Understanding fast spoken language (Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies) Language Learning Forum

Understanding fast spoken language
Tags: Comprehension/understanding \| Listening \| Difficulty \| Learning Technique/Method
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Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies

53 messages over 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>

Lindsay19
Diglot
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5603 days ago
183 posts - 214 votes

Speaks: English*, German^C1
Studies: Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic

Message 41 of 53

09 July 2010 at 10:24am | IP Logged

My boyfriend is German, and he talks at light-speed. Even the host family I'm living with
at the moments makes fun of him sometimes for the way he talks. The first fews weeks I
knew him, it was definitely a challenge for me, but after a few months, I understand him
just fine, and now fast-spoken German in general doesn't pose any problems for me
anymore. I guess that wasn't really good advice or anything, but that's how my problem
was solved. Just lots of exposure.
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commo
Newbie
United States
Joined 5293 days ago
13 posts - 20 votes
Speaks: French

Message 42 of 53

09 July 2010 at 9:19pm | IP Logged

cordelia0507 wrote:

I am having problems with this in Russian, problems I can't remember having with English, French or Spanish.

Basically I can hear a sentence in which I KNOW all words, but because of the complex grammar and different word order the sentence still doesn't make sense.

Has anyone experience this, and is this too a matter of getting more exposure?
Maybe my brain isn't as fast anymore; I am over thirty.

I used to have this problem when I was learning to read German for my graduate school exams. Sometimes there would be a single sentence that would be the length of a good-sized English paragraph (think Kant or Winckelmann) with at least a dozen nouns and who knows how many pre-noun insert clauses. It was brutal when it was sitting still on the printed page. I can't imagine dealing with something like that(or even somewhat similar) in fluid speech.
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Bao
Diglot
Senior Member
Germany
tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5
Joined 5548 days ago
2256 posts - 4046 votes

Speaks: German*, English
Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin

Message 43 of 53

10 July 2010 at 5:12pm | IP Logged

commo wrote:

It doesn't exist in fluid speech, because that's (high) written register and people just don't talk like that. Even the language used in newspapers or by news broadcasters is just high spoken register.
Nontheless, if you let someone read Kant to you and the reader is any good at reading aloud, which includes good text comprehension and presenting it to the listeners in a way that facilitates their comprehension it should be easier to listen to it than to read it yourself.
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Metamucil
Groupie
United States
Joined 5657 days ago
43 posts - 51 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: German

Message 44 of 53

14 July 2010 at 8:52pm | IP Logged

frenkeld wrote:

In addition to just listening a lot, consider finding some sources which allow you to listen while reading the transcript of what's being said.

Also, one can listen in a graded manner, start with the news, get good at it, and then move on to harder sources, e.g., movies, which can be harder than talking one on one to a person. Audiobooks are also professionally read.

For Spanish and German, one possible source of news items with transcripts is this site: http://www.euronews.net/.
Movies with subtitles in the target language can be helpful, even though the text won't always follow the spoken version exactly.

I also find "overlistening" to be useful. Alternate between listening to a piece with and without the transcript, as many times as it takes to get comfortable following what's being said.

that's a wonderful link you've supplied. This is exactly what some need to help with listening comprehension.

I'd like to pass along a Slow German Podcast link here:

http://www.slowgerman.com/

there's also "langsam gesprochene Nachrichten" from Deutsche Welle

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5791611,00.html

I haven't read thru this whole thread so I apologise if these have already been mentioned.

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frenkeld
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6725 days ago
2042 posts - 2719 votes

Speaks: Russian*, English
Studies: German

Message 45 of 53

14 July 2010 at 9:55pm | IP Logged

Metamucil, thanks for the feedback. It just occurred to me that some forum members have also spoken favorably of lingq.com as a source of audio with transcripts.

ADDED: It turns out Aineko has already mentioned it earlier in this thread. I guess I'll leave this post as a "second reminder".

Edited by frenkeld on 14 July 2010 at 10:09pm
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Heart of Oak
Newbie
Scotland
Joined 5034 days ago
19 posts - 20 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: German

Message 46 of 53

15 July 2010 at 1:58pm | IP Logged

Tyr wrote:

This is my biggest problem too.
I process what I'm hearing, "OK, that word means that and that word means this..." but this goes far slower than I'm heairng and then there's pressure and...yeah. I just can't do it.

Watching stuff with subtitles doesn't work too well for me. I find myself just reading the subtitles and ignoring the speach as with watching a film in a language I don't know with English subtitles.

I have to say this is true for me also. If subtitles are on (or using a script) I tend to read the English and the target language just becomes background noise.

I am only starting to learn German, but I have been trying to listen to German TV on Youtube (without subtitles) and have managed to pick out the odd word here and there (as I said I am only starting). I don't know if this is useful at this stage or whether I should try to learn more vocabulary before trying this exercise, but my thinking is that when children learn their native language, they learn by listening to that which they do not understand - so it can't hurt.

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RealGodiva
Diglot
Newbie
Canada
Joined 5013 days ago
8 posts - 12 votes
Speaks: Russian*, English^C2

Message 47 of 53

30 July 2010 at 6:38pm | IP Logged

I'll give the advice I keep giving to Russians learning English: find TV series which are really interesting to you personally (not too "professional", like House MD ex.). You will quickly get involved in the plot emotionally, which is a key to success.

Use subtitles for the first season, then try to switch them off. The vocabulary is repetitive in any TV series - you will start to understand more and more, and will learn new words too. Do not try to write down and learn every word you do not know - concentrate on the pleasure! Good luck!
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hanni
aka cordelia0507
Groupie
United Kingdom
Joined 5386 days ago
69 posts - 92 votes

Speaks: Dutch*

Message 48 of 53

31 July 2010 at 6:52pm | IP Logged

(If u don't understand spoken language at a normal pace, then it is misleading to say that you "speak" that language in any useful way)

Start with listening to News or audio books which tend to have clear prounciation. Films or Tv series with subtitles help too. You know you're ok when you can understand teenagers, rappers and people like bus drivers and waitresses.

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