English Listening Skills.doc

英语听力技巧english listening skillscontentsabstract.1i. introduction2ii.listening process.2(1) dont talk when im interrupting.3(2) dont overdo it.3(3). practice mind-mapping. .3(4).be alert to your body language. .3 abstain from judging. 4 listen with empathy. 5 be sensitive to emotional deaf spots. 6iii.how to improve our listening skills63.1 how much you know about: the topic, the situation, the country in which the language is spoken.73.2 study skills: note-taking.73.3 hearing and glossary.93.4 dictations glossaries and phrase.103.5 outlines records.10iv. listening skills17v.conclusion .19.references.22english listening skills摘 要：众所周知，要学好英语，听和说是非常重要的，而听更是重中之重，因此，提高英语听力的能力，成为了首要的问题。但是我们也不能一味的苦学，掌握听力技巧是非常重要的，它将带给你事半公倍的效果。中西语言是有差异的，我们需要能运用多种方法去掌握它，这就需要我们要认真注意它 ，加强练习，容入进去，才能迅速提高我们的听力水平。本文主要从四个方面对中西方语言的差异进行对比分析，发现其中的奥妙，掌握学习语言的各种技巧，通过一定的练习，从而使我们的听力水平快速进步，进而避免产生误解，更好的了解异国之文化。关键词：环境 练习 注意 差异abstract: it is well known, must study learns english, listens and said is extremely important, but listens is very important, therefore, enhances english hearing the ability, has become the most important question. but we cannot the constantly pain study, will grasp the hearing skill are extremely important, it will take to you the matter half common multiple the effect. china and the west language has the difference, we need to be able to utilize the many kinds of methods to grasp it, this needs us to have earnestly to pay attention to it, strengthens the relation, accommodates into, can rapidly raise our hearing level. this article mainly carries on the contrast analysis from four aspects to the center west language difference, discovered mystery, grasps the study language each skill, through certain relation, thus causes our hearing level fast progress, then avoids having the misunderstanding culture .key words: situation, practise, attention, difference english listening skills1.introductionmost of us have room for improvement in our listening techniques. i encourage you to practice the methods ive just described in your very next conversation. like anything new, they wont feel natural until youve used them a lot. but do so, and youll definitely be on your way to improving this aspect of your charisma. meanwhile, here are some further ideas on ways to make active listening easier for you . listen-really listen-to one person for one day. choose one person you could relate to better. commit to listening to them-not just hearing them-for one day. after each meeting, ask yourself did i use the caress techniques did i really make an effort to go beyond superficialities did i observe verbal, vocal, and visual clues did i note what was not being said as well as what was said once youve gotten into this habit of nudging yourself to listen better, extend this exercise to successive days, then to other acquaintances as well. listening well is a gift you can give to others. itll cost you nothing, but it may be invaluable to them. create a receptive listening environment. turn off the tv. hold your calls. put away your spread sheets and silence your computer. when listening, forget about clipping your nails, crocheting, solving crossword puzzles, or snapping your chewing gum. instead, try to provide a private, quiet, comfortable setting where you sit side by side with others without distractions. if thats not possible, perhaps suggest a later meeting in a more neutral, quieter environment. the point is to make your partner feel like youre there for him or her. dont be like the boss who put a desk-sized model of a parking meter on his desk, then required employees to feed the meter-10 cents for every 10 minutes of conversation. what a signal he was sending out! 2.listening process (1) dont talk when im interrupting. if someone else is interrupting, avoid the temptation to reply in kind. itll just raise the level of acrimony and widen the gulf between you. instead, be the one who shows restraint by listening to them, then quietly, calmly, taking up where you left off. if youre talking, you arent learning, president lyndon johnson used to say. and by showing more courtesy than your adversary, you will be quietly sending a message as to how you both ought to be acting. (2) dont overdo it. sometimes newcomers to the skill of listening can get carried away. they know theyre supposed to have eye contact, so theyll stare so much the speaker will feel intimidated. taught to nod their heads to show theyre understanding, theyll start bobbing like sailboats on a rough sea. having learned to project appropriate facial expressions while listening, theyll look as if theyre suffering gastric distress. eventually, the speaker figures out that the other person recently attended a listening seminar or read a book on the subject. but it all comes across as artificial. all good things, including listening, require moderation and suitable application. too much exaggerated listening is just as bad as, if not worse than, none at all. (3). practice mind-mapping. an excellent method for note taking is mind-mapping. this free-form technique helps you take notes quickly without breaking the flow of the conversation. essentially, you use a rough diagram to connect primary pieces of information, then break it into appropriate subtopics or details. its extremely helpful and easy to use, and not at all like the old-fashioned roman-numeral kind of outlining you probably learned in school. if you want to know more, i recommend an excellent book tony buzans the mind map book. (4).be alert to your body language. what you do with your eyes, face, hands, arms, legs, and posture sends out signals as to whether you are, or arent, listening to and understanding what the other person