro, tp, cy, kw, pt, sk
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2773
x 10461

Re: losing listening comprehension skills quickly

Postby jeff_lindqvist » Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:18 am

The stronger your skill is before the break, the less you will lose - and what you've lost, you'll regain very fast.

This is my experience from a number of disciplines, including languages.
1 x
Leabhair/Greannáin léite as Gaeilge: 9 / 18
Ar an seastán oíche: Oileán an Órchiste
Duolingo - finished trees: sp/ga/de/fr/pt/it
Finnish with extra pain : 100 / 100

Llorg Blog - Wiki - Discord


Return to “Practical Questions and Advice”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests