How to Improve Your Listening

Everyone knows that there are four skills in learning a language， namely listening， speaking， reading and writing. They are always related in terms of usage， and speaking is viewed by learners as the most desirable skill in face-to-face communication in the globalization era. However， what is the answer to the following questions？
　　* What do you have to do before you speak？
　　* What does a child learn before he talks？
　　* What do you do before chatting？
　　Listen， of course！
　　In English learning， not enough attention is paid to listening. You have one mouth but two ears！ Therefore， we should listen twice as much as we speak. Did you ever ask yourself， “How did I learn my own language？” In fact you never really learned it at all —— you just started speaking it. But this speaking was the result of hearing your native language for two or three years. All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking. For two years words went IN to your head and then words came OUT of your head. That is why hearing （and listening to） English as much as possible is so important to you now. The more English you put in， the more you'll get out！
　　Why is listening good for you ？
　　Listening is good for the English student because：
　　1. When listening， you are reviewing a lot of English usage such as vocabulary， grammatical structures， intonation， accent and your own interpretation.
　　2. You can learn new words and expressions by hearing them frequently.
　　3. General knowledge gained from television or radio news， features， or even advertising spots is certainly beneficial if you are a regular listener.
　　4. You can imitate what you hear and apply it with great confidence.
　　5. Listening can be a great “hobby” while you do other things such as cooking， exercising， relaxing， etc. In other words， you have no wasted time at all.
　　6. Listening is also a great way to train your attention.
　　The results of good listening
　　Confidence
　　To be able to listen well gives you confidence in communication. And the more confident you are at listening the more confident you will be at speaking.
　　Good communication
　　You can only talk sensibly when you can understand what is said to you. Failing that， you may miss important information presented to you， or respond in a funny way. Good communication means longer communication that is worthwhile communication. The better you become at communication the more foreigners will want to talk with you.
　　Develop good listening skills
　　Listening in everyday life is a real-time skill. Unlike reading， you often don't have the chance to adjust the pace of speech， listen again or check an unknown word. The need to understand what you hear on the spot makes it even more crucial that you develop the ability to listen well.
　　Basic advice about improving your listening
　　1. Don't worry if you don't understand every word. Do you think that listening is about getting every word that is spoken？ If so， think again. Even though good listeners may be able to get every word they hear， this is not their concern most of the time， as our experience with our first language tells us. Have objectives. So do specify your listening objectives when you carry out a listening activity. As long as you achieve your objectives， you are a good listener —— whether you catch every word or not.
　　2. Be a good listener. To start to be a good listener try this. Face the speaker squarely， lean slightly toward the speaker， do not fold your arms across your chest， look at the speaker， let them know you are attending. The speaker will pick up on this and will also become more relaxed. Listening is a part of communication.
　　Good listening habits
　　1. Pay attention to the listener， even though the subject may be boring.
　　2. Wait for the speaker to finish before you speak.
　　3. Maintain eye contact.
　　4. Listen for feelings as well as subject matter.
　　5. Show non-verbal responses to listening to demonstrate that you are listening such as nodding， smiling， leaning forward， etc.
　　6. Give brief verbal responses： “Yes，” “Yeah”， “Uh-hum，” “M-m-m，” “Oh，” etc.
　　7. Only ask questions to clarify something said.
　　8. Demonstrate you have an open mind by not responding negatively to the other person's ideas or feeling.
　　9. Paraphrase what you hear to make sure you have heard it correctly.
　　10. Work to make yourself really want to listen.
　　11. Listen carefully to understand the main message.
　　12. Maintain emotional control， no matter what is said.
　　Bad listening habits
　　The following are bad listening habits and can become irritating to the speaker. Try to avoid them whenever possible.
　　1. Interrupting the speaker.
　　2. Not looking at the speaker.
　　3. Rushing the speaker and making him feel that he's wasting the listener's time.
　　4. Showing interest in something other than the conversation.
　　5. Getting ahead of the speaker and finishing his thoughts.
　　6. Not responding to the speaker's requests.
　　7. Saying， “Yes， but … ” as if the listener has made up his mind.
　　8. Topping the speaker's story with “That reminds me … ” or “That's nothing， let me tell you about … ”
　　9. Forgetting what was talked about previously.
　　10. Asking too many questions about detail.
　　Practical ways to improve your listening
　　The following are just a few ways in which you can improve your listening.
　　Radio. Listen to the radio， especially Voice of America （VOA） and the BBC World Service. News reports are ideal practice materials because they are easily accessible and there is a real reason for you to listen. You want to know what's happening in the world. You could wake up five minutes earlier and listen to the news in English. Make it a goal to learn several new words every time. Try to imitate the announcer. Talk along with him.
