more of what is being said. That’s without stopping the audio and without a
dictionary. So it should be quite easy. I say this because the natural desire of
most students is to pick something harder, thinking it will help them. It
sounds more impressive to say I’m listening to CNN rather than a children’s
program. If you choose something too difficult, you can get frustrated. With
something easy, you get confidence.
Remember Dr. Krashen’s idea of understandable input. If you don’t
understand, you are not learning. No understanding means no improvement.
Easier listening is almost always better than difficult. Eventually, you will be
ready for more difficult material, but take your time and listen to plenty of
easy English.
If you’re just starting out, try listening to children’s programs since the
English tends to be simpler. You can buy audio books online as a download,
and get the audio book immediately so you can get started.
If you find yourself listening to something more difficult, you can still use
it, but you usually need the text. You can get an audio article or a speech, and
use the text so you can read and listen at the same time. For more advanced
learners, another great source of casual English conversation is film. Listen
to American and English movies and read the subtitles. This will also help
you. Just remember, listening is the most important thing. To get the most
from films, use the movie technique below.
If you don’t have an audio player or smart phone, get one. It will enable
you to listen to English conveniently whenever you can. Listen in the
morning when you get up. Listen when you go to work, or when you are at
home. Listen when you are at lunch. Listen when you are coming home from
work. Listen in the evening – lots and lots and lots of English listening, lots
of easy listening. I even have a free Effortless English™ podcast on iTunes
and you can listen to that. Listen, Listen, Listen.
Rule Three is the reason that all of my courses are based on audio.
Effortless English™ is a listening system where most learning is done
through the ears. It’s okay to use text to help understanding, but focus most
of your time and efforts on learning with audios.
