8 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS IN ENGLISH

Summary

In this educational video, the host shares valuable tips on understanding native English speakers' accents and speech patterns. She recounts her own experience struggling with the British accent and offers practical advice such as practicing listening while reading, slowing down videos for comprehension, and focusing on key words in sentences. The host also discusses the importance of adapting to various accents and using filler words like 'like'. She recommends watching movies and TV shows with subtitles, traveling, and singing along to music to improve listening skills and pronunciation.

Takeaways

• 😀 **Practice Listening and Reading Simultaneously**: Use YouTube and Netflix with subtitles to improve both visual and auditory English comprehension.
• 🎓 **Learn from Music**: Sing along to songs by artists like Britney Spears and Lily Allen to understand accents and improve pronunciation.
• 🎵 **Slow Down the Pace**: Utilize YouTube's speed adjustment feature to slow down videos for better comprehension.
• 🗣️ **Understand Run-on Speech**: Native speakers often speak with phrases running into one word; practice deciphering these to improve listening skills.
• 📚 **Focus on Key Words**: Concentrate on nouns, adjectives, and verbs in sentences to grasp the main ideas, ignoring less critical words like articles and prepositions.
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮 **British Accent Challenge**: The British accent, with its regional variations, can be difficult to understand, but exposure and practice help.
• 🇨🇦 **Canada's Mild Accent**: Canadian English, a mix of American and British influences, is often easier for non-native speakers to understand.
• 🎹 **Play and Sing**: Engage with music through instruments like a piano to practice pronunciation and listening skills.
• 🗣️ **Filler Words**: Recognize and understand the use of filler words like 'like' which are common in casual speech but often don't carry meaning.
• 🌍 **Expose Yourself to Accents**: Travel and immerse yourself in different English-speaking environments to familiarize yourself with various accents.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to provide tips and tricks for non-native English speakers to better understand native speakers, especially when dealing with different accents and fast speech.

Why did the speaker struggle to understand people during their first trip to the UK?

The speaker struggled to understand people because they had learned a 'Russian version' of English in school, which was different from how native British speakers spoke, especially with their distinct accents and word choices.

What is one of the key methods suggested to improve understanding of native speakers?

One key method suggested is to practice listening while reading simultaneously by using subtitles on platforms like YouTube and Netflix. This helps connect visual and auditory learning.

How did the speaker learn to understand British accents?

The speaker learned British accents by listening to British singer Lily Allen and reading the lyrics of her songs. This helped them get accustomed to the distinct British pronunciation.

What can viewers do if the speaker or singers talk too fast?

Viewers can slow down the speed of the video on YouTube to 0.5x or 0.75x to better follow the speech and get used to the natural pace of native speakers.

What is the speaker's advice for understanding native speakers' sentences that sound like one long word?

The speaker advises practicing to understand sentences as a single flow rather than expecting clearly separated words, as native speakers often connect their words in fast, natural speech.

Which words are important to focus on when trying to understand a native speaker?

The speaker suggests focusing on the most important words like nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Function words like articles and prepositions are often less important and spoken faster.

What is the speaker’s recommendation regarding filler words like 'like'?

The speaker explains that filler words like 'like' often have no real meaning and are used to buy time while thinking. It's important to recognize when 'like' is used as a filler versus when it replaces actual words.

What is the easiest English-speaking country to understand, according to the speaker?

The speaker mentions that Canada has the easiest accent to understand, as it has a mild mix of American and British accents.

What should you do if you encounter a strong regional accent, like in the UK or Scotland?

The speaker suggests not panicking if you encounter a strong regional accent. It's normal for both non-natives and natives to struggle with certain accents at first, but over time, you will adapt.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Cultural Immersion and English Learning Challenges

The speaker shares their personal experience of struggling to understand native English speakers during a trip to the UK at the age of 14. They highlight the differences between the English taught in schools and the actual language used by native speakers, including accents and colloquialisms. The speaker's realization that their English learning approach needed to change led them to explore new methods, such as practicing listening while reading simultaneously, which they illustrate with the use of YouTube and Netflix subtitles. They also reminisce about singing along to Britney Spears to improve their listening and pronunciation skills.

