Introduction:
In the process of learning a foreign language, listening skills become key to comprehensive understanding. This aspect is especially emphasized in official certification exams, where the English listening section assesses the ability to follow conversations, among other aspects.
Chapter 1: Strategies to Boost Your Listening Comprehension
At first, understanding a word or phrase is easier when it's written down. However, as we progress in our learning, it's essential to incorporate listening comprehension. Below are some strategies to help you effectively prepare for your English listening exam.
Chapter 2: Preparing in Advance
Preparing ahead of time is crucial. We recommend integrating strategies to improve overall listening comprehension, which will be beneficial during the listening exam.
- Practice regularly: Set aside time during the day to improve your English comprehension, whether it's listening to and trying to understand songs during lunch or a podcast on your commute.
- Content of interest: To improve your English listening, it's essential that the content you listen to holds your attention and is enjoyable. This can include films, literature, or videos on current affairs.
- Active training: Concentrating and paying attention to your language comprehension will prepare you for the exam. Listen to a podcast, pause every two minutes to jot down the main ideas, and then relax and listen for pleasure.
- Beneficial repetitions: Listen to the same audio or movie several times to grasp the most difficult words. Repetition improves your perception of nuances in the content.
Chapter 3: Vocabulary Improvement
When preparing for your English listening session, it's essential to consider aspects related to pronunciation, accents, and contractions.
- Pronunciation and accents: English pronunciation does not always follow written grammar rules, and accents vary from country to country.
- Contractions and links: Word contractions and junctions are common, as in "can't." Learning these subtleties makes listening comprehension easier.
- Specific phonemes: English has phonemes that don't exist in Spanish. Practicing the pronunciation of diverse vocabulary helps you anticipate words in your listening comprehension.
Chapter 4: Additional Tips for the Listening Test
During the exam, anticipation is key to answering questions and filling in the blanks based on the audio.
- Word type identification: Before listening, determine the type of word you should fill in. Is it an adjective, noun, adverb, time, place, noun, or action?
- Connection with the context: Connect with the context before conversations to better understand the vocabulary. Take advantage of introductions or written statements that explain the context.
- Advance reading: Read all sentences or questions before listening. Underline key words if allowed, but keep in mind that the words in the questions will not be exactly the same as in the audio.
- Attention to the connectors: Connectors like "finally" or "but" indicate the type of information. Use these indicators to anticipate the content of the audio.
- Careful review: After finishing the audio, review your answers to correct spelling errors and make sure they're grammatically correct. Avoid leaving blank spaces and infer words from context if necessary.
Conclusion:
Developing listening skills is essential for mastering English, and Native English positions itself as an ally in this educational journey. By implementing effective strategies and considering the importance of vocabulary, students can fully prepare to successfully face the challenge of English listening at any certification level. With Native English, the path to listening fluency becomes more accessible and enriching!