How to use podcasts to improve listening skills?
- Read the short summary of the podcast. Predict three things you think the presenters will talk about. Listen and check.
- Choose ten words, phrases or collocations you think the presenters will use. Play bingo. How many did you hear? If you listen to the same podcasts regularly, you will start to notice the same phrases appearing again and again.
- Play two minutes of the podcast. Stop and predict what you will hear next. Continue listening. Were you correct? Repeat this at a few different points in the podcast.
- Listen to the whole podcast without stopping. Write a short summary of what you heard, or record an audio summary of it. Listen again and see if you can add any extra information. Repetition will improve your confidence.
- Choose a piece of grammar you’d like to improve, like the present perfect. Focus on listening for it. How many times did you hear it? What contexts is it used in?
- Listen and repeat what a speaker is saying. Mumble it under your breath. Repeating this a few times can really help your pronunciation.
A few tips:
- As a student, don’t be depressed if you find a podcast difficult to understand at first. Some presenters speak very quickly, and there may be concepts you have not heard before. You have two choices: keep listening and be patient – it may take time, but you will start to understand more; alternatively, choose a different podcasts – there are plenty out there!
- Listen to the same podcast a few times. You’ll notice a lot more language the second and third time you hear it.
@FeruzKarimovIELTS
