English Listening skills/ how to train your ear - Part one :

Welcome to part one of a series of blog posts on how to improve your listening skills. I do hope that you find this mini lesson helpful.

Practice is essential as we all well know. One has to be disciplined and put in effort/make an effort... You do not have to spend hours each day in order to improve. Start with ten minutes per day and devote those minutes to listening to a short clip, the news or watching a short film. Try not to cram ( Do too much.) , essentially - you want to practice in short bursts - each day.  Do your future self a favour ! Start now. Listening to clips two or three times a week will not help - again : what we do daily, essentially matters most.

Bad habits are easy to create - why not nurture healthier habits? 

Here is a fabulous link to get you started:

https://www.englishlistening.com/listen

Why this website ? Well, all activities are filtered by accent, levels and topics - you are also able to choose the speed of speech. ( Most helpful for lower level learners / if you are starting out with practicing your listening skills. ) Try a free trial and see how you feel !

Free listening practice : 

http://www.elllo.org/

Let's begin :

English words confer meaning based on whether they are content or function words. Knowing the difference will help with both understanding and pronunciation:

Content = information, meaning

Function = necessary words for grammar


Function words and their role in speech  = purely there for grammatical purpose - such as : Articles ( a,an,the), Prepositions ( at/in/over.) , Auxiliary verbs ( do, has, will etc.) and Pronouns ( He, she, ours etc.) 

Content words and their role in speech:  - conjure up an image /a mental picture of something such as Adjectives/Nouns/Verbs and Adverbs

NOTE:

Content words are always enhanced/spoken louder - the function words are glided over. 

( This is apart from word stress itself where for example, words of two syllables : a noun is stressed on the first syllable and a verb,on the second. Eg: NOUN: OBject / Verb: obJECT.) 

See more about word stress: 
http://www.english-at-home.com/pronunciation/noun-and-verb-syllable-stress/

Let's try to practice : Read this aloud: 

The man ate the apple while sitting at the sea,it was a beautiful day and he was content !

Which words did you say louder ? Which words give you a mental image?

Can you point out the content words ? Which words do you think provide a word picture ? 
( Remember : Nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs are usually content words. Auxiliary verbs, pronouns, articles, and prepositions are usually function/grammatical words.)

Now, read this : Man ate apple sitting sea, beautiful day -  content ! 

( We are still able to understand the meaning/gist of what is being said - this is why content words are spoken louder - they are the most important because they convey the message to our listener.) 

Tip when listening /watching movies : 

Start watching films with subtitles - this will help fine tune your ears to naturally spoken English. By following with subtitles - you will understand better when the following happens:

• Contractions ( It is = It's/ They are = They're/What is = What's.)  
• Varied accents ( i.e : American vs British/ Regional dialectical accent.)  -  where more elision/linking is used.

Examples of linking: What are = whaddah / could have = couldiv / where are you going / wherayagoin ? A lot = ahlod

Two main types of linking:

consonant ⇔ vowel
We link words ending with a consonant sound to words beginning with a vowel sound.
vowel ⇔ vowel

We link words ending with a vowel sound to words beginning with a vowel sound.


How do I improve? You ask... well = more listening ! 
Instead of listening to English “when you have the time”, do it whilst driving home, cleaning the house and even when doing some exercise. Download podcasts on your mobile phone - easy as pie ! 
Take a lesson or ten with me ! :) :) :) Movies with subtitles and short films are also reasonable. You have to do the work and train your ear ! Trust me, in time - it gets easier and soon, you will be able to get used to the way native speakers ''run through'' sentences. 


LET'S PRACTICE :

Try this exercise sourced from ThoughtCo.com :

https://www.thoughtco.com/

Exercise

Decide which words are function and content words in the following sentences.

• Mary has lived in England for ten years.

• He's going to fly to Chicago next week.
• I don't understand this chapter of the book.
• The children will be swimming in the ocean this time next week.
• John had eaten lunch before his colleague arrived.
• The best time to study is early in the morning or late in the evening.
• The trees along the river are beginning to blossom.
• Our friends called us yesterday and asked if we'd like to visit them next month.
• You'll be happy to know that she's decided to take the position.
• I won't give away your secret.

