There are many ways to improve your English listening skills. Some of the most popular ways are watching films, listening to music, and reading books in English every time and everywhere. Indeed, those ways are truly effective; the matter is whether you are really determined and committed to working on it. I, personally, also prefer using those traditional methods to achieve my goals in the English learning journey. And in this short prose, I’m going to tell you about my own experience, trying hard in an informal and no-sweat way to improve my English listening skills during my younger years.
When I was a student at university, I went to school by bus every day. 30 minutes on the bus with nothing else to do was super boring. That’s why I always prepared my phone with a list of my favorite English songs. The songs were in a variety of genres, but most of them were pop ballads, with slow melodies and romantic lyrics. Then I just lied back on my chair, put my earphones on, and enjoyed the music.
At my time, English listening skills were not taught in high school, so I had never had a chance to improve them. On my first days as an English major student, I couldn’t understand anything in those songs, even when they were so slow to hear. However, I didn’t feel bored as I didn’t intend to understand them, and I just wanted to enjoy music.
In the next months, things improved a little bit. Still those same songs, but now I could understand some basic and familiar words. I didn’t have to check the meaning or searched for the lyrics. Things came naturally to me.
Time went by, months after months, and listening to the same songs over and over again became my habit whenever I went to school by bus. Until one day, when I could understand most of the lyrics of my favorite songs, I realized that my English was really upgraded.
In short, learning English listening skills is not as difficult as you think. It’s not a nightmare if you know how to learn it. Just immerse yourself in English, with the most relaxing and convenient ways of yours, whenever you have free time. Don’t just make yourself uncomfortable doing it. Practice naturally, then your English will really get better without your recognition.
Nguyễn Minh Châu