05:03

🎵 Music as a Language Learning Tool

The speaker discusses using music as a method to learn and understand the British accent by singing along to CDs, specifically mentioning Lily Allen. They provide a tip for slowing down videos on YouTube to better understand speech. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of focusing on key words in sentences to grasp the overall meaning, rather than trying to understand every single word. They explain that native speakers often swallow certain function words, which are less important to comprehend fully. Additionally, they touch on the prevalence of filler words like 'like' and the need to understand their usage in conversation.

10:03

🗣️ Navigating Accents and Exposure to Improve Language Skills

The speaker advises on how to handle different accents, particularly noting the variety within the UK and the relative ease of understanding Canadian accents. They share their own experience of adjusting their accent when moving from the UK to the US. The speaker encourages exposure to various accents through watching movies, TV shows, and traveling. They recommend HBO Now for shows like 'Silicon Valley' and 'Westworld' and suggest getting a piano for musical practice. The speaker invites viewers to share their favorite English-language movies in the comments and reminds viewers to subscribe and share the video with friends.

Keywords

💡Accent

An accent refers to the distinct way a person pronounces words based on their geographical or social background. In the video, the speaker discusses the challenges of understanding different accents, particularly the British accent, and how it differs regionally. The video suggests practicing listening to various accents to improve comprehension, which is crucial for non-native English speakers.

💡Simultaneously

Simultaneously means doing two or more things at the same time. The video emphasizes practicing listening while reading simultaneously as a technique to improve English skills. For example, watching videos with subtitles allows viewers to hear the speech and read the text at the same time, which helps in training both visual and auditory comprehension.

💡Subtitling

Subtitling is the process of displaying the text of what is being spoken on screen, usually in video content. The video script mentions the importance of using subtitles on platforms like YouTube and Netflix to help non-native speakers follow along with the spoken words and improve their listening and reading skills.

💡Singing along

Singing along involves joining in a song as it plays, often to learn the lyrics or melody. The speaker in the video shares their personal experience of singing along to Britney Spears songs to improve their English pronunciation and understanding of the language. This method is suggested as a fun and engaging way to practice language skills.

💡Lyrics

Lyrics are the words of a song. The video suggests using song lyrics as a resource for language learning. By reading and singing along to lyrics, learners can practice pronunciation and become familiar with colloquial expressions and vocabulary used in songs.

💡Filler words

Filler words are sounds or words used in speech to 'fill in' gaps when a speaker is searching for the right words. The video explains that words like 'like' often serve as fillers and may not carry meaning. Understanding filler words is important for grasping the actual message in spoken English.

💡Idioms

Idioms are expressions that have a figurative meaning, which is different from the literal meaning of the individual words. The video mentions that learning idioms is crucial for understanding native speakers, as they often use idioms that may be confusing for non-native speakers.

💡Slang

Slang refers to informal words or phrases that are commonly used in casual or colloquial speech. The video script highlights the importance of learning slang to understand native speakers better, as it is often used in everyday conversations and popular culture.

💡Function words

Function words are words that typically do not carry meaning on their own but serve a grammatical purpose, such as articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. The video explains that native speakers often pronounce function words quickly and quietly, and understanding this can help learners focus on the more meaningful content words in a sentence.

💡Pronunciation

Pronunciation is the way words are pronounced. The video suggests practicing pronunciation by singing along to songs and using an electric piano, as it helps in mimicking the sounds and rhythms of the language, which is essential for clear communication.

💡Comprehension

Comprehension refers to the ability to understand what is conveyed, especially in speech or writing. The video provides various tips aimed at improving language comprehension, such as focusing on key words in a sentence and getting used to different accents, which are all crucial for understanding native speakers.

Highlights

Tip 1: Practice listening while reading subtitles to improve visual and auditory connection.

Using YouTube and Netflix with subtitles helps train your brain to link spoken words with their written form.

Personal experience: The speaker struggled with British accents during their trip to the UK and realized the need for new learning methods.

Tip 2: Native speakers tend to blend sentences into single words, making speech sound faster. It's important to learn how to understand these blended words.

Use video speed controls to slow down fast speech for better understanding.

Advanced learners can practice singing along with fast-paced songs, like those by Eminem, to improve pronunciation and listening skills.

Tip 3: Focus on key words in a sentence (nouns, adjectives, verbs) to grasp the overall meaning, instead of trying to understand every word.

Native speakers often reduce or swallow function words like articles and prepositions, so don’t worry about catching every small word.

Tip 4: Filler words like 'like' are often used without meaning, so don’t let them distract you. They can be used to buy time or express uncertainty.

