How To Understand & Enjoy Native English? Discover The Secrets Now!
Working on your listening skills is one of the demanding parts of becoming fluent in the English language. Learning English rules seems to disappear when talking to native speakers since they use slang and utter words so fast that you can’t even recognize them.
Nothing other than this makes you feel frustrated and deflated when you want to be a part of the conversation, but a lack of understanding gets you stuck.
Today, we will reveal 8 secrets that will help you become a better English listener so that you can understand and enjoy native English better than ever before.
Buckle up and get ready for these 8 game-changing secrets!
1. Get Familiar with their accent
Getting familiar with Native speakers’ accents and dialects is challenging but rewarding. Learn to be an active listener. Listen to audio tracks, videos, and podcasts repeatedly to ensure you understand clearly.
When speaking to international team members and listening to podcasts, focus on how they pronounce words and notice their tone and style. It can help in getting familiar with the Native speakers’ accents. Also, practice speaking in the Native accent to grasp it.
2. Focus on Chunks & Stress Words
It’s a significant part of language learning, where you focus on sounds rather than words.
For example, here’s a sentence:
Have a good day! This sentence has four words, but you don’t have to focus on the terms; however, listen to how to speak this sentence. Your hearing ability will help you understand the pronunciation.
Moreover, when listening to native speakers, you might notice that they stress words. Focusing on strongly pronounced words would make it easier to digest the meaning.
Such as, Can you go shopping on your way home? The bold words are stressed.
3. Learn Speech Fillers
Listening to speech is different from reading or writing a text. Speakers use these words naturally without even noticing their use. Some native speakers also use speech fillers to take some time to think about the following statement.
These aren’t crucial, but learn joint fillers to know you must skip them while speakers talk and focus on the rest of the essential phrases of the sentence.
Here’re some common fillers you need to know: Well, I mean, Kinda, Actually, Ok, and So.
4. Connected Speech
As grammar helps better writing, connected speech is the key to improving listening skills in English. It links words, blends them, and changes the sounds entirely. When hearing native English, you can observe they connect words; therefore, it’s challenging to recognize when the terms stop and start.
For instance: 1. Coudjo work on this task? (Could)
2. I’d like to geta ticket to London (Get a)
The words pronounced and spoken can be different depending on the context. So, listen carefully to the linking words to understand the message.
5. Use Contractions When You Speak
Many English learners use the complete form when speaking instead of contractions. Contraction makes the flow smooth, so native speakers consider talking with contractions.
Here’s a simple sentence: He has already told me.
Contracted form: He’s already told me.
To understand native English, focus on contractions because native speakers do. If you don’t learn contraction, you can’t comprehend what natives speak. Practice this exercise to try using contractions.
6. Repeat Key Words
Once you’ve gone through all the processes to understand native speakers, repeat key or main words in the native pattern. Many English words have distinct intonations and stress depending on the context. Thus, this powerful technique helps to remember new vocabulary or expressions.
7. Be Patient
Unusual words, connected speech, and pronunciation are advanced language skills; hence, learning takes time. If you can’t understand native speakers, you might be an intermediate-level learner.
The learning process is slower. Take on notes and practice speaking so it’s digestible. Work with patience; your consistency and efforts will bear sweet fruits.
8. Practice Listening Regularly
Native speakers don’t have the same accent and speed. Some natives stress words, and others widen their vocabulary. At first, you’ll find it challenging to listen regularly, but gradually it will train your ears.
To understand this better, podcasts are highly recommended. Podcasts help intermediate listeners to approach an advanced level through consistent practice. Take time and keep practicing the native English accent.
The Bottom Line:
Understanding Native English isn’t going to be a nightmare for you. By employing the right strategies and focusing on improving your listening skills, you can overcome any obstacles that come your way.
With a solid grasp of the native English accent, connected speech, contractions, speech fillers, and consistent practice, you’ll be able to understand and enjoy native English faster than you thought possible.
Don’t let language barriers hold you back – start your journey to fluent and confident communication in English today!