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Hearing without listening | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5144 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 6 30 June 2010 at 7:57pm | IP Logged |
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Trying to learn a language without having any time to actually do so has its challenges. I try to listen to CDs/IPod as often as possible (usually a couple of hours a day) but since my mind drifts off most of the time, I wonder whether I should limit it to the times when I can actually listen and repeat actively, and not just let it pass by passively.
Do any of you know of any resarch or has any personal experiences as to whether you actually get any benefit from hearing a language spoken while you are thinking of something else? I hope that at least it will give me less of an accent in Russian, and more of a clue as to how to pronounce the words. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| novemberain Triglot Groupie Russian Federation Joined 5654 days ago 59 posts - 87 votes Speaks: Russian*, EnglishC1, Italian Studies: Spanish, Portuguese | Message 2 of 6 30 June 2010 at 9:09pm | IP Logged |
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It helps you recognize word boundaries better and remember how words are stressed. I would say both of those
things are especially valuable in case of Russian. However, when your brain is completely occupied by some other activity, the benefit is 1/100th. What I personally do is I carry my iPod around everywhere so whenever I have a few minutes, I listen to some Portuguese speech. However, when I am up to something that occupies my attention (working, reading, even cooking), I found it pretty much useless for me to listen to language lessons. Our brains are pretty bad at multitasking. Ok, ok, mine is. Edited by novemberain on 30 June 2010 at 9:09pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5144 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 3 of 6 30 June 2010 at 9:25pm | IP Logged |
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Even for just the two first points it is worth it. I also do "jump in" and repeat the sentences whenever I am a bit more focused on what I hear (emptying the dishwasher takes up less of my brain than cooking :-)I also carry my IPod around all the time, and listen to it when I am doing houswork, work in the garden, walking to the train (repeating the sentences) sitting on the train (not reapeating sentences, so the men in the white coats won't come and take me away...)
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| Akalabeth Groupie Canada Joined 5329 days ago 83 posts - 112 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Japanese | Message 4 of 6 30 June 2010 at 9:34pm | IP Logged |
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I think it's effective, provided you do still actively study in addition to passive
listening. It should help you get used to the sounds of the language if nothing else. I ripped the audio from a bunch of Japanese TV shows that I've already watched with subs, and I listen to them on my iPod all the time. Since I'm already familiar with the plot, and can't rely on subs, I think this helps quite a bit. Without really trying to pay attention to the words they're saying, just hearing the emotion in the characters voices I think helps associate certain parts of grammar with speech. Even if you don't really pay close attention all the time, if you already have it on and you start to pay attention even for 30 seconds before your mind drifts off again that's thirty seconds of extra practice that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. At the least, I don't think it can hurt, although someone did raise the possibility that if you spend too much time hearing without listening your brain may get used to filtering out the language, so I suppose research is good. I don't know of any one way or the other. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| feanarosurion Senior Member Canada Joined 5091 days ago 217 posts - 316 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Finnish, Norwegian | Message 5 of 6 30 June 2010 at 9:37pm | IP Logged |
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I find it's helpful to just have the audio going on in the background, because then I just get into the mindset of the language, even if I'm doing something else. But most of the time I am actually paying partial attention to it, picking up words here and there, that sort of thing. That I find to be helpful just on the level of listening comprehension.
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| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5370 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 6 of 6 01 July 2010 at 12:40pm | IP Logged |
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I don't know if it works, but Passive listening is part of the "Birkenbihl" method. But you don't listening to anything new or complicated, but to lessons you have already learned actively, or just a few simple phrases or sentences you already know.
Lots of info if you google. If you see a video of her, the woman comes accross as a complete snake oil salesman, but if you read about the method, it is all quite sensible stuff. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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