Listening requires a lot of focus. How often have you found yourself drifting off inside your own head when someone is talking to you, in your own language? You are mentally adding to the shopping list, or trying to compose a response to a WhatsApp message. There are many internal distractions that prevent us from listening.

In our native language this is one thing, we might be able to pick up a general idea from the few words we have listened to, but what about in a foreign language? This becomes all the more difficult.

The following five tips are designed to help you improve your listening skills, but for all of them you will need to focus! This may be the hardest part.

Try one of these five tips and let me know how you get on:

Find a video or podcast on a topic you enjoy

Listen to a variety of accents

Watch a TV programme twice

Use audiobooks

Listen for general context

1. Find a video or podcast on a topic you enjoy

The key here is to choose something that you will enjoy. Not only will you naturally be interested in the topic, but you will also be able to make connections to your native language.

Of course there will be words that you don't understand, and that's the point of this exercise. Note the time stamp of any words or phrases you don't understand, but don't look up the word straight away. Simply making a note of the time stamp means that the flow of your listening isn't interrupted, but that you will have the opportunity to go back and revisit the word or phrase after having listened to the whole piece

Just like with reading we can use the information around the word or phrase to take a guess at what it means. When you go back to the time stamp you will have listened to the whole article and now you might be able to take a guess at it's meaning. Try this first and then look up the word. This is a great way to boost your confidence if you get it right!

2. Listen to a variety of accents

You know that different countries have different accents, for example an American accent is different to a New Zealand accent. Did you know that there are many different accents within a country? Someone from London will sound different to someone from Yorkshire, for example.

When taking on listening practice make sure you use a variety of sources. Although you might find a podcast you like, try to listen to some others. You can get used to the same voice. Better still, listen to a podcast which includes interviews. You will become familiar with the hosts' voice, but their guests will have different accents for you to practice listening to.

3. Watch a TV programme twice

First time without subtitles and the second time with English subtitles.

How much did you understand the first time around?

Choose a programme that isn't too long, because you're going to watch it twice, but definitely one that you will enjoy. You are already doing something that is difficult, so don't make it any harder on yourself.

As with the advice in tip number 1 make use of time stamps to note down a word or phrase that you don't understand. This way, when you watch the programme back with subtitles, you can go straight to that part of the show and look at the word used in the subtitle. It could be that the accent made a word you already knew difficult to understand, or maybe it was a new word for you to learn.

4. Use audiobooks

This is a great way to multi-task! We all lead very busy lives so why not immerse yourself in a foreign language whilst you are doing something else? Cleaning the bathroom? Put on an audio book! Choose one that is appropriate to your level so that you can understand most, but not necessarily all, that is said. If you find you have lost the thread of the story you can always rewind.

If you have more time on your hands you could listen and read at the same time. This is not the most ideal way to improve your listening skills since you will have the words to hand, but it is a great way to check pronunciation. Remember, we all have different accents so if the word is said in a different way to the way you've heard it before don't worry.

Perhaps choose an audiobook that you have already read in your own language. You then already know the story, it's just adapting it into the language you want to learn. I often try and do this with the nursery children I teach. The Hungry Caterpillar is available in many languages and through it we can learn the days of the week and the names of some delicious foods. We also get a grammar boost as it's written mainly in the past simple tense!

5. Listen for general context

You don't need to understand every word.

Sometimes we can get frustrated when there is a word we don't understand and start to fixate upon it. We can become so focused on that one thing we don't know that we forget there are so many other things we do understand. When we listen for general context we can pick up a lot of information that will help us to interpret the unknown word. It may not be exactly the right translation, but it should be enough to get a general idea.

If there are too many unknown words when you are listening then the level is too high for you at the moment. Just as with reading you should be able to understand most of what is presented to you. If this is not the case consider listening to something at a lower level and building up to this piece. It's good to have a challenge to aim for and make sure you celebrate your progress when you get there!

Try one of these 5 tips to improve your listening skills:

1. Find a video or podcast on a topic you enjoy

2. Listen to a variety of accents

3. Watch a TV programme twice

4. Use audiobooks

5. Listen for general context

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