If you are reading this article, you probably already have the main tool you need to practise listening: a computer. With a connection to the internet, you can access and download f sound files for listening practise. The typical sound file is in MP3 format. This gives good sound quality, and smaller file sizes (fast to download, and they take less memory).
After the computer, the second most useful item you need is a portable MP3 player. There are many on the market, and the most famous is the ipod, or one of its line (i-pod shuffle, ipod nano, etc). Some people like to use their cell phones for this.
Now that we have covered the computer and the MP3 player – the hardware – let’s look at the ‘softer’ materials that you need. You will need to find some sound files recorded in English.
What kind of sound files are good?
It depends on what kind of listening practise you are doing. If your listening skills are intermediate or below, then I recommend that you do intensive listening. Otherwise you can do extensive listening. Materials for extensive listening abound, so I will not discuss them here in great detail. But Intensive listening materials that are good for you are a bit more difficult to find. Let’s take a look at intensive listening materials.
You might say, “I am a high beginner (or low intermediate) level at listening, but what do you mean by intensive listening?” I mean listening practise that can build your listening skills. That’s a bit different from practicing understanding. The skills you will practise are
1. listening for sounds and sound combinations
2. remembering what you hear.
Good. You have decided to practise your listening skills. Now we can look at what materials are good for you. Let’s find something that will also help you learn a bit of English at the same time.
Are you interested in learning English vocabulary, or grammar? If you want to learn and practise listening to vocabulary, then you will choose a recording that has the target vocabulary you want to study. The same for grammar. You will choose a recording that contains the target grammar you want to learn.
Great! You have an idea of what you want to study. But what other qualities make the recording good? Well, you want the goldilocks story. Goldilocks wanted porridge that was not too hot and not too cold. She wanted a chair that was not too hard and not too soft.
You want a Goldilocks story. You want a story that is not too long and not too short. Too short is one sentence. Too long is more than a few paragraphs. You should be able to listen to it in 30 seconds to three minutes.
Now your goldilocks story needs one final component. You need a story that has the script written out for you. You will not read the script very often. But you will need to read it. And if you don’t have it, your listening practise will not be as effective.
So, in review, you want physical materials. A computer and an MP3 player (for convenience). Tthen you want a story with a specific target vocabulary or grammar in it. The story should be the Goldilocks story; not too long and not too short. Finally, it should have a written script for you to consult when you have trouble.
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