Did you ever study another language without feeling like you
understood how it's really spoken? Would you like to get
better at understanding speech in another language? One way
to improve your listening skills and learn to understand
native speakers when they speak at a normal rate is to
listen to the radio in the language you're studying.
Listening carefully can also help you improve your accent
and fluency when you speak. Here's how to get the most out
of your experience.
!! Steps !!
Find a radio station broadcasting [1] in the language you are
studying.
* If you live in an area where the language is spoken, you may find
a local radio station just by scanning the dial. For example, if
you want to learn Spanish and you live in many parts of the United
States, there may be a local station broadcasting in Spanish. If
you live near Quebec, you will probably be able to pick up some
French stations.
* If there is no radio station near you in the language you are
studying, look online for internet radio stations [2]. There are
many possibilities available through live streaming nowadays; read
How to broadcast radio from your computer [3] for more details.
* Try to find a talk radio station or a station that has talk radio
style programming rather than just music. You can listen to music,
too, if you enjoy it, but you'll learn language best by listening
to speech.
* You may have to figure out how to search the web in the language
you're seeking. If you know any native speakers who can help, ask
them to help you find a station for you. If not, use a dictionary
or online translator if you need to, and use a search engine [4]
to search for the word for "radio" and the name of a country or
region in the local language. Don't be afraid to guess a bit to
navigate the sites once you arrive.
* You'll probably be able to find at least a few possibilities in
English-language directories, such as the Radio Locator at
http://www.radio-locator.com/ [5].
Try a few different stations until you find one(s) that seem to
work best. Skip the loudmouth DJs who probably don't make much
sense even to those who do speak the language. For learning the
language [6], you'll be better off if you can find a station that
focuses more on things like news, weather, and call-in advice
programs.
* Find a program that makes you want to listen. If politics is your
thing, find a political talk show or a news broadcast that covers
political developments. If you're a huge soccer fan, tune in to
the game. When you want to understand what's being said for
reasons above and beyond learning the language, learning is
easier.
* Sometimes you can find kids' programming on line, which might have
narration of stories or simpler dialogue that is easier for you to
follow.
Set aside some time each day to listen [7]. Even if you only listen
for five or ten minutes each day, you'll still be exposed to the
language, and that's what you are trying to do.
* Still a foreign language? Don't worry if you don't
understand anything at first. If you're only getting the
occasional word, you're still getting something. Even if you don't
understand a word, you're still hearing the intonation and rhythm,
the sound and the flow of the language. As you progress, you'll
get better at picking out words and interpreting their meanings as
they flow past at the speed of speech. This intonation [8] and
rhythm is also part of the accent that you will develop.
Use any contextual clues available to you to begin to understand
what you hear. One place to start is to listen to things that
repeat.
* The call sign and the commercials repeat exactly, often with
jingles [9] that will help you distinguish them from one another.
Use these things as bookmarks and jumping-off points.
* Things like weather and traffic reports don't repeat exactly, but
they're often quite repetitive, in the sense that they'll always
be talking about sun and rain and delays on freeways.
* The programs themselves repeat less, but you will still have some
context if you figure out that the psychologist is on every day at
8.
Use contextual clues from the radio website.
* If you're listening to Internet radio, see if the website has any
shows as podcasts [10] so that you can back up and listen to a
segment several times. The repetition in listening is an important
part of learning accurately.
* Also look around for transcripts of shows or even little blurbs
that tell you what each show is. Even the titles will give you
something on which to build.
* If you're listening to the news, the website may well have
articles about the same news items that you can refer to while or
after you listen. Even headlines of the articles can be enough to
give you an handle on the topic being discussed.
Don't worry about skipping words you don't know, especially at
first. Looking up every word (even if you can spell it) is a
motivation killer and it's not too effective for remembering the
words. At this point, you're listening for language in general
anyway, not because you actually need the details of each caller's
question.
* Get all you can from context. If you figure out the sense of a
word for yourself, you'll understand that word as it is really
used, and you won't need to think about that word as a translation
[11] of a word in your native language. You will also be far more
likely to remember that word and be able to use it.
* Do look up a word if you have heard it several times and you still
don't understand it.