is saying. for example, if you noticed someone you were talking to doing the following, what would you think glancing sideways sighing yawning frowning crossing arms on chest looking at the ceiling cleaning fingernails cracking knuckles jingling change or rattling keys fidgeting in chair youd very quickly get the impression-wouldnt you-that no matter what words come from this persons mouth, he or she actually has zero interest in what youre talking about and wishes youd just go away. as ralph waldo emerson said, what you are is shouting so loud, i cant hear what you are saying. conversely, consider these mannerisms looking into your eyes smiling frequently raising eyebrows periodically grinning at appropriate moments using expressive hand gestures when speaking keeping eyes wide open licking lips tilting head leaning toward you this person shows interest in you and what youre saying. in addition, the active listener usually acknowledges the speaker verbally with such comments as i see, uh-huh, mm -mm, or really some people are contact-oriented, while others are much less so, preferring more space between them and the person theyre talking to. youll be a better listener if you honor those spatial preferences. again, when you acknowledge the other person both verbally and nonverbally, you build trust and increase rapport. and youll probably learn something, too! (5) abstain from judging. as someone once advised, grow antennae, not horns. if you prejudge someone as shallow or crazy or ill-informed, you automatically cease paying attention to what they say. so a basic rule of listening is to judge only after youve heard and evaluated what they say. dont jump to conclusions based on how they look, or what youve heard about them, or whether theyre nervous. in fact, maybe a good exercise would be to go out of your way to listen to a difficult speaker. maybe he talks with a thick accent. or talks much more rapidly, or more slowly, than you, or uses a lot of big words. whatever difficulty this speaker poses, seize it as an opportunity not to prejudge but to practice your listening skills. given some time, youll become more comfortable and effective in listening to diverse styles. (6). listen with empathy. no matter how outrageous, inconsiderate, false, self-centered, or pompous the person youre talking to is, remember he or she is simply trying to survive, just like you. we all deal with similar physical and psychological concerns. some of us just have better survival strategies than others. listening with empathy means asking yourself, where is this persons anger coming from what is he or she asking for what can i do thats reasonable and non condemning youre not everyones shrink, and you dont have to carry the weight of the world on your back. but, on the other hand, if you can think through what makes this person behave like this, perhaps youll be inclined to cut them a little slack. genuinely listening well is, at its heart, an act of love, and as such, may help heal. (7). be sensitive to emotional deaf spots. deaf spots are words that make your mind wander or go off on a mental tangent. they automatically produce a mental barrier that impedes listening. everybody is affected that way by certain words. for example, a speaker giving a talk to savings-and-loan personnel kept saying, bank. to members of that industry, banks and s & ls are very different things and so each reference to them as bankers irritated the audience and aroused emotions that temporarily derailed their listening. so be alert to what your own deaf spots are and make adjustments. and try to find out what raises the hackles of other people, then avoid those words so as to raise the likely level of listening. create and use an active-listening attitude. learning to be an active listener is like learning to be an active jogger. it takes effort. you start little by little and work upward. its as much a state of mind as a physical activity. besides, as you work longer and get better, it pays ever-increasing benefits. an active-listening attitude can help tremendously in breaking your poor listening habits. exercising such an attitude means appreciating that listening is as powerful as speech. what someone says to you is just as critical as what you have to say to them. realizing that listening saves time and effort. those who listen create fewer mistakes, fewer misunderstandings, and fewer false starts. understanding that listening to everybody is important and worthwhile. look for that something you can learn from each and every person you meet.3.how to improve our listening skillsstudy skills: how to predict? when you listen to a person speaking your own language, in many situations you can be one step ahead of the speaker. you can very often predict what that person is going to say nextperhaps not always the exact words, but at least the main ideas. have you ever found yourself finishing other peoples sentences for them? this is often something we do without even thinking about it. the more you can predict, the easier it becomes to understandin a foreign language too. in fact, you will probably be surprised at how much you can predict in english. train yourself to predict as much as possible. do this consciously. there are many things which can help you to predict while you are listening, for example: 3.1 how much you know about: the topic, the situation, the country in which the language is spoken (1) intonation, for example: when presenting a list, rising intonation signals that more items will follow and a falling intonation signals the end of the list: id like to buy some eggs, cheese, tomatoes and a cake. (2) signals such as: im afraid that . (signals something negative will