Pronunciation and listening

Some views on learning the pronunciation techniques of foreign languages and improving your listening comprehension.

Why good pronunciation is important?

Learning how to pronounce a foreign language like a native speaker is difficult but it's not impossible. The better is your pronunciation, people will understand you better and the easier you will find in understanding them.

Tuning your ears and practicing listening comprehension

Before you begin to speak a foreign language, spend some time tuning your ears to its sounds and rhythms. You can do this by listening to the language as much as possible via the radio, TV, movies and native speakers in your neighborhood or at your workplace. Listening to Podcasts is not a bad idea.

When you're trying to listen to your chosen language, you might understand a little or nothing at all, perhaps you may understand the names of people and places and the odd word, unless you're learning a language that is closely related to your First Language. You may even find it difficult to believe that you're listening to a real language that people are able to converse somewhere in the world. However, if you continue to listen to your Second Language as much as possible, you will gradually become familiar with sounds and rhythms of that language and you'll be able to pick some words and phrases. Eventually you'll understand most of the language, even though not completely in your Second Language.

There are a number of things that might help you in understanding radio and TV broadcasts:

• Rather than listening or watching at random, find out program list and choose one that sounds interesting. In this method you have an idea of what the program is all about.
  
• Set your goals, for example when listening to a news channel, try to make a note of main points, names, dates and times.
  
• Take out your vocabulary list and read through before tuning in. For example if you're planning to watch a travel program, revise places, clothing and food words.
  
• Even if you are unable to understand much, try to identify words and sentences and its structures.
  
• If possible listen to the news channel in your First Language and then try to listen to the News channel in your Second Language. as you are aware of the mains stories, you will find easy to co-relate between languages.
  
• Never listen to or watch Programs too much in one shot: if you're finding it very difficult, take a break and Try Listening to Songs in your Second Language.
  

Listening to songs in your Second Language is another way to improve your listening comprehension, if you have the lyrics written, you can follow them as you listen. The lyrics of major albums would available on the Internet.