�� Music �� practice
Learning tips
Before listening ...
Decide what aspect of your listening you want to improve. If your focus is Vocabulary, it's useful to decide whether you want to focus on conversational phrases, or vocabulary related to a particular topic (e.g. Love and Relationships) etc. If you want to improve your ability to hear features of English Pronunciation, then it's useful to find out if your main difficulty is hearing contractions, or linking, or weak forms etc.
Set yourself a goal. It's best not to aim too high, unless you have lots of time free to dedicate to your listening. Think of one or two aspects of your listening that you'd like to improve and set a goal related to that (e.g. ‘In phrases like You're all that I'll ever want, I want to be able to hear the contractions like You're and I'll' or 'I want to be able to hear words which are linked together e.g. You're all that I'll ever want'). Or you could aim to improve your ability to hear the words of one particular singer.
Choose a song or singer that you enjoy!
Try to find songs that match your goal and level. Do the songs contain the Vocabulary or Pronunciation features you want to practise? Do you want songs that tell a story, with a wide range of vocabulary, or do you want songs with a lot of repetition?
Find songs that have got printed lyrics (words). Even native speakers often mishear the words of sings-it's surprisingly common. So having lyrics available is really vital when listening in a second language.
If you know the song is going to be difficult for you to hear clearly, read the lyrics first.
Find out about the singer or the topic of the song if possible - it's useful to have some background knowledge before you start listening. Encyclopedias are good sources.
Jot down vocabulary that you don't know, if you are focusing on that.
Rewind the CD/tape if there are parts you can't catch.
Stop the CD/tape randomly and predict which words will come next. This tests your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as your listening ability.
If you have your own song lyrics, highlight the words/sounds you are having difficulty with. You can also ‘white out' some key words in the lyrics beforehand, and then try to fill in the gaps while you listen.
Jot down the main point of the song if you are trying to develop your ability to interpret or draw conclusions/infer meaning from what you hear. You can later check this with the song lyrics or with a friend who may be listening to the song with you or already know it.
Listen to the song with a friend. You can later discuss what the song is about and help each other if you have difficulties in understanding any of it.
Try to transcribe the song word for word. This is a useful technique for advanced learners, or for intermediate learners if the song is fairly simple. You can then compare your transcription with the actual lyrics.
After listening ... Here are some things you can do after listening:
Think about how you will learn + remember vocabulary that you have jotted down. Writing it down (and checking its meaning in a dictionary) is the easy part. Remembering the vocabulary is the important part.
Listen to the songs again but without reading the lyrics this time. Can you still understand them?
Check your summary, gap-filling or transcription with the lyrics.
Discuss the song and any problems you had in listening with a friend.
Write your own lyrics or record your own song!
Find more songs to listen to that have the same topic (if you're focusing on Vocabulary) or Pronunciation features (if you're focusing on Pronunciation)
It can very useful to evaluate your learning progress: this not only gives you a sense of success, but also enables you to identify areas that you need to work on in the future. Here are some ways of evaluating the progress you have made in your listening to songs:
Think about your progress - how do you feel about your performance?
Try listening to another song. Are you able to hear Pronunciation features (e.g. contractions) more clearly now?
Compare your listening comprehension/vocabulary knowledge/knowledge of pronunciation features at the beginning of a period of learning and at the end, e.g. several months later - have you improved? (You could listen to the same song as before, or to another song by the same singer, for comparison.)
Listen to the songs again without reading the lyrics. Can you still understand them?
Check your summary, gap-filling or transcription with the lyrics.
If learning vocabulary, test your vocabulary knowledge after several months. Can you still remember all the words you wrote down?
If you would like any help or advice, or just a chat about your progress, please get in touch with ken at ken@seeyouspeak.com