21
Dec
2009
English Listening Skills
Preparing for English Exams
Most English language exams, including the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English and the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), will test a candidate’s listening comprehension skills. This could involve listening to CDs or tapes, whether recordings of conversations, songs or radio programs, then answering questions on the content of these recordings. Depending on the exam, the recording may be played several times. Before the recording is played, the candidate should read the questions carefully to determine what exactly they need to know.
The first time the candidate should focus on understanding the general gist of the recording, without taking in details or writing any notes. After the first time, candidates can take quick notes of key words or phrases, listening out specifically for information they are required to give. If you can’t find the answer to one of the questions, don’t get stuck on it but move on to try and answer the rest of the test.
Listening Skills
Listening involves three main steps: hearing, understanding and judging. The first just involves simply being able to perceive the sounds. The next step is to understand the meaning of the sounds, both the individual words and sentences as a whole. The final step is to judge whether what you have heard and understood makes sense in regards to the context, and comprehending the implications.
Listening skills for ESL students can be difficult to acquire, since these skills cannot be taught like English grammar or vocabulary. There are two main things that help improve listening skills. The first is getting over the mental block of trying to translate every word that is heard. The aim is to understand the general meaning, so it is okay not to catch every word. The second thing is to practice listening, but in short periods a couple of times a week. Don’t watch an entire film at first, just listen to different clips a couple of times a week.