3 Myths & Facts about Listening Skills and How to Learn Them
Listening skills in a second language help to connect us to others’ ideas and experiences. Language Learners want the ability to understand and respond to them in an effortless way!
But there are many “myths” about listening skills that makes them feel impossible to learn.
Keep reading to learn three important truths about building your listening skills!
Myth #1: Good Listeners Understand Every Word That Speakers Say
Fact: Good Listeners Focus on Important Language Clues.
Even Native Speakers don’t understand every word in a conversation.
Especially when they listen to native speakers with a different accent.
Instead, we focus on “content” words and “fill in” little “connecting words” that speakers say in between the words that are most important.
1. “Content Words” are words about real objects, actions, and descriptions.
2. “Connecting Words” do a special “grammar” job to help express your ideas.
Example: “I drank a coffee with my friend”
Content Words: drank , coffee, friend Connecting Words: I, a , with , my
Surprisingly, fluent speakers don’t think about connecting words!
Instead, most of our attention is on our content words and we highlight them we speak!
Language science shows us that native speakers automatically "insert" connectors when they listen.
And, Language Learners can learn to “insert” connecting words with practice, too!
Myth #2: Fluent English Speakers Talk Very Quickly
Fact: We “Squeeze” our Connecting Words Together!
Remember that fluent speakers focus on content words and “insert” their connectors.
The secret is that we actually pronounce them differently too!
We slow down when we say our content words and highlight them with “stress.”
And we “squeeze” our connecting words together to make sentences easier to say.
This is why fluent English sounds so "fast" for Language Learners.
Here's an example:
“Did you drink a coffee?”
It sounds like:
“Didjoo drinka coffee?” or even "Djoo drinka coffee?"
When you practice hearing these patterns in a great English Conversation class,
You can not only speak English naturally but also listen to English effortlessly.
Myth #3: Beginners Can’t be Good Listeners
Fact: Beginners Can Learn Patterns for Great Listening!
This is just the beginning! There are lots of little "tricks" to make listening easier for you.
And with little clues just like these, you can build the effortless listening skills you want!
And become the Excellent Listener and connect with ideas in English.
Book an "English Conversation Class with Chris" to start developing your skills today.
