Close & Extensive Listening

There are two ways to learn how to listen to English: “Close Listening” and “Extensive Listening”

① Close Listening
“Close Listening” means to listen to English over and over again while carefully understanding it.
※ In contrast, “Extensive Listening” means listening to a lot of English while grasping the general meaning.

Points of close listening

  • It is more effective to listen to English that you can understand well even in a short time than to listen to English whose meaning you cannot understand for many hours!
  • Use materials with scripts and explanations!
  • Start with simple English at junior high school level!
  • Repeat the lessons so often that you memorize every word!

Continue with close listening…

  • The sounds you hear will match the actual English
  • Get rid of Katakana English pronunciation
  • Understand English sound changes (liaisons) by feel
    • For example…, “Like it” is not ‘laik ˈɪt’ but ‘lai kit’!

Tips for Close Listening

  • Choose simple English conversations (skits) (ones you can listen to over and over!)
  • Don’t “understand and be done”; listen further!
  • Pay attention to sound changes, words, grammar, intonation
  • Also use shadowing and dictation!

Shadowing = practice imitating and pronouncing English sounds as you hear them
Dictation = practice writing down the English you hear, word for word.

② Extensive Listening
“Extensive Listening” is the practice of grasping the general meaning of a passage, rather than listening to every word perfectly.
For example…
💬 “Oh, this is a travel story.”
💬 “It sounds like they are talking about work mostly.”

Points of Extensive Listening

  • You don’t have to listen to every word!
  • It is important to grasp “what is being talked about”!
  • Use a slightly higher level of English!

Steps for Extensive Listening

  1. First listen once without a script
    • Check how much you can understand!
  2. Listen 3-5 times repeatedly
    • To get the details little by little
  3. Look at the script and check your answers
    • See which words you didn’t catch!
  4. Listen again without the script
    • Check if you understand!
  5. Write down important words and phrases
    • Or write them down in a notebook or word sheet!

Key Points for Extensive Listening

  • Don’t worry too much if you don’t hear a sound you don’t understand!
  • Make it a priority to grasp “what is being said”!
  • Review the sound sources you have learned by “listening passively”!

Summary

  • The basics of listening are “Close Listening” and “Extensive Listening”!
  • Beginners start with “Close Listening”!
  • When you can understand the sounds of English, move on to “Extensive Listening”!
  • Review the material you have learned many times by “listening passively”!
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