Introduction:

Spanish is a Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a global language with nearly 500 million native speakers, mainly in Spain and the Americas. It is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese, and the world’s fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages of the Indo-European language family, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo, a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile, in the 13th century. Modern Spanish was then taken to the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire beginning in 1492, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa and the Philippines. Listening comprehension is one of the things students of foreign language struggle with the most. It’s extremely important, however. This article will give you a few quick, easy tips to help you improve this aspect of your Spanish.

When thinking about how to improve your listening skills, there are several things you can do on a daily basis to take your ability to the next level. Here are a few useful tips to get you started.

• Remember that you’re still “young” as far as your language ability goes.

Just because you may be an adult in years doesn’t mean that you’re an adult when it comes to your ability to communicate in Spanish. You have to think of listening like you would if you were a child. Your abilities will be limited at first. But, you can still pick up on a few words here and there, and understand a lot of things from context. As you go through your day, listening to Spanish focuses on what you can understand, not so much on what you can’t. You’ll begin picking up more vocabulary by hearing words used in context, surrounding other words you already know.

• Pay attention to how things are said.

Recognizing how different words are pronounced will help you be able to identify them easier the next time around. In Spanish, pronunciation can be very important! Even though it’s phonetic language (meaning that words are pronounced as their written) doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s always easy to say them the correct way the first time around, or that they’re going to sound how you think they should.

• Watch Spanish TV

There are almost always Spanish-speaking stations listed on not only basic cable or satellite TV, but also form part of the regular channels that are available for free on any TV.

This is a great way to listen to Spanish being spoken by natives. Put on a telenovela or the new in Spanish while you’re going about your daily routine-cleaning, cooking, whatever. Any little bit of exposure helps. 

• Listen to Spanish music

There are lots of famous Spanish musicians. If you like a classical guitar or modern-day hip hop, it doesn’t matter. You can enjoy salsa or mariachi music, or even more modern rock and roll bands. The Spanish-speaking world has tons of musicians who are constantly making great music. You’ll definitely find something you love!

• Watch Spanish movies

This is a great way to not only hear Spanish being spoken by natives but also a wonderful way to learn about the culture. You’ll hear a lot of colloquial expressions and slang, as well as a variety of different accents and a plethora of new vocabulary. Keep a notebook nearby to jot down any new words you may come across!

• Check out YouTube

Youtube offers so many Spanish channels. You can find anything from hair and makeup tutorials to those random, funny videos that are meant to be purely entertainment. Check it out! 

• Find native speakers to speak with

The best way to learn how to understand a language being spoken is to listen to someone speaking! Finding a conversation or exchange partner is very useful. Being able to watch someone’s lips move as they speak will make comprehension easier. In addition, you’ll be able to hear their pronunciation better than you would on a song, or over a recording.

Some great websites to find native speakers near you are: mylanguageexchange.com or conversationexchange.com

• Don’t be afraid to use subtitles… in Spanish!

If you’re watching a movie in Spanish (or a Spanish movie…) or TV or YouTube, or whatever, don’t be afraid to use the subtitles if you need to.

Make sure you put them in Spanish, though. That way you can see the words as they’re being spoken, and familiarize yourself with how they sound. Don’t become too dependent on this, though. Try to understand without reading, but if you need to, remember this is a very useful tool!

• Make recordings of those tricky words

In Spanish, as with a lot of languages, there are words that change meaning solely based on the way they’re pronounced, i.e. where the accent falls. There’s a big difference between papá (accent on the last “a”) and papa (accent on the first). The first (papá) means “dad” and the second (papa) means “pope”. Those are definitely words you don’t want to confuse! These and other words may trip you up. Words that have the silent “h” for example or words that seem to be twelve letters long–find someone to pronounce them for you, or record yourself saying them correctly and listen to that recording over and over again.

• Be consistent and use the right content for you

Just like any other aspect of Spanish, in order to get better with your listening skills, you need to commit and practice in a consistent way. The best thing you can do is to set a specific time of the day to practice your listening skills. 

Many people see listening activities as a passive task. And in some cases, it’s nice to have Spanish in the background when you’re doing some light task. However, it’s also recommended that you focus on your practice and you try to learn as much as possible. 

• Conclusion

With a little practice and a lot of dedication, your listening skill can improve greatly. Improving your listening skills in Spanish will allow you to have better communication with other speakers. Since listening is one of the main foundations in any language, on this list, we’ve included some tips and advice that you can follow in order to improve your listening skills in Spanish.

Make sure you find the best resources for yourself and take the time to practice! Before you know it, you’ll have better listening skills.