Hello
We are here for learning English as it is not our first language. you
may found this interesting.
Regards
Soniya
Two simple definitions
* to hear: to receive sound with the ears
* to listen: to try to hear
You are very good at languages. That's obvious, because you already
speak one language very well - your own! And if you can learn and
speak one language well, then you can certainly learn and speak one or
more other languages.
But did you ever ask yourself: "How did I learn my own language?" In
fact, you never really "learned" it at all - you just started speaking
it. One day, when you were about two or three years old, you started
speaking your language. A few words at first, not full sentences. But
you spoke. And very soon you made progress without even thinking about
it. It was like magic!
But it wasn't magic. It was the result of hearing. For two to three
years before you spoke, you heard people speaking your language all
day, and maybe all night. You heard people speaking your language.
Maybe you listened to people, but more importantly you heard. them.
Then, as if by magic, you started to speak. All that hearing was
necessary for you to start speaking. For two to three years words went
IN to your head. Then words came OUT of your head! That is why hearing
(and listening to) English as much as possible is so important to you
now. The more English you put in, the more you'll get out!
So how can you hear a lot of English when you're not in an English-
speaking country or family? Fortunately, there are many ways of
hearing English in almost all countries of the world.
Radio
You can receive English language radio in most countries. Two of the
best international networks are the BBC World Service and Voice of
America. Both of them have special programmes for learners of English.
You can find information about times and frequencies for your country
on their web sites. Click here for links to radio stations.
Television
TV is an excellent resource for hearing and listening to English. The
pictures help you understand what is being said. If you don't have
access to English-language TV, you may be able to watch TV on
Internet.
Internet
It is now a lot easier to hear English by Internet. If you're reading
this at your computer, you can probably listen to some English-
language radio news right now, without even moving! To be able to
listen to radio on the Internet, you'll need to have special software
called a "player" installed in your computer. Most sites work with two
players - the RealPlayer from RealNetworks and the Windows Media
Player from Microsoft. Don't worry. Both these players are free and
you may already have them installed on your computer.
Music/songs
Songs in English are everywhere, even on foreign-language radio and TV
stations. Listen to them often. Buy some cassettes or CDs, or make
recordings, and try to write the words for an entire song. But choose
one that is not too difficult. That means it should be reasonably
slow, and with real words sung clearly. Some pop songs are very
unclear and are difficult even for native English-speakers to
understand fully!
Cinema
Outside the English-speaking world, many large cities have cinemas
that show films in English, usually with sub-titles. Make it a habit
to go to these films. If you need to read the sub-titles, at least
you'll be hearing English even if you don't understand it.
Video
Video has one really great advantage. You can play it again . . . and
again. You can use video to watch film cassettes that you buy or
borrow. If there are sub-titles, you can cover them with paper (which
you can remove if you really don't understand after listening several
times). And you can use video to record programmes from television and
then watch them several times to improve your understanding.
Friends
Try to make friends with English-speaking people so that you can
practise your English through conversation. Of course, this will
practise your speaking as well as your listening. And if you don't
have a lot of time to go out and meet people, at least you can chat a
little by telephone.
Finally, don't worry if you don't understand everything you hear.
Hearing comes first! Understanding comes next!
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