How Can You Learn English Easily if You Can't Repeat It?

...it was not sent. It was not put in the correct place, and it was not even labelled. The man in blue heard the white shirted man's instructions, but he did not really listen. And he did not say them back.
One of my students also had trouble listening in class once. I asked her, "Where did you go shopping?" Her answer was, "Because I needed a new shirt." Of course, she thought she heard the word 'why' but I actually said 'where'. Small mistakes like these can be avoided with careful listening. If the student repeats the question, then I can check that she heard it correctly. When she does not repeat it back, she may be guessing at what she heard. She has a problem.

What is the Problem?

The problem is that the student thinks their guess is very good. Guessing is a valuable skill. Some students don't guess enough. But others guess too much and they have a lot of confidence in their guesses. They think they understand.

But Understanding is Enough!

You might feel that when you understand English that you hear, that is good enough. You might say to me, "I am happy that I can understand. That is enough, because I have to think of what to say in return." Of course many students think that understanding is enough.

Understanding is Not Enough.

If you want to learn, then understanding is not enough. You have to check that you understand correctly. You have to repeat the same words. You have to remember them long enough to say them back. It is hard to remember things when you are thinking about other things.

Stop Thinking

When you are thinking about the meaning, you do not have much extra'space' to remember with. Remembering comes first, then repeating. Finally you can take the time to think about the meaning. If the first steps are difficult then spend more time on them. After they become easy, You will find it even easier to think about the meaning. It becomes easy to think about what you hear when you have remembered it. But if you are trying to think and remember at the same time, you will only remember parts, not one hundred percent. Then thinking about the meaning is even more difficult. First remember, then think. What comes before remembering?

Shadowing

You need to copy what you hear before you can remember it. Shadowing helps you do this. Shadowing means to say the words you are hearing at the same time that you hear them (well, a little after you hear them... perhaps a few milliseconds). If you try to remember what you 'think' you hear, you might miss a valuable word, like a small word such as 'to'. This word could change the entire meaning. Shadowing is not perfect but it helps you listen better and with practice, you will not miss the small words. You will repeat them. Then you can remember them by repeating them.

Repeating

When you repeat the words, you are actually starting to remember them better. Repeating once is good. Repeating more than once is great, if you can.! But what should you do if you can't repeat?

If You Can't Repeat

If you are listening to audio, and repeating what you hear is difficult, then break ti down into smaller parts. What I mean is, try to hear the rhythm. Then try to shadow the rhythm. Finally try to repeat the rhythm. If you can repeat the rhythm, then do some more shadowing. When that is comfortable, try to repeat the words on your own. This will probably feel much easier than the first time.

Keep Going!

You are on the first steps of making that English your own. Repeating and reviewing will help you remember it for longer and longer. You will also have more chances to think about the meaning. This will help you to use that English on your own.

Learner

Now you are a learner and your English is getting better. Plus you are checking your own Englihs for mistakes when you follow these steps. Then you will make fewer embarrassing mistakes.

Learning is better than Understanding

Understanding is a short term goal. Learning is a long term goal will bigger rewards. Whenever possible try to learn the English that you are listening to.

Start now with the story on this page, called Late Homework.