Keep Listening
One (apparently) controversial advice in language learning is: keep listening whether or not you understand the target language.
A lot of theoretical background for language learning acquisition comes from the work of Dr. Stephen Krashen, particularly his Input Hypothesis. For example: input needs to be “comprehensible” and “i+1” (where i is your current level of full comprehension).
According to this, the advice to listen even if you don’t understand would be invalid.
But there are two reasons for listening, EVEN though you don't understand it (yet):
1. If you want to learn a language to fluency, you should get in touch with your target language as often as possible.
That’s why it is often suggested that “you should live in the country where the language is spoken“. But not everybody has enough time and money for that.
Luckily, in times of the internet and globalization it is no longer necessary to travel to another country in order to immerse yourself in your target language (in the case of many languages). Try to find TV shows, movies, online radio, online news sites or order books and CDs in your target language. Then listen (daily) as often as you can throughout the day. In the car, in the bus, waiting for someone, listening while washing the dishes, during TV commercials, … The opportunities are endless.
If you listen and read every day in your target language, the effect (and the results) will be similar to “live in the country where the language is spoken“ — without spending much money and effort!
2. Science confirms, that listening to the sounds of a new language is required to set up the structures in your brain which are necessary to learn these words.
That’s why it is often suggested that “you should live in the country where the language is spoken“. But not everybody has enough time and money for that.
Luckily, in times of the internet and globalization it is no longer necessary to travel to another country in order to immerse yourself in your target language (in the case of many languages). Try to find TV shows, movies, online radio, online news sites or order books and CDs in your target language. Then listen (daily) as often as you can throughout the day. In the car, in the bus, waiting for someone, listening while washing the dishes, during TV commercials, … The opportunities are endless.
If you listen and read every day in your target language, the effect (and the results) will be similar to “live in the country where the language is spoken“ — without spending much money and effort!
2. Science confirms, that listening to the sounds of a new language is required to set up the structures in your brain which are necessary to learn these words.
In the beginning, it’s absolutely normal that you don’t understand what you are listening to. Don’t worry, this is just your starting point. Soon, you will begin to learn words through other kinds of input (like reading for example) so that you will understand more and more of what you hear (your input is gradually getting comprehensible).
Output, on the other hand, comes after a “critical mass” of input. If you hear something enough times, you’ll eventually be able to say it aloud quite effortlessly (like commercials or lines from your favorite movie).
As you can’t learn weightlifting from a book, you can’t learn a language through drilling grammar rules or vocabulary lists. You have to train your ability to understand like a muscle.
The point is this: You will probably not learn to understand, say, an complete audio book in your target language simply by listening to it for hundreds of hours. It is true, that your brain needs some sort of comprehensible input in order to learn to understand a new language.
But it is also true, that it also needs to know, how the new language sounds. And this task is very time consuming. Remember: Your brain has to build many new connections. This can't be done overnight. But as your brain don’t need to understand everything in order to get used to the sounds, it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it (yet).
But it is also true, that it also needs to know, how the new language sounds. And this task is very time consuming. Remember: Your brain has to build many new connections. This can't be done overnight. But as your brain don’t need to understand everything in order to get used to the sounds, it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it (yet).
Understanding will come later with the help of other sources of input. Be patient and let your brain do it's job. Just spend time with the language every day.
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