Advice needed

[sara88]

Hello everyone.
I want really your advice.
I've been focusing on improving my listening skills. However when I try to take an IETLS listening exam which are availble on the net, I feel really sad because of the bad score I get from it. I tried many times but always it seems to be difficult.
I'm listening to audios from my Ipod everyday and I try to take evey opportunity to do so but in vain.
Are there any tips concerning this type of listening exam or how to improve my listening skills in general??!!
Thanks alot in advance
Have a wonderful time.
Sara

[seba_870701]

Hi Sara.
What