* Also look up a word if only one word or a few words are preventing
you from understanding the larger meaning.
* If you don't understand all the words, choose the most common and
the ones of interest or relevance to you to learn first. This
strategy means that you will learn words in the order you need
them.
Try to understand a little more each time you listen. One day, you
might figure out that what you're hearing is a weather report [12].
Over the next days, challenge yourself to pick out the words for
"sun" or "rain" or "degrees," and so on. Over time, work up to
understanding more and more what the weather forecast is in the
place where the radio station is based.
Be patient [13] and persistent [14]. Languages are not small or
simple, and learning an new language is a lifetime endeavor. Learn a
few words today, any way you learn them, and learn a few more
tomorrow. Eventually they will grow to add up to meaning, and it
will get easier to understand, and to add on to what you can
understand.
* Find your own balance. It's ultimately up to you how much time to
devote to listening, how much time to devote to other efforts to
learn the language, and how much time to devote to your language
overall. The right mix is the one that works best for you.
* Don't get discouraged by what you don't understand. Instead, treat
it as a challenge [15]. You may find that the announcers speak
clearly enough to understand, but that callers mumbling across
poor phone connections are unintelligible. You may grow to
understand the newscasts but have trouble understanding a
rapid-fire sportscaster. Celebrate what you do understand and what
you are learning, and don't worry too much about the parts that
are still missing.
* Most of all, have fun. If it's drudgery, it will be hard
to make yourself do it every day. If it's fun, a game, a puzzle,
something you look forward to, then you'll be listening to more
and richer broadcasts as the months and years go by, and one day
you'll realize you understood the whole show!
!! Video !!
!! Tips !!
* Recognize what you _are_ getting (even if it's little or nothing
at first) and don't get bogged down on what you're not getting
yet. Keep listening, and you'll get there eventually.
* The radio is patient, and you should be, too. There will be
broadcasts tomorrow and next month, whether you understood today's
or not.
* Listening is only one part of learning a language, so don't only
use the radio. Instead, use the radio to supplement the other
things you're doing to learn the language, whether that be taking
classes (in person or online), reading, working with a
conversation partner or pen pal, practicing your writing, or
anything else. See How to Learn Any Language [16] for general tips
on language learning.
* You'll probably find that longer segments are easier for finding
context than shorter segments.
* Listening to the radio will be most effective when you also learn
some basics of the language from another source.
* Comedy can be a great source of language learning if you enjoy a
laugh. Look for foreign language comedy shows on the radio,
including plays and stand-up. If you can understand another
culture's comedy, then you're ready to immerse yourself in a
visit!
!! Things You'll Need !!
* Radio or internet radio access
* Prior knowledge of channels (optional)
* Notebook for recording anything of interest
* Dictionary
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Learn Any Language [17]
* How to Learn Vocabulary in a Foreign Language [18]
* How to Turn Your iPod Nano Into a Useful Language Learning Tool
[19]
* How to Learn a New Language Fast [20]
* How to Tie in Learning Spanish to Your Interests [21]
!! Article Tools !!
* Read on wikiHow
*
Links:
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[1] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Broadcasting-Online
[2] http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Internet-Radio-Station
[3] http://www.wikihow.com/Broadcast-Radio-from-Your-Computer
[4] http://www.wikihow.com/Search-the-Internet
[5] http://www.radio-locator.com/
[6] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-a-Language-Faster
[7] http://www.wikihow.com/Listen
[8] http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Hieroglyphic.jpg
[9] http://www.wikihow.com/Sing-Jingles
[10] http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Podcasting
[11] http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-Interpretation-and-Translation
[12] http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Weather-Report-Using-Google-Instant
[13] http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient
[14] http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Persistent
[15] http://www.wikihow.com/Step-Out-of-Your-Comfort-Zone
[16] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Any-Language
[17] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Any-Language
[18] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Vocabulary-in-a-Foreign-Language
[19] http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Your-iPod-Nano-Into-a-Useful-Language-Learning-Tool
[20] http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-a-New-Language-Fast
[21] http://www.wikihow.com/Tie-in-Learning-Spanish-to-Your-Interests
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