اهمیت تکرار برای تقویت مهارت شنیداری

The Importance Of Repeated Listening

Hi, everyone!

I’m Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPod.com My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In this episode:

• I will be talking about how many times we have to repeat an audio.

• After that, we’ll practice conversation skills with a new mini-story.

Ok, let’s get started!

As you may know, I always recommend you listening for improving your English. There are many studies, which suggest that there is a correlation between our level of the language and the hours we have been listening. In other words, the more you listen, the better. The more hours you spend listening, the more quickly you improve.

Here’s an interesting question you might ask: “How many times do I have to listen to every piece of content?” Do I have to listen just one time? Or more than one time?

What most students do is listen to certain content once or twice and then change to another content. The typical student thinks that the more variety, the better.

Well, variety is good, but what you want is to consolidate what you listen, and the most effective way to achieve it, is through repetition.

So, let’s say you are starting with English. You’re a beginner. This is the situation where you need a lot of repetition. The reason is that you need to create the most common patterns in your head.

That’s why you need to repeat many times. For example, let’s say you have a 5 minutes audio adapted to your level. Then, you can repeat the audio twenty, thirty or even more times.

Yes! You heard me well! Twenty, thirty or more times!

I’m not saying that you have to do it in one day. For example, you can repeat the audio three times every day during one week. This is only 15 minutes a day during seven days, which is 21 times.

You can read and listen if you need to.

Yes, it seems crazy, but I can assure you that this is very effective.

You can learn a lot! And the most important thing is that you’re consolidating the phrases, the vocabulary, the pronunciation, and it becomes easier to use all of this in your conversation.

If you do this as part of your routine, and you dedicate one hour a day doing repetitions of different audios, soon you’ll notice a big difference. You’ll become familiar with many structures, and you will start to understand what you say without translation in your head.

Repetition is the key to consolidation. If you have an intermediate level or higher, you don’t need to repeat so many times. What you can do is: Always listen to the same person.

Focus on just one material and then stick to it for a while. You might prefer some particular phrases, vocabulary, expressions, etc. So, if you listen to the same person, you’ll repeat more.

Another approach is to listen about the same topic consistently.

Although you’re not repeating the same audio, you are repeating the vocabulary and expressions of the same topic.

This rule of repetition is not strict, of course. The important thing is to listen for many hours, and if you can repeat, much better!

MINI-STORY

(improve your speaking)

Ok, let’s move on to the next section.

Here I’ll use the Question & Answer technique. This is the perfect lesson for automatizing your spoken English. This is how it works: • I’ll give you some information. (A phrase or two).

• I’ll ask simple questions.

• After each question, there will be some seconds of silence: it’s your turn to answer the question! Just try to give an easy and short answer, not a complex one.

• After you answer, I’ll give you a correct answer.

This process will continue, and little by little I’ll be telling a story using questions and answers.

Ok, let’s get started!

Peter, the penguin, wanted to become a broker at Wall Street.

Did Peter want to become a broker?

Yes, he did. He wanted to become a broker at Wall Street.

Did Peter want to become a police officer?

No, he didn’t. He didn’t want to become a police officer. He wanted to become a broker. A broker is a person who works at Wall Street, for example.

Who wanted to become a broker?

Peter. Peter, the penguin wanted to become a broker.

Was Peter a penguin?

Yes, he was. He was a penguin. He was a penguin who wanted to work as a broker.

Where did Peter want to work as a broker?

Well, he wanted to work as a broker at Wall Street.

What did Peter want?

To work as a broker, or in other words, to become a broker at Wall Street.

His problem was he couldn’t speak English.

Was Peter’s problem he couldn’t speak Spanish?

No, it wasn’t. His problem wasn’t he couldn’t speak Spanish. His problem was he couldn’t speak English.

What language didn’t he speak?

English. The language he didn’t speak was English. He couldn’t speak English.

Did Peter have a problem?

Yes, he had a problem. He couldn’t speak English!

What was his problem?

He couldn’t speak English. That was his problem.

He started to listen to English twelve hours a day.

Did he start to watch TV?

No, he didn’t. He didn’t start to watch TV. He started to listen to English audio lesson.

Did he start to listen to English ten hours a day?

No, he didn’t. He didn’t start to listen ten hours. He started to listen twelve hours a day.

Who started to listen twelve hours a day?

Peter. Peter, the penguin started to listen 12 hours a day.

How many hours?

Twelve. Twelve hours a day.

Did he start to listen, watch, write, or read?

He started to listen. He didn’t start to watch, write or read.

In only three months, his level of English was impressive.

Was his level impressive before three months?

No, it wasn’t. It was not impressive before three months.

Was his level impressive after three months?

Yes. His level was better than good. It was impressive in three months and after that.

How was his level after twelve weeks?

Impressive. It was impressive. Twelve weeks are three months, by the way.

How many months?

Three months. In only three months.

He went to Wall Street to apply for a job.

Did he go to Hawaii?

No, no. He didn’t go to Hawaii. He went to Wall Street, in New York.

Did he go to the United Nations, in New York?

No, neither. He didn’t go there. He went to Wall Street to apply for a job.

Did he go there to apply for a job?

Yes, he went there to apply for a job. A job as a broker.

What kind of job?

Broker. He applied for a broker. That was the job he applied for.

He couldn’t get the job, but now he happily works as a waiter in a fine restaurant.

Did Peter get the job?

No, he didn’t. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the job.

Who couldn’t get the job?

Peter. Peter couldn’t.

Does Peter have another job?

Yes, he does. He has another job. Not in Wall Street but in a fine restaurant.

Does he work in a restaurant or at Wall Street?

In a fine restaurant. He happily works in a fine restaurant as a waiter.

In a what?

In a fine restaurant as a waiter.

What’s his job now?

Waiter. He is a waiter.

Is he happy now?

Yes, he is. He happily works in a fine restaurant. It was not his first option, but now he is happy.

Awesome! This is the end of this mini-story. Peter, the penguin wanted to become a broker, but now he works in a fine restaurant. That’s cool!

As you can see, you are answering easy questions all the time.

They are easy on purpose, and this technique helps you develop your speaking skills. It’s like practicing with another person!

This is one of the techniques that I use in my courses. I recommend you to take a look at:

Courses.SpeakEnglishPod.com

Ok, this is the end of this episode. Remember to listen to it several times. It will help you with your English.

Please remember that you can get the text of this episode at: SpeakEnglishPod.com

See you next week and have an awesome day!

Goodbye!