Accents vary greatly between regions, especially in the UK, where accents can change drastically even within short distances.

The easiest English accents to understand are found in Canada, which has a mild mix of British and American accents.

Tip 5: Expose yourself to as many accents as possible through travel, movies, TV shows, and conversations with people from different regions.

The speaker's experience in the UK and the US helped them adapt to both British and American accents over time.

Movies and TV shows like 'Silicon Valley' and 'Westworld' can help improve listening skills in English.

Final advice: Travel and spend time in English-speaking environments to naturally improve your understanding of native speakers.

Transcripts

hey guys welcome to my channel today I

am going to teach you different tips and

tricks how to understand native speakers

because sometimes they have such axes

that their speech makes no sense to us

non English native speakers so if you're

interested please continue watching

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now when I was 14 I went to the UK and I

stayed with a local family I went to

local school it was like a two-week trip

and during that trip I realized I do not

understand what people are telling me

because what we learn to school the

English that we've learnt at school was

actually Russian version of the English

language and when it came to the UK and

British people have this very distinct

accent and they use really weird words

sometimes like weird for a Russian

speaker I just couldn't get what they

were telling me the only person I could

interact with with was my host mom

because she really made an effort to

speak like a English language teacher so

like that separating words and what I

wanted to communicate with British kids

I had a lot of trouble because they

didn't want to make this effort and thus

I didn't get what they were saying so

when I came back home I realised I

cannot just continue learning English

than in the way I have and I have to do

something else I have to do something

new and now I'm gonna tell you what I

started to do tip number one practice

listening while reading simultaneously

and you guys are very lucky because now

we have YouTube we have Netflix which

means that you can switch on a video on

YouTube like this one you can just

switch on subtitles on this video thanks

for subtitles and read along that would

help you train your visual part and

train your listening part because you're

gonna see the way I'm opening my mouth

and you're gonna listen to what I'm

saying and then your brain is gonna

connect the two and this will train and

train and train you when I was a kid we

didn't have YouTube we didn't have that

list I even didn't have access to

Internet all the time so what I used to

do I used to sing along to Britney

Spears and you remember the CDs when we

had like a little book coming with a CD

with lyrics for every single song and

that's what I did

just listen to her music because I loved

her and I just sing along I'm reading to

the lyrics the next step that I've taken

when I was 16 I went to the UK and I

realized that Lily Allen who later

became my favorite singer was really

really popular so I bought her a CD and

this is the way I learned British accent

because she sings with a really distinct

British accent and when you sing go on

when you read those lyrics and you

listen to her and you start to

understand British people better advance

tip if you think that this is too fast

like marina you're talking too fast Lily

you're singing too fast Brittany is

singing too fast what you can do you can

slow down the video 2x in YouTube and

you could do it now right here down in

the bottom section see it slowed down

the video 2x my voice will become really

weird but then you would be able to

follow me because sometimes yes I agree

do comments sometimes they tell me I

speak too fast but this is something you

have to get used to because when you

come here nobody will really make an

effort to speak slower just because you

do not understand you will have to play

alone and you will have to just adapt to

whatever is happening and in terms of

accents I would say British accent has

been the most difficult for me because

it was really tough to understand

British and they have a lot of regional

access like in London people would use

one accent then you travel one hour away

from London and it would be a completely

different accent the easiest country to

understand accents is actually Canada

because they have a mix of American and

British and its really really mild so if

you're planning your trip abroad to

study English I would really recommend

Canada check out a school's below a

winger trip my favorite of Silas C and I

also went to I lack myself I like

Toronto and if you guys love music like

I do I recently bought a electric piano

I just sing songs in English and this is

also the way I practice my pronunciation

the way of practice listening skills if

you think that you're advanced you know

what you have to do I try to sing along

Eminem lose yourself

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but he keeps on forgetting why do you

