What can I do to master my Chinese listening?
Chinese is a group of language varieties that form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, spoken by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world’s population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. It is the most used mother tongue on the planet with over 900 million native speakers and more learning it as their second (or more) language. Listening skills are considered to be the backbone of any language. A child is able to learn his/her mother tongue by listening only. Before a child learns to write, read or speak, he learns to listen and comprehend which helps to develop the other three skills. And it is really important to pay more attention to the listening skills while you are learning a foreign language. That means if you have good listening skill, your chances of getting successful will be more. Improving your Chinese listening skills will help you to be better at Chinese speaking, reading and writing. You will be able to understand and enjoy Chinese movies, drama and music much more. You will be able to understand Chinese TV shows, News, podcasts etc. you will be able to communicate with the native Chinese better.
So, let us see how you can improve and master your Chinese listening skills.
You need to listen to something you really enjoy
Listening to boring audios, that you are not enjoying will always demotivate you and you will lose interest in listening and you will give up which is not at all a good sign. Always listen to the topics that you love or you know about. Always listen to the topic of your interest, don’t force yourself to listen to something you are not willing to listen to or you don’t have any knowledge about.
You need to expose yourself and listen to more authentic native language
The more you listen, the better your listening skills will be, and it is obvious. And if you are staying in china then it will be very easy for you. And if you are not staying in China, then you can make Chinese friends online and talk to them. Listening to a native speaker is very much important to improve your Chinese. You can even use YouTube to watch videos made by native Chinese. You can watch Chinese dramas and movies, listen to podcasts.
You need to do active listening
Many of us don’t realize that there is a difference between hearing and listening. While listening we usually pay attention to the meaning and active listening is a bit more than that. When you are practising active listening, you are not only understanding the meaning, but you are also paying attention to the linguistic elements used – like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation. Whenever we are listening to any native speaker we need to pay attention to how they are framing sentences, how they are expressing different ideas and the way of speaking.
You need to focus on the pronunciation, intonation and fillers
While listening to a native Chinese speaker, you should not just focus on the grammar and vocabulary, you need to also focus on the pronunciation of the words and the intonations used to express emotions. You need to imitate these styles while you speak.
Usage of subtitles and transcripts
While you are watching a movie for the first time, try to watch it without subtitles, even if you are not understanding anything. Then watch the film again with Chinese subtitles. Now you are having some understanding of the content, you will be able to understand and read the subtitles faster and along with that, you will be able to focus on the sentence structure. If you find a transcript or the subtitle text video, then read it while listening to the audio.
Listen with slow speed and then with fast speed and then repeat and again listen
While listening to any audio first try to listen to it at a slow speed and then at a fast speed. You will understand that you are gradually picking up what they are saying. I would advise you to listen to it again and again to improve your listening skills.
Memorize a lot of vocabulary
You need to memorize a lot of vocabulary so that you are able to understand while you are listening without getting distracted. If you don’t have a huge word stock it will be difficult to understand what the person is saying. So memorizing a lot of vocabulary is very important for mastering listening skills.
Find a native speaker.
One of the best ways to improve your new language skills is to practice speaking with a native speaker. They will easily be able to correct any grammar or pronunciation mistakes you make and can introduce you to more informal or colloquial forms of speech that you won’t find in a textbook.
Listen to Chinese music and radio.
Listening to Chinese music and/or radio is another good way to surround yourself with the language. Even if you can’t understand everything, try to pick out keywords to help you get the gist of what’s being said.
- Get a Mandarin Chinese radio app on your phone, so you can listen on the go.
- Try downloading Chinese podcasts to listen to while exercising or doing housework.
Finally,
When you learn Chinese, you’re learning more than just a new language.
You’re learning about a unique culture – different from your own.
You’re gaining an insight into an ancient country that’s becoming a modern global power.
And you’re opening yourself up to communicate in a meaningful way with millions of people across the globe who speak the Chinese language.
All your hard work and determination will pay off big time when you’re having real, life-altering conversations with Chinese people you could never have communicated with before.
You need to follow the above-mentioned methods to master your Chinese listening skills. And also, I would advise you to take up a good online Chinese language course where you would be guided in a proper way regarding your improvement in listening skills.
So what are you waiting for? There is no better time than now to get started!
Keep practising and stay motivated and dedicated.
All the best!!