How to improve the perception of English speech? Along with speaking skills, the question of perceiving the flow of natural English speech by ear is the most frequent one that torments my students.
What makes stream perception by ear (the flow of live speech) so complex is that textbooks and audio courses spoon-feed us a simplified version of the language. Of course, such a presentation makes life easier, but, on the other hand, this simplicity is a disservice in the long run. We find ourselves completely unprepared for how people in real life talk. And it turns out that it’s not the only trouble: we are not ready for the speed of their speech flow, but also when we are talking, we sound unnatural.
Here comes the conclusion: you need a way to train yourself to perceive and speak a language from the real world. The best way is to train the language in its natural midst, among living people who speak it, and not among the heroes of books) Yes, it is not always easy to find such an environment for yourself at the click of a finger.
But there is the way out. You already have it on your gadget or TV. Let's start!
Firstly, you need material - a film, a series, a video from YouTube, with subtitles in English. YouTube and Netflix are increasingly supporting video subtitles in different languages.
NB! Target a video where people speak conversational language (not historical dramas).
One of my favorite sources for such videos is Easy Languages on YouTube. Official sites of CNN and BBC are much helpful too.
Reporters interview people in the streets. For me, this is the best source of lively and spontaneous speech. And besides, these videos are equipped with subtitles.
If your level has not stepped over Elementary (how to find out your level of English I’ve disclosed here), most likely this kind of practice will seem difficult to you (too many new words and unfamiliar grammar), but this channel also has super easy episodes in its arsenal, which you can easily start with.
So, video material is found, go to training!
- Listen to the slots (short fractions of few seconds), but without a picture, i.e. only hearing works. Stop the episode and record what you’ve heard. This is a kind of storyboard.
- Compare the stuff you’ve put down to paper with subtitles under the video.
- Check the meaning of the new words in the dictionary, and write down so that I can repeat them later.
Take one of the already recorded slots and translate it into your native language, and then again into English (but don’t peep!) After that, you can compare what happened the second time with the original version.
Learn the words of the hero from a small scene of an episode of your favorite TV show. Mimic the pronunciation and intonation as close to the original as you can. It helps to get used to the role, if you try to copy even gestures and facial expressions. This is a very effective method for a couple of reasons: 1. This is a fascinating way to remember a ton of new words and grammatical units. 2. Pretending to be a native speaker, you begin to feel like that - a great way to join someone else's culture.
Article prepared by Helen Kupriyanova
Director of Studies to Red Arrow English Studio
