Listening to native speakers Thursday, April 19, 2007
In this programme
we talked about the problems learners of English have when they visit
an English-speaking country.
Learners often find it difficult to cope with the speed of native speakers
of English. As well as this, native speakers often use a lot of slang
and may have an accent learners haven't heard before.
So, what can students of English do to make it easier for them to understand
people they meet in English-speaking countries? Here are some useful
tips:
Be aware of word and sentence stress
In English, the words in a sentence which are not stressed and the syllables
in a word which are not stressed are said very quickly. The more important
words are stressed, so you should try to listen for them rather than
every single word.
Context is important
You can quite often predict the kind of words a person will say to you.
For example, if you're buying a ticket for the train and you need to
know the times and the price, you can predict that the answer will contain
numbers. You can prepare yourself for these situations by thinking beforehand
what the key words are you'll need in order to understand the conversation.
Relax
It takes a while to get used to hearing how words actually sound when
used by native speakers. Don't be put off if you are unable to understand
a film or a radio programme in English. It's much easier when you speak
to a native speaker of English face-to-face because you can control
the pace and the direction of the conversation.