The Power of Active Listening: One Trick to Boost Your Language Skills

Some time ago, before I became an English teacher, I was interested in 3D modelling. I started searching for tutorials on 3ds Max and Maya (software for 3D artists). It quickly became clear that there were very few sensible tutorials in Russian, but there were plenty in English instead. At that time, I couldn’t even watch movies without Russian subtitles, and I couldn’t imagine a situation where I would have to speak English in real life. But the 3D lessons were very understandable, and it was a very pleasant feeling to listen and understand everything.

The secret is that the vocabulary in such videos is limited: “click here,” “open this window,” “move something,” “zoom in and out,” etc. This thematic vocabulary is formed very quickly because, on the one hand, we hear the same words over and over again. On the other hand, we are not distracted by vocabulary from other topics.

Applying the approach to language learning

Now I consciously use this approach in learning Spanish: I usually watch videos where Colombians or Mexicans cook food. I learned about a delicious thing called tortilla con flores de calabaza (tortilla with pumpkin flowers). I watched several videos with this recipe, convinced my mom not to “turn” all the pumpkin flowers into pumpkins, but to bring me a few, cooked it, realised that it wasn’t so tasty, but got a little bit of Latin American culture and definitely remembered some words. As for the Colombian soup “changua,” it turned out to be very delicious. It’s something between an omelette and a milk soup; surprisingly, there is nothing like it in Russian cuisine.

The trick: watching thematic videos and repetition

Well, here is the trick itself: if you have difficulties understanding foreign speech, try watching videos about something practical (cooking, drawing lessons, music, fitness, cosmetics, etc.). It’s important that the topic is interesting and useful to you. Remember that repetition is the key. Don’t just watch one video and expect to understand everything. Watch multiple videos on the same topic and listen carefully to the words and phrases being used. You can even try repeating them out loud to help with memorization. It’s also important not to get discouraged if you don’t understand everything at first. Learning a new language takes time and practice. Keep watching videos and listening to native speakers, and eventually, you’ll start to pick up more and more.