PollyWaffle Posted August 1, 2003 at 05:57 AM Report Posted August 1, 2003 at 05:57 AM My listening skills are appauling! Other than listening to boring language tapes, does anyone have any stategies that may help improve my deficiencies, or any tips for effective conversational listening? I have started listening to chinese internet radio which is OK, but i'm still struggling. The same damn 300 sounds (disregarding tones) in different combinations........................................................ Quote
Guest Dink Posted August 1, 2003 at 10:06 AM Report Posted August 1, 2003 at 10:06 AM What about eavesdropping on conversations on buses etc...? I guess it depends where you live. I'm in Auckland, NZ, but have heaps of opportunities to practise my listening (am beginnerish), but it's exciting when you can start to understand what people are saying! They usually talk about the same kind of stuff - what are you having for lunch, how's your class, check out that weirdo... Of course instead of eavesdropping, you could try to start a conversation with someone... Quote
PollyWaffle Posted August 1, 2003 at 01:24 PM Author Report Posted August 1, 2003 at 01:24 PM of coarse mate, i get to talk & hear mandarin all the time... i just don't think i know how to listen... it is easy to work out the topic of conversation, but i can't seem to grasp the nuances... btw, why would anyone move to nz?... nah, just gammon! Quote
ChouDoufu Posted August 1, 2003 at 04:11 PM Report Posted August 1, 2003 at 04:11 PM Is your problem that you sometimes don't understand what's being said even when yuo know the words they are using, or is it more there are some words you don't know? maybe watching chinese tv or movies would help too.. it's better without subtitles so you are forcing yourself to actually listen instead of just reading... Quote
beijingbooty Posted August 3, 2003 at 10:31 PM Report Posted August 3, 2003 at 10:31 PM theres no easy way to improve listening comp. I also find it the hardest aspect of mandarin apart from writing characters. It just takes years of practice to master. All I can suggest is force yourself to listen to tapes, and watch chinese tv as often as possible, (at least 1/2 hour each day, and you will gradually notice improvement . Quote
beijingbooty Posted August 3, 2003 at 10:36 PM Report Posted August 3, 2003 at 10:36 PM oh, yeah, forgot to mention. Forget about listening to news broadcasts. They will only dishearten you. News broadcasts are only for advanced level. For beginners, intermediates, it is great to listen to tv dramas and kids programmes. The language is fairly basic and "richeng yongyu de". Strangley enough I also find a number of the current affairs interviews on CCTV are fairly simple to follow the basic idea of. Quote
PollyWaffle Posted August 5, 2003 at 05:12 AM Author Report Posted August 5, 2003 at 05:12 AM so there is no magic formula. boo hoo. back to the boring listening tapes. Quote
roddy Posted August 6, 2003 at 02:27 AM Report Posted August 6, 2003 at 02:27 AM There is a great set of books available here in China - I'm not sure about availability elsewhere. You can see them on my textbooks page ( http://www.roddyflagg.34sp.com/textbooks.html ) and if you are interested let me know - I'll get you the publisher and ISBN Roddy Quote
Tsunku Posted August 7, 2003 at 02:36 AM Report Posted August 7, 2003 at 02:36 AM I improved my listening a ton by eavesdropping on my boyfriend when he spoke to his friends in Chinese. I got tired of wondering if they were talking about me and asking them to translate. I let them go on thinking I didn't understand until one day I just jumped into their conversation. Aside from that, I just concentrated on listening to people pretty much all the time, instead of just zoning out when I couldn't easily follow conversations. Listening was really quick to improve for me, but yeah, there's no magic formula, unfortunately. Quote
Guest Andrew Posted September 20, 2003 at 01:12 PM Report Posted September 20, 2003 at 01:12 PM There are several programs which will let you record internet radio to a cd. (Replay radio for example). HongKong's putonghua station has some very clear speakers, as does chonqing radio, and the topics are fairly simple - People complaining about stuff in talkback, and corny ads with Eagles Muzak backgrounds! xioajie xiaojie lai, lai, lai! If you have half an hour on cd, and can keep replaying it, it is better than boring listening tapes. Quote
PollyWaffle Posted September 21, 2003 at 05:35 AM Author Report Posted September 21, 2003 at 05:35 AM There are several programs which will let you record internet radio to a cd cool idea. i love listening to chinese talk back, plus when beijing web radio was working they would play old comedy skits & stuff. my soundcard has a record what you hear function which has been very useful for recording internet radio in the past. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.