Problem with Listening

I have a problem with English listening that has seriously frustrated me.

I'm very good at writing and reading and fluent in speaking. I think I have a high proficiency in English except that my listening doesn't seem to improve. I have been working so hard to try to improve my listening that I think it's near an obsession. I watch English films and listen to BBC radio copiously. I have also watched DVDs with English subtitles. Despite much effort, I still have a great deal of difficulty with listening. What frustrates me is I know nearly all the words that native speakers use (since I have a broad vocabulary), but I just don't seem to catch the 'sounds'.

I'm very frustrated now, and am not even sure if I should continue my quest for better listening skills. Is it possible that my listening has a ceiling, i.e. I can only listen as well as I can now and however much effort I put in, it 's not going to improve further.

What should I do?

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by tenn

I have a problem with English listening that has seriously frustrated me.

I'm very good at writing and reading and fluent in speaking. I think I have a high proficiency in English except that my listening doesn't seem to improve. I have been working so hard to try to improve my listening that I think it's near an obsession. I watch English films and listen to BBC radio copiously. I have also watched DVDs with English subtitles. Despite much effort, I still have a great deal of difficulty with listening. What frustrates me is I know nearly all the words that native speakers use (since I have a broad vocabulary), but I just don't seem to catch the 'sounds'.

I'm very frustrated now, and am not even sure if I should continue my quest for better listening skills. Is it possible that my listening has a ceiling, i.e. I can only listen as well as I can now and however much effort I put in, it 's not going to improve further.

What should I do?

I think that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Tenn. From what you've said here, it seems that you just are not getting any feedback from your listening and that can be frustrating.

I don't quite understand what you mean when you say that you "just don't seem to catch the 'sounds'".

Do you have any chances for actual communication? Listening for meaning? Acting out appropriate responses to language instruction? Responding appropriately to and in language discussion?

[Hi_there_Carl]

I understand your frustration... This is a very common problem in language acquisition and I know it is difficult. I do not know if this will work for you but it really helps me. Try listening to a scripted presentation that you can read as you listen to it. There are a number of these available on the web. Also television programs with closed captions or subtitles are helpful. For me it helps to see the word and hear it at the same time. Be patient, acquiring language takes time. Good luck

[prabhat03]

I also want to suggest you that try listening english music,the genre that you prefer like hip-hop or metals that could be worth listening.I use to listen heavy metals so these days to catch the words iss a ver easy job for me now.And lastly I also want to suggest you to not watch the english movie with subtitles,coz it could be your habit so that you couldnot catch the words spoken.Try to watch 3-4 movies without subtitles.

[oitafish]

Do you have someone to speak English with? I am learning Japanese my self and I find that I need to get used to how a person talks before I can start to understand them. I think it helps talking with the same person until you can understand them and then try to talk with other people.

In my opinion, the ability to understand TV is very tough because they tend to talk very fast.