robot and if you're brave enough you can

record it and put it on your Instagram

and tag me hashtag lingua marina hashtag

lingo trip I'm gonna check it out and

I'm gonna give you my feedback let's try

it

tip number two when native speakers

speak they tend to say one sentence as

one word so they don't say do you want

to grab a coffee yes this is really easy

for you to understand but you have to

learn to understand one sentence as one

word do you want to grab a coffee that

sounds just like one sentence this would

also help me with spoken English because

you have to do the same in order for

people to understand you could you

repeat that tip number three in order to

be able to understand when native

speakers are talking you need to be able

to understand distinct words sometimes

you don't have to understand the whole

sentence you just have to get what are

the most important words in the sentence

and then you're gonna figure out the

meaning so don't worry if you listen to

somebody and there are some words you do

not understand and this applies to

reading as well you don't have to know

every single word and if you feel that

you have to check out every single word

that is new for you don't do that

because if you're reading a book and

like every third word is new then you

won't be reading a book you will be just

consulting your vocabulary and

dictionary all the time your task is to

figure out what are these most important

words in the sentence and the most

important words uh normally nouns

adjectives and verbs there are a lot of

filler words that you don't have to

understand and normally native speakers

pronounce them less louder than the main

words the worst that you don't have to

really get our articles and prepositions

like articles a V and prepositions like

at on to if you don't get them that's

okay and people tend to kind of swallow

them and be ready for that

hello so for example if you would go to

the coffee thing you can just omit all

of the function words and you're gonna

get you won't get cup coffee actually if

you say that native speakers are gonna

get what you're saying

and when native speakers pronounce those

functions were it's really fast do you

want to get a cup of coffee you want to

get a cup of coffee you know what you've

heard you want to get cup coffee and you

don't really hear those function words

and this is how the native speakers

speech works tip number four native

speakers tend to use a lot of filler

words like like like I'm saying this but

like I don't mean this you get it right

so like is everywhere I was like I was

like meditating what you should know is

that like has no actual meaning it

doesn't make any sense in the sentence

it is just used for you to win some time

and think of what you're trying to say

next

sometimes like replaces actual words and

this is when you have to get the meaning

so for example and I was like let's go

and see the movie so in this case I was

like replaces and I said also like is

used when you are uncertain of something

I think he's like a doctor maybe so you

are not sure if he's a doctor as you see

people used like all the time sometimes

it makes sense sometimes it doesn't it's

important for you to know what are the

cases when people are using like and

this applies to many words in English

and this is why I'm teaching you a lot

of idioms a lot of slang words so when

you hear the native speaker you will get

exactly what every single word means so

write them down and remember them okay

and number five as I mentioned there is

so many accents I would say in America

like if you travel from west coast to

the east coast you won't really hear the

accent I can say that something is weird

about the speech but it won't be able to

tell what exactly but if you're in the

UK and you go from London to Edinburgh

oh my god you're gonna hear it

straightaway their accents are really

really tough first don't panic like it's

okay even native speakers panic like

when I was in Germany and I when the

Zurich people speak German in Zurich but

they speak Swiss German I couldn't get a

thing and it's okay it happens to native

speakers as well normally when you come

to a city you adjust to local accent and

you get the local accent so make sure if

you're travelling to the right place

because when I travel to Great Britain

um when I was 14 15 16 I went to those

language schools and I ended up having a

nice British accent when I was 21 and

then I moved to America and well it took

me maybe like two or three months to

change my accent to American one and

it's okay just be ready that if you

spend some time in a certain environment

you're gonna get the accent and if you

spent a lot of time in Scotland for

example in a small village in Scotland

make sure that um you try and sound more

traditional when you're talking to

people outside Scotland word up my last

advice for you is to expose yourself to

as many accents as you can and if you're

traveled to a big city like New York

like Los Angeles you're gonna meet a lot

of people and the more you talk the more

you the more time you spend in the

environment the better you get an

understanding access watch as many

movies and TV shows in English as you

can as I mentioned there are several

websites where you can do that now

flexkom you can switch on subtitles HBO

now is my favorite because on HBO now

you can watch Silicon Valley my favorite

TV show and Westworld which is also a

great one so you can buy subscription

there for like $14 and you go and watch

them and of course the best thing you

can do is travel and spend a couple

weeks or a couple months abroad while

studying in a local language school the

link will be below you can check out the

school's check out the pricing will be

happy

to help you and you know reach your

goals and dreams in English if you love

music get yourself a piano and start

playing and singing your favorite song

single on to your favorite singers

please comment down below with your

favorite movie that you watched in

English so that other people could get

some ideas what they want to watch if

you're not yet subscribed to this

channel there is a red button please hit

subscribe and please share this video

with your friends who are studying

English language and struggling to

understand native speakers please like

it and I will see you soon in the next

videos bye

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