Listening skills not even?

[davoosh]

Today I realised that my listening skills are very uneven which is quite disconcerting. I feel like I can more or less listen to intermediate level stuff (including some news and soap operas, etc) but today for a laugh I put on 'teletubbies' (天线宝宝） thinking it would be very easy. I actually had difficulty in some parts - now I don't know if that's because the vocabulary was unfamiliar and often related to childrends stuff which I wouldn't otherwise come across (paddling pools, hand-painting and stuff) or because they were children speaking and hadn't quite mastered pronunciation and tones.

This has made be feel a bit strange and demotivated that I can understand more than a child in some ways, but a lot less in others. Does anybody have any solutions to fix this problem (and please don't say watch more teletubbies because even those 20 mins nearly drove me insanse!!)

I remember reading something about being able to communicate with children in L2 is a sign of fluency, does anybody know more about this?

Thanks!

[imron]

I remember reading something about being able to communicate with children in L2 is a sign of fluency

Being able to communicate with adults is probably a better sign

[Silent]

Have to disagree Imron. Adults often tend to be somewhat more patient and considerate with non-native speakers, adults will easier adjust to non verbal communication. Children will not slow down, they will not use simpler language/grammar. They will just rattle on.

Sure, there are big differences among adults and children alike. I think however that on average if you can communicate properly with an 8 year old it's a better indication than when you can communicate with an adult with an interest to communicate with you.

[roddy]

Children will not slow down, they will not use simpler language/grammar. They will just rattle on.

I must have met smarter children than you. My first year in China was teaching elementary kids (shudder) and I have clear and distinct memories of being talked down to by six year olds.

[Gharial]

Obviously the way that kids talk to you will depend on how well they know you/how often they get to talk to you. I've been in schools (albeit Japanese ones) where the younger kids (who I wasn't presented to/let loose on as much) rattled on quite a bit when given the chance, whereas the chat with the older ones would be a bit more focussed and/or part of the day-to-day class routine. Thankfully none talked down to me that much, but then, it must be quite difficult to talk down to someone who's 6' 3" and looming over you with crazy talk about pandas liking bamboo or whatever.

[WestTexas]

Most of the kids where I am are extremely shy about talking to a foreigner, so I haven't really been able to test my conversation abilities with them.

[wushijiao]

I'd say that this best thing is not to get demotivated. Listening skills will probably always be uneven, especially as an intermediate.

Also, I've noticed that children often have the thickest accents (of whatever nationality) and they speak in the most colloquial nature. Sometimes foreigners have difficulty with very colloquial registers.

So, I wouldn't get discouraged. Keeping studying, listening, and growing your vocabulary!

[xiaotao]

My kid has one teletubbie video. Since it is dubbed, I find it to be quite clear. I am sure that you didn't understand as much as you liked to because you were just not familiar with the vocabulary. My brother speaks decent Chinese to his Chinese clients, but can't otherwise carry a good conversation in Chinese. It's all situational. I'm sure if you were a pre-k teacher in China you would understand teletubbies. To improve basic listening skills, it's not a bad idea to listen to material for Chinese speaking children.

[anonymoose]

Today I realised that my listening skills are very uneven ... I put on 'teletubbies' (天线宝宝） thinking it would be very easy. I actually had difficulty in some parts

Do you actually need to listen to understand what's going on?

Does anybody have any solutions to fix this problem (and please don't say watch more teletubbies because even those 20 mins nearly drove me insanse!!)

Watch more teletubbies but with the sound turned off.

[Guest realmayo]

I have clear and distinct memories of being talked down to by six year olds.

I think children can find it amusing to teach a foreign adult their native language because they are not used to being in a position to teach adults anything.

Personally I don't see the point in bothering with children's stuff unless you can't find anything for adults or adult learners worth listening to.

[davoosh]

Thanks guys. I think the problem is mostly vocab and the strange voices. I watched some other children's programs that aren't so weird/manic and found I was fine understanding them.

About speaking with children being a sign of fluency...not being an expert on the linguistics of children's language, I can't comment accurately, but I think what other people said about children (more younger children, between 4-7 say) having thicker accents, not slowing down and often using words in strange ways, etc makes sense. If you can engage in a conversation with a child it's probably quite a good sign.

@Anonymoose...well yeah, obviously I can see what's going on from context. Don't think I'm gonna be watching it with the sound off. It's actually such a freaky programme.