The listening skills are one of the two most important skills that I focus upon when I get started with a language, the other being the Reading skills. I personally, don't really care much about the content of podcasts that I listen to, well at least not now anyway; unless the subject of the podcast is very specific as in Philosophy, Religion or some other specialised subject in case of Video lectures and podcasts from various Universities.
I used vto obsess about being able to understand every word that was being said, but as time went by and I became more Language aware I started to notice that apart from the specialised vocabulary oriented podcasts, I can get myself used to the most frequent words by just paying attention to what was being said, if I don't understand the meaning then I just focus upon the sound of the word and just keep a slight note in my mind regarding the sound I would like to understand.
Another thing that I noticed is that it helps a lot if we make the language an integral part of our life, for example if we listen to the a certain genre of music then we can easily look up artists within the same genre who sing in our target language. The important thing being not letting the process become a chore or a timed activity, if you are learning the language on your own that is. But even if you are learning a language in a course or something, even then a little effort to make the language a part of your lifestyle would go a long way in your journey as a language learner.
Besides, music the other thing that I find extremely intriguing and motivating is Comedy;P.
I mean, why not ? We are such social and fun loving beings that it's all hard-wired into us, plus there are many comedy oriented podcasts available on any language all over the internet, on things like iTunes or if you are so inclined you can directly visit the website of a radio show or some website which offers entertaining podcasts. As far as comedy is concerned, you know, the urge to understand what is being said is all the more fuelled by our basic human need to be a part of the community and our need to be a part of enjoyment. Say, when someone cracks a joke and everyone is laughing, you feel all the more motivated to be able to be a part of that joke, makes you listen everything more intently and pay more attention trying to follow that line of thought that leads to the punch line.
I recommend that you really try it out listening to Comedy podcasts with your target language;P
And if you are concerned about the few words which you might not understand at that moment, don't worry, gloss over and I promise when you would listen to the same thing after a certain time it would become all the more fun when you realize that you completely missed this or that, the last time. The trick to learning a language quickly is to be as humane as possible in the process.
I think that after a certain phrasebook, storybooks we can directly move on to the real world content. Of course, initially it would feel awkward or even frustrating but with time you will make visible progress, which is another factor which motivates us even more. And after a couple of months of our basic phrases, music and comedy podcasts we can move on to acquire the vocabulary of a particular field that intrigues us and continue to learn the language, but this time in a way that focuses more on the content that the grammar or peripheral consideration. In short, I find the transition to the real world content to be the Most Vital aspect of learning a language while at the same time we get to have that feel-good factor due to our constant noticeable progress.
I used vto obsess about being able to understand every word that was being said, but as time went by and I became more Language aware I started to notice that apart from the specialised vocabulary oriented podcasts, I can get myself used to the most frequent words by just paying attention to what was being said, if I don't understand the meaning then I just focus upon the sound of the word and just keep a slight note in my mind regarding the sound I would like to understand.
Another thing that I noticed is that it helps a lot if we make the language an integral part of our life, for example if we listen to the a certain genre of music then we can easily look up artists within the same genre who sing in our target language. The important thing being not letting the process become a chore or a timed activity, if you are learning the language on your own that is. But even if you are learning a language in a course or something, even then a little effort to make the language a part of your lifestyle would go a long way in your journey as a language learner.
Besides, music the other thing that I find extremely intriguing and motivating is Comedy;P.
I mean, why not ? We are such social and fun loving beings that it's all hard-wired into us, plus there are many comedy oriented podcasts available on any language all over the internet, on things like iTunes or if you are so inclined you can directly visit the website of a radio show or some website which offers entertaining podcasts. As far as comedy is concerned, you know, the urge to understand what is being said is all the more fuelled by our basic human need to be a part of the community and our need to be a part of enjoyment. Say, when someone cracks a joke and everyone is laughing, you feel all the more motivated to be able to be a part of that joke, makes you listen everything more intently and pay more attention trying to follow that line of thought that leads to the punch line.
I recommend that you really try it out listening to Comedy podcasts with your target language;P
And if you are concerned about the few words which you might not understand at that moment, don't worry, gloss over and I promise when you would listen to the same thing after a certain time it would become all the more fun when you realize that you completely missed this or that, the last time. The trick to learning a language quickly is to be as humane as possible in the process.
I think that after a certain phrasebook, storybooks we can directly move on to the real world content. Of course, initially it would feel awkward or even frustrating but with time you will make visible progress, which is another factor which motivates us even more. And after a couple of months of our basic phrases, music and comedy podcasts we can move on to acquire the vocabulary of a particular field that intrigues us and continue to learn the language, but this time in a way that focuses more on the content that the grammar or peripheral consideration. In short, I find the transition to the real world content to be the Most Vital aspect of learning a language while at the same time we get to have that feel-good factor due to our constant noticeable progress.
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