　　Television. TV is an excellent resource for hearing and listening to English. The pictures help you understand what is being said. Especially watch CCTV 9， which is the English channel， to improve your listening skills. Try watching the news in English instead of Chinese. If you don't have access to a TV you may be able to watch movies on the Internet. Listening to others talk is good preparation for talking yourself.
　　Internet. It is now a lot easier to hear English-language radio news on the Internet. To be able to listen to radio on the Internet， you'll need to have special software called “players” installed on your computer. Most sites work with two players —— the RealPlayer from RealNotworks and the Windows Media Player from Microsoft. Both these packages are free and you may already have them installed on your computer. Search for English material on the net. Instead of chatting in Chinese on the net why not try chatting in English！ Check out web sites on the Internet that have been designed for， or by， students. Dave's ESL Cafe （www daveseslcafe.com）， Linguistic Funland （www. linguistic-funland.com/ tesl. html） and Virtual English Language Center （www. comenius.com） are good examples. Why not try 2english.com.cn which has recently come on line and is a joint Sino-British language learning project with support from the British Council， China Central Radio and Television University and the BBC. Two sections of this free website will interest you： “Living English” offers English language materials developed by the BBC and focuses on recreational English for sports， travel and music. “Working English” is intended for business professionals and has a systematic business English programme to improve business vocabulary， negotiation techniques and spoken English.
　　Music/ songs. Songs in English are everywhere， even on foreign-language radio and TV stations. Listen to them often and try to read the words of their songs. Repeat. Sing along. Write five sentences using some of the new words you hear. Enjoy singing in English with your friends. When you go to Karaoke bar try to sing at least one English song. Buy some cassettes or CDs， or make recordings， and try to write the words for an entire song. （Warning： don't depend on texts provided in Chinese magazines or On CD covers because they sometimes contain errors.）
　　Cinema. Outside the English-speaking world， many large cities have cinemas that show films in English， usually with subtitles. Make it a habit to go to these films. When you go to see English films， try not to read the Chinese subtitles. If you need to read the subtitles， at least you'll be hearing English even if you don't understand it.
　　Video/ VCD/ DVD. DVD has one really great advantage. You can play it over again. You can turn ordinary viewing into an active language learning exercise by：
　　（a） stopping the disc and comparing what you hear to what the subtitles say
　　（b） keeping a diary of any new expressions or words you learn
　　（c） recording any interesting or unusual translations you hear
　　（d） taking notes of any gestures or other body language you see
　　（e） covering any subtitles with paper （which you can remove if you really don't understand after listening several times）
　　（f） recording programmes from television and then watching them several times to improve your understanding
　　（g） playing English video games！
　　Tapes. Listen to tapes. Find books-on-tapes in your local library. Listen while you are relaxing in your dormitory or while walking or cycling if you have a Walkman. Choose a famous person whose accent you like， and if you can get recordings of him or her， imitate the way he/she speaks. You could also tape your own voice and analyse your own speech. You could also send a copy to your foreign teacher and let them correct your grammar and pronunciation. Exchange taped messages with a classmate. Record a few minutes and then ask your classmate to respond on the same tape.
　　Lectures. Lectures are the main way of communicating knowledge at university， so it would be of great benefit if you can improve your ability to better understand lectures. Comprehending academic lectures in a second language is not an easy task， because it involves skills such as coping with the lecturer's speech characteristics （e.g. accent， speed， intonation， expressions）， identifying the main ideas， and not-taking. Try the following suggestions：
　　* Jot down notes of the main points of the lecture and compare this with the lecturer's handout to see what you have got or missed
　　* Compare and discuss your comprehension with another student's
　　* Record the lecture using a Walkman and check your comprehension and notes as you listen to it again （but do be courteous and ask the lecturer for permission before making the recording）
　　* Review your notes shortly after the lecture to help you to remember the contents better， annotating or highlighting any key points for easy revision
　　Friends. Find a friend who also wants to improve his or her English and have lunch or dinner together —— speaking English of course. Make it a rule to have one evening a week in your dormitory as an English evening when only English is spoken. Introduce penalties if this rule is broken. Of course， this will practice your listening as well as your speaking. And if you don't have a lot of time to go out and meet people， at least you can chat a little by telephone. Play games printed in English， which require some knowledge of English （Monopoly， Scrabble， Life， Dictionary， etc.）。 Before starting， come up with a repertoire of basic commands for playing， and encourage the other players to speak only English.
　　Finally. Don't worry if you don't understand everything you hear. Hearing comes first！ Understanding comes next！

