8 ways to improve English listening skills and understand native speakers

Summary

In this informative video, Lucy offers eight practical strategies to enhance English listening skills. She emphasizes using YouTube's subtitle feature with accurate transcriptions, listening to various accents and dialects, engaging with native speakers for practice, and utilizing the platform's speed adjustment tools. Lucy also recommends watching British TV shows and movies, learning conversational fillers for processing time, and combining audiobooks with reading to improve pronunciation and spelling. Lastly, she suggests creating personalized transcription exercises for focused listening practice, highlighting the effectiveness of these methods for language learners.

Takeaways

• 😀 Use YouTube's subtitle system wisely, ensuring to watch videos with accurate, manually written subtitles for better English learning.
• 🌐 Identify trustworthy subtitles by avoiding 'auto-generated' ones, as they may contain errors and misspellings.
• 🗣️ Listen to a variety of accents and dialects to improve understanding of diverse English usage, including different slang and phrases.
• 💬 Engage with native speakers, asking for repetition and explanations to enhance listening and speaking skills.
• 📚 Utilize platforms like italki for affordable one-on-one lessons with native and non-native teachers to practice conversation and listening.
• 🎥 Take advantage of YouTube's slow-down function to make fast speech easier to understand and learn from.
• 🎬 Watch English movies and TV shows, starting with beginner level content and progressing to more advanced material to improve listening skills.
• 🕒 Learn conversational fillers and interjections to buy time while processing what is being said in English conversations.
• 📚 Listen while reading to connect written words with their spoken forms, improving pronunciation, listening, and spelling.
• 🎧 Use platforms like Audible for audiobooks to practice listening to English narration and find narrators that suit your preferences.
• 📝 Create your own transcription exercises from interesting content to make the practice less tedious and more relevant to your interests.

Q & A

What is the first method Lucy suggests to improve English listening skills?

Lucy suggests taking advantage of YouTube's subtitle system, but ensuring they are properly written by a human for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Why does Lucy pay for someone to write her video subtitles instead of using YouTube's auto-generated subtitles?

Lucy pays for human-written subtitles to ensure correct spelling and grammar, proper punctuation, and to avoid missing words or misinterpretations that can occur with auto-generated subtitles.

How can viewers tell if a YouTube video's subtitles are auto-generated or manually written?

Viewers can identify auto-generated subtitles by the term 'auto-generated' that appears, indicating that YouTube's AI system created the subtitles.

What is the second method Lucy recommends for improving listening skills?

The second method is to listen to a variety of accents and dialects to understand different sounds, common phrases, and slang words used in English.

What is a significant aspect of British English that Lucy highlights?

Lucy highlights the diversity of British English, with different parts of England having distinct dialects and slang.

How does Lucy suggest finding native speakers for language practice?

Lucy recommends using online platforms like italki, which offers one-to-one video lessons with both native and non-native teachers at affordable rates.

What is the language challenge offered by italki?

The language challenge on italki involves setting a language goal and taking classes to earn vouchers, coupons, and entries into a prize draw, with potential prizes of up to 500 italki credits.

What is the slowdown function on YouTube and how can it help language learners?

The slowdown function allows users to slow down video playback speed, which can be beneficial for language learners to better understand native speech by slowing it down to a more manageable pace.

Why does Lucy recommend watching English movies and TV shows?

Watching English movies and TV shows helps learners develop an understanding of the language, including accents, and provides exposure to everyday language use.

What are some phrases Lucy suggests to buy more time while processing speech?

Lucy suggests using fillers or interjections, such as 'ooh', and phrases like 'I know' and 'I understand' to buy more time while processing what someone has said.

How does Lucy recommend using audiobooks to improve listening skills?

Lucy recommends listening to audiobooks while reading the actual book to connect written words with spoken words, improve pronunciation, and enhance listening and spelling skills.

What is the final method Lucy suggests for improving listening skills?

The final method is creating your own transcription exercises using content that is personally interesting, which helps make the exercise less boring and more effective.