The Power of Listening in English

Introduction:

There have been many instances in which we pause while we speak. It may be due to nervousness and a lack of words to say at the moment. The best natural remedy is seen as talking more and improving confidence, but there is one more aspect that remains untreated: listening. Listening builds the brain’s ability to recognize and create patterns when individuals speak. It is similar to a puzzle. It takes time and dedication for the pieces to connect, and learning English is the same way. You need to listen and truly understand what the other person is saying, recognize patterns in their words, and apply them to how you process English.

Active vs Passive Listening:

Listening is seen as fixed and one-dimensional; it's not, however. There are two types of listening that can be classified as active and passive listening. Passively listening refers to when the words are flowing through our ears, and exiting without a second thought. Its style of listening is what confuses, as the brain doesn’t actually interpret the words being said to it. In contrast, active listening refers to truly listening to words and building connections between them. Active listeners look for rhythm, ideas, and pieces and connect all of them to fully comprehend the scenario. Active listening allows for growth in all fields, not just English. 

Ways to Improve Active Listening:

Active listening is optimal, but how are we supposed to improve it? Try to watch podcasts, informational videos, or even gaming videos with subtitles. Truly understand the information being provided, and try to predict the speaker’s words. You may build patterns, whether to which strategy is being played in a game, or a common theme in podcasts you’ve watched. That is the ultimate goal. Active Listening refers to building pattern recognition skills and training your brain to maximize its output. Subtitles allow the eyes to scan and have involvement with the video, not just the ears. Two senses are a part of the act rather than only the ears. The brain is more focused because it has to use more power to understand what it is being given.

Building Confidence:

Many people who learn and speak English may feel nervous and scared to speak at times. It is a natural tendency everyone feels at certain points, but a way to alleviate nervousness is through listening. Listing allows people to understand the flow of speech, which directly builds confidence. When people master pattern recognition and the subject topic, they understand how to respond accordingly, and that makes the listener feel more confident in their skills. People tend to talk and understand more if they’re familiar with a topic, and actively understanding topics allows listeners and speakers to bond together.

Listening in Life:

Listening is not a skill that is learned; rather, it is a skill that is acquired. Everyone can listen, and that makes it friendlier to improve other areas of life. Building listening skills can improve language learning, networks, communications, and open opportunities in the future. Most importantly, it builds confidence in who you are. Many people feel demotivated in dozens of tasks, including English. People want to learn English, but fear being ostracized or the process being enduring, but it does not need to be. English is a fun way to show your skills to friends and family. Through listening, people can build the proper skills to enjoy English, instead of despising it.

Conclusion:

Overall, listening should be trained like other skills, such as vocabulary and grammar. Learning English is composed of dozens of small fragments, and our goal is to provide the best tips to learn English. Learning English opens opportunities and doors for everyone. It has become a global lingua franca in recent years, and mastering skills such as listening and speaking can seriously change your life. Skills from outside of English can be implemented into learning English, and vice versa. The next time your friend tells you about a movie, try to actively listen and ask dozens of questions.