How to improve your spoken English

Improve Your English Speaking and English Pronunciation Skills
The first rule of speaking English is to speak clearly, concisely and use simple vocabulary. KISS - keep it short and simple.
Remember you probably won't just speak to native speakers. There are roughly 380 million native speakers, but as many as a billion people speak it as a second language. So it's a good idea to avoid idioms and slang (I always say learn it, but don't use it). It might sound clever to say "You're barking up the wrong tree," but if you misuse it or if the other person doesn't understand you, you'll only look silly when you try to explain what you meant to say, or what it actually means.
There's also a saying in English "Have you swallowed a dictionary?" It is applicable to anyone who uses long, complicated words when a shorter word will do. Short sentences are just as good (if not better) than long explanations. The value in what you have to say is what you say, not how clever you look or sound when you say it.
Pronunciation skills
Accents don't matter, as long as people can understand you, so pronunciation is important.
Learn the phonetic alphabet.
List words that have the same sound add to the lists as you learn more words.
For example words that rhyme with me:-
Work on one problem sound at a time. Read slowly concentrating on the pronunciation of particular words. Record yourself, keep the tape and record yourself later, have you improved? Don't be shy - ask a friend to listen to the tape too.
Don't worry about sounding like a native, it is more important to speak clearly and pleasantly than it is to sound like the Queen of England.
The most important thing to think about is can people understand you? If you have a problem being understood then find someone who speaks English clearly and try to copy the way they speak. Pay particular attention to speed and diction.
English speaking tips
Read short stories out loud and try to see, say and hear the words to reinforce your memory. Record yourself and play it back later, how does it sound?
Talk to friends who are also learning English. Go out together for coffee and only speak English to each other!Find native English speaking friends:-
You can find ePals on the Internet!
Visit an Irish/English/Australian theme pub. Often, the waiters and waitresses come from English-speaking countries, the menu is often in English too!
You can find pen pals through specialist magazines. See my Resources Page for details of a few.
Join an English club or conversation group. Around the world there are many English speaking clubs, these clubs aren't just for expats but for people interested in the English way of life. They are friendly and fun. For a list of English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as your phone book, your local newspaper and your local university. Or if there isn't one in your area - start one! Place an advertisement in your newspaper for people interested in starting a group or go to Meetup.
There are several internet based voice chat programmes out there: iVisit Pal Talk MSN Web Messenger Yahoo! Messenger Google Talk Skype and lots more.

How To Learn English!

