HSK - Listening : Please give some strategies

[krishnamurthyu]

Hi , I am preparing for HSK - Intermediate . I am finding Listening section (3) is more difficult than any other section could you pls give me some suggestions or strategies should be used for listening section. Moreover this is the first time preparing for "Listening Exam".

I am listening to podcasts and audios. If spoken a bit slowly or replayed i can understand clearly. Exam is on April-12 so Pls give some strategies which can I use in exam .

[Scoobyqueen]

Hi,

I find that reading out sentence per sentence (ie repeating what you hear on your mp3) helps. It allows focus on each individual word and tones in context and also introduces another "memory" variable (speaking), which can further aid the listening skills.

Also, I find it helps listening to a text sentence by sentence and then write them in hanzi, a bit laborious perhaps, but I feel it enhances the connection between listening and hanzi (not including the pinyin which is a third variable to contend with). Revision also plays a key role here. I find revising three to four times with a given time interval helps retain the material whether it be aural, oral or reading comprehension.

Someone else in this forum has given an exhaustive account of how he/she significantly improved the listening skills using a number of well thought out tactics.

[Scoobyqueen]

You probably would be well advised to use dedicated HSK material. Often the listening section is full of colloquialisms which I am not sure are used in such a focused fashion in other sources.

[wushijiao]

You might want to try the book I recommended:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/8525-hsk-%e5%90%ac%e5%8a%9b%e9%a2%98%e5%9e%8b%e5%88%86%e6%9e%90%e4%b8%8e%e8%ae%ad%e7%bb%83-%e5%88%9d%e4%b8%ad%e7%ad%89&highlight=hsk+listening

Good luck!

[Scoobyqueen]

Wushijiao - thanks for recommending this book. I too have got it but could not get hold of the listening CDs (which I shall be buying when going to China).

Incidentally the author, who has international experience, teaches Chinese for foreigners at Tsinghua and has also written other HSK books.