5 Tips for Improving Your Comprehension of Spoken Language

Learning a new language can be a challenging and time-consuming process, and it's not uncommon for language learners to feel frustrated or discouraged along the way. One of the reasons it can be difficult to understand spoken language in a foreign language is that we are often not taught how to listen. We are so used to listening without thinking about it in our own language that trying to understand a foreign language can feel painful and impossible. However, there are strategies that can help us become better listeners and improve our understanding of spoken language in a new language. In this article, we will discuss some of the common challenges that language learners face when trying to understand spoken language and provide some tips for overcoming these challenges and improving your listening skills.

Words = Sounds

When listening to a foreign language, it's important to remember that words are just sounds. In the beginning, it may seem like everything is just a jumbled mess of noise. This is because our brains are used to filtering out background noise and focusing on what is meaningful to us. However, this can make it difficult to understand a foreign language. One way to improve your listening skills is to stop trying to understand the words and just listen to the sounds. Think of the speech as you would a dog barking or a toddler mumbling. Over time, your brain will get used to the sounds and you will be able to understand the language better.

Here are some examples of how to apply the idea that "words are just sounds" when learning a new language:

1. When listening to native speakers, try not to focus on the meaning of each word or phrase. Instead, just listen to the sounds and rhythms of the language, without trying to understand the specific words being used.

2. Practice listening to recordings of native speakers and repeating what you hear, without worrying about the meaning of the words. This can help your brain become more accustomed to the sounds of the language and make it easier for you to understand spoken language in the future.

3. When practicing listening comprehension, try to focus on the overall flow of the conversation rather than trying to translate each word or phrase. This can help you get used to the rhythms and patterns of the language and improve your listening skills.

4. Try to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible, whether by listening to music, watching movies or TV shows, or interacting with native speakers. This can help your brain become more accustomed to the sounds of the language and improve your listening skills.

When listening to a foreign language, it's important to take the words at face value and not try to correct the pronunciation or sentence structure. For example, if someone from Louisiana says "Dat ball bounced side to side," a native English speaker would not try to correct the speaker's accent or grammar. Instead, they would accept the words as they are and understand the meaning without questioning it. Similarly, if a Caribbean Spanish speaker says "Como eta mi amol?" (which translates to "Como estas mi amor" in textbook Spanish), a non-native learner should not try to change the speaker's accent or tone of voice. It's important to accept the words as they are and understand their meaning, rather than trying to change them to fit a more familiar structure.

Stop Translating In Your Head

One of the challenges of learning a new language is the tendency to translate words we already know into our native language. When we hear a word we recognize in our target language, we often isolate it and start thinking about its meaning in our own language. For example, if someone says "pelota" in Spanish, we might think "Oh, he just said ball." However, this habit can disrupt our ability to listen and understand the rest of the conversation in real time. Instead of translating words as we hear them, it can be more helpful to accept them at face value and look up their meanings later if needed. By becoming comfortable with not immediately understanding everything, our brains can make connections through repetition and eventually we will be able to understand the conversation naturally.

Listening to spoken language in a foreign language can be a challenging and frustrating experience, especially if you are not used to the rhythms, accents, and sounds of the language. One reason for this is that many people have not been taught how to listen to spoken language in a way that allows them to understand and comprehend what is being said. This is especially true when trying to understand a foreign language, as the sounds and structures of the language may be very different from our own. To improve your listening skills and better understand spoken language, it is important to practice listening and to approach listening in a different way. Here are some tips for improving your listening skills:

1. Don't try to understand the words as individual units. In the beginning, everything may sound like a jumbled mess of incomprehensible noise. Instead of trying to understand specific words, try to focus on the sounds and rhythms of the language. Over time, your brain will become accustomed to these sounds and you will be able to understand them more easily.

2. Accept the words as they are. When listening to spoken language, try to take the words at face value and don't try to change or correct the pronunciation or accent of the speaker. Instead, focus on understanding the meaning of what is being said, even if the words are not spoken in a way that is familiar to you.

3. Stop translating. When listening to a foreign language, it can be tempting to try to translate the words into your own language as you hear them. However, this can be a hindrance to your listening skills, as it can distract you from the sounds and rhythms of the language. Instead, try to focus on understanding the meaning of what is being said, rather than trying to translate it word for word.

4. Watch without subtitles or sandwich your subtitles. Reading subtitles can be a crutch that hinders your listening skills, as it can distract you from the sounds and rhythms of the language. Instead, try to watch TV shows or movies without subtitles, or try the "sandwich" method, where you watch an episode or movie three times: once without subtitles, once with subtitles, and once without subtitles again.

To improve your listening skills in Spanish, it's important to listen to the language as much as possible, even if you don't understand everything at first. It's also helpful to focus on one particular accent at a time, before moving on to others. This will help you get used to the rhythms and sounds of the language and make it easier to understand different accents in the future. To really master listening in Spanish, aim to listen to the language for several hours each day, without frequent interruptions. After a few months of focusing on a specific accent, you can move on to others, but try not to spread yourself too thin by juggling too many different accents at once. Eventually, you will become accustomed to the flow of the language and be able to understand even accents that you haven't specifically studied.

To further improve your active listening skills, try repeating back the phrases you hear while listening to the language every few days. Don't worry about understanding the meaning or whether you are saying it correctly – just focus on accurately repeating what you hear. You can also try counting the syllables of the words you hear, rather than what you think the textbook version of the word should be. This can help you improve your ability to focus and listen actively.