Speak without Fear
The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all. Don’t do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it – again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Don’t let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.
Use all of your Resources
Even if you study English at a language school it doesn’t mean you can’t learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. There are many different ways you can improve your English, so don’t limit yourself to only one or two. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it's perfect.
Surround Yourself with English
The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English.” .
Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible
There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it. However, there are several reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate. The closer ESL / EFL students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.
Watch English Films and Television
This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective. By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors. If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.
Listen to English Music
Music can be a very effective method of learning English. In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension. The best way to learn though, is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings. There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time. And if you like to sing, fine.
Study As Often As Possible!
Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language.
Do Exercises and Take Tests
Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun. However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give you a benchmark to compare your future results with. Often, it is by comparing your score on a test you took yesterday with one you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned. If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing. Start now by doing some of the many exercises and tests on this site, and return in a few days to see what you've learned. Keep doing this and you really will make some progress with English.
Record Yourself
Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time. You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.
Listen to English
By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audiobooks or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you can’t see the person that is speaking to you. Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.
Finally
Have fun!

Ways to Learn English

The question of how to learn English better and more effectively is put to me often by my students. The learning of English is complex and has no panacea. Only hard work and commitment can improve one’s language skills. The learners of English must ask the question for themselves : What is my motivation to study English? You need the right motivation to maintain the intensity over time to develop effective English language skills. With that said, there are a few effective methods to learn English.
　The most obvious way to improve English would be direct contact with native speakers or in a studying environment where English is used as the main communication vehicle. Also, speak English with Chinese who have a good command of it. It is essential to have the fundaments of English mastered before communicating directly with a native speaker. If you do not have a basic understanding of English, then talking with take place.
Just as important, I discovered that reading English newspapers, essays and books would greatly improve one’s English. In fact, native English speakers who read a great deal are usually good at oral expression. In the English language reading is very critical to a person’s ability to speak well. Reading builds a vocabulary and phrasal use in context. This is a way to avoid “Chinglish”. Reading builds an important sense and knowledge of the language. English is a phrasal and idiomatic language and reading enhances your knowledge on how to understand them and their patterns.My fellow students : always remember your English will get improved if you are interested, have enough exposure to it, and are motivated. Never allow frustration defeat you. Good luck and enjoy learning English. You are bound to succeed.

Why do we learn english?

Little or much, well or poorly, many of us today have learnt English. But have we ever come up with an ask questioning why we basically do that? In my learning English, many people have asked me why I learn English. Normally, I would answer either saying that I just simply enjoy it or explaining it for the want to better communicate with the foreign people. And I guess most of people would think it so or probably agree more to the latter one.
Truth is, I still don't really know what I am working so hard for. As a matter of fact, I often question myself, wondering if I really like learning English. After much deliberation, I still can't decide if I really love it, I mean the simple and pure love that solely motivates me to keep learning. And for how I started learning English, it was just something that I can't choose. English seems like a subject set by school which symbolizes something that we have to deal with, not something we actively want. Besides, I don't see any students using English out of exams if English is said to be a useful and helpful language. These are all the ideas that would occasionally rush through my mind. I would like to ask, if so, why do we still need to learn so much English that it almost becomes a regularity to take English lesson every day?
All the people around me took it just a silly question to answer. They ended up laughing off the question though none of them was able to give me a definite reason of why. I thought a lot about that later myself. After cogitating for a long time, I fianlly came up with a convincing answer to my question. To learn English is just as all the other things we learn to do which should not be understood solely as a purpose of something, but the process. I know the opinion may be a little bit old as to be applied to learning things. But it is reallly the case that if you don't even learn to enjoy the process, you are not to have something valuable gained and obtained. We always like to learn English for the clear and seemingly inevitable purpose of going abroad or just getting a higher exam score. It is actually these burdens that make the learning hard and ourselves perplexed over times. In fact, we don't necessarily need to find out what our aim is in learning English and basically we can't. No one never knows how , when and why English would help us in the future. English can just be taken as a skill or hobby. We learn it for we like it. Isn't that an easier way to explain,understand and motivate? Really, we need not spend time figuring out why we learn it just as I did because learning it does not need a reason.