Check your answers below:

Exercise Answers

Content words are in bold.

• Mary has lived in England for ten years.
• He's going to fly to Chicago next week.
• I don't understand this chapter of the book.
• The children will be swimming in the ocean at five o'clock.
• John had eaten lunch before his colleague arrived.
• The best time to study is early in the morning or late in the evening.

• The trees along the river are beginning to blossom.
• Our friends called us yesterday and asked if we'd like to visit them next month.
• You'll be happy to know that she's decided to take the position.
• I won't give away your secret.

Travel : Questions at the airport

QUESTIONS YOU MAY HEAR AT AN AIRPORT:

May I see your ticket?

(The worker may also say, "Ticket, please.")

• What's your purpose for travelling?
  
  (What is your reason for travelling? The worker wants to know if you are travelling for business or pleasure.)
• Do you have a photo-ID?
  
  (driver's license, passport)
• Are you checking any bags?
  
  (These are larger bags that the airline will store under the plane for you.)
• How many bags are you checking?
• Do you have a carry-on bag?
  
  (This is a small bag you take with you on the plane such as a purse, small suitcase, or laptop bag.)

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT NEED TO ASK:

• “Excuse me, where is the ___________<Insert name> Airlines check-in desk?”
• “How many bags can I check?”
• “Will my luggage go straight through, or do I need to pick it up in ______<Insert name>?”
• “How much is the fee?”
• If your bag is heavier than the weight limits, or if your bag is larger than the size limits, you may need to pay extra: an oversized baggage fee or overweight baggage fee (this can be $75 to $300). Some airlines in the United States also charge a fee for ALL checked bags (usually $15 to $30).
• “Please mark this bag as ‘fragile.’”
  Say this if you have fragile or sensitive items in your bag that might break
• “Is the flight on time?”
  The agent will respond either “Yes” if the flight is on time, or “There’s a 20-minute delay” (for example) if the flight will leave later than expected.

IN THE USA: SECURITY QUESTIONS

ALWAYS ANSWER YES :

• Did you pack your bags yourself?
• Has your luggage been in your possession at all times?
• Are you aware of the regulations regarding liquids in your carry-on?
  (Liquids must be 100 mL or less, and stored in a single quart-sized clear plastic bag)

ALWAYS ANSWER NO:

• Are you carrying any firearms or flammable materials?
• Have you left your luggage unattended at any time?
• Has anyone given you anything to carry on the flight?

ON THE PLANE:

Conversation Tips:

If you didn’t understand what the flight attendant said, you can say Sorry? or Pardon? to ask him or her to repeat it.

If you want to ask for something, you can use the phrase “Can I have…?” or “Could I have…?”

Credit : E.S.L Website

Holiday experiences : Lesson: Mixed tenses/Conditionals exercise :

Holiday experiences :

Basic tenses/ conditionals overview:

Using this form of the present perfect ''I have now + 3^rd verb'' + Past Simple:

Example: I have now seen the famous leaning tower of pisa. We went on a Saturday – it was lovely !

5 new experiences and then add information:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Relate 5 things you did and what made them special ( Past Simple.) :

Example: We visited a country estate, it was gorgeous because of the flowers !

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Can you tell me three things you would have done differently – use the 2^nd conditional :

If I went/ did / were + I would/ could/ should have :

If I went to the new club, maybe I could have met Alanis Morissette – she was playing that night !

1.

2.

3.

Five items about a regret or a stroke of luck using the 3^rd conditional :

Example of a stroke of luck :

If I had not visited the museum, I would not have seen the Mona Lisa.

Example of a regret : I got food poisoning – If I had not eaten so much sushi, I would not have felt ill that day !

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

On my next holiday, I will / am going to :

Create 5 plans ( going to ) and 5 instant decisions ( will) and include a general truth/fact with the Present Simple:

Example of a plan and a fact : On my next holiday, I am going to go to Cyprus. In Cyprus people speak Greek, you know !

Example of an instant decision and a general truth: I think I will stay at an air bnb – I hear they are very good.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.