follow) theres one point id like to make . (signals an opinion will follow) the phrases in group 3 are called semantic markers. they serve as signals for the meaning and structure of the lecture or text. they tell us how the ideas are organized. there are many other semantic markers in english, which are classified here according to their function. a)the markers used for listing, such as: firstly, in the first place, secondly, thirdly, my next point is, last/finally b)markers that show us the cause and effect relationship between one idea and another: so, therefore, thus (we see), because, since c)markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is going to illustrate his ideas by giving examples: for instance, for example, lets take ., an example/instance of this was . d)markers that introduce an idea which runs against what has been said, or is going to be said: but, nevertheless, on the other hand, and yet, although e)markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is about to sum up his message, or part of it: to summarize, in other words, what i have been saying is this, it amounts to this, if i can just sum up f)semantic markers used to express a time relationship: then, next, after that, previously, while, when g)markers used to indicate the relative importance of something: it is worth noting, i would like to direct your attention to h)markers used to rephrase what has already been said, or to introduce a definition: in other words, let me put it this way, to put it another way, that is to say i)markers that express a condition: if, unless, assuming that these are only a few examples of semantic markers. train yourself to listen for these key words and phrases. 3.2 study skills: note-taking as students you may often attend lectures delivered in english. you will want to write down as many of the details as possible as you listen so that you can remember them later. however, taking notes on a lecture can be difficult. how can you write everything down quickly, especially when the words are long? you may still be writing one sentence while the lecturer is five sentences further along. by the time you have finished writing and can listen again you are lost! you no longer understand what the lecturer is talking about. or, like many students, you may decide that it is more important just to listen, and so you stop taking notes. but then at the end of the lecture you have already forgotten many important details. this textbook will introduce some techniques which you can begin to use now to make sure that your listening and note-taking keep pace with the speakers ideas. rephrasing sentences for note-taking . taking good notes requires you to be able to do two things very quickly: first, you must recognize main topics; second, you must be able to write down as many details and supporting examples as you can hear and understand. in other words, your hand must work as quickly as your ear. most students do not have special training in transcribing or copying speech. you dont need a course in secretarial skills or shorthand in order to do a good job taking notes. but you do need to practise a few simple techniques to help you to be thorough in your note-taking. you should use abbreviations. we will study that technique later. you should also learn how to write only the most important words from each sentence, and ignore the rest. when you send a telegram to somebody, you must pay by the word; and for many people, money is limited. that is why we send very short telegrams which include only the most important words. for example, compare these two messages: 1.i will be arriving tomorrow, monday, april 15, on twa flight number 222, at jfk airport. 2.arrive 15th twa 222 jfk which message would be more expensive? when you take notes, you have a similar problem. in this case it is not money, but time, that is limited. therefore, it is a good idea to practise listening for only the most important sentences in a section of speech, and only the most important words in those sentences. recognizing the main idea unless, for some reason, you wish to record every word that the lecturer says, you will have to select what to write down. you will naturally want to select the main points, and perhaps some subordinate or subsidiary points which relate to the main points. how does one recognize the main points? usually, the speaker will make it clear which ideas he wishes to emphasize by the way in which he presents them. in other words, the main ideas are cued. they are often cued by such semantic markers as: i would like to emphasize . the general point you must remember is . it is important to note that . i repeat that . the next point is crucial to my argument . lets move on to another matter . my next point is . another problem to be discussed is . a related area would be . very often speakers list their main points. other ways in which lecturers may cue their main points while speaking are by emphasis or repetition; or perhaps by visual display (e.g. by putting headings on a blackboard, overhead projector etc). sometimes you will find that facial expression and gestures of the lecturer point up his meaning (of course, you will not see these if you are crouched over your notes, scribbling away furiously!). often examples and points of lesser importance are also cued. the speaker may use such phrases as: the letters and numbers are placed about three spaces to the right of the item above. periods are used after roman numerals and numbers. headings of equal importance are indented an equal distance from the left margin (notice. 1. and . 2.) . the purpose of this indentation is to make each idea easy to see and to show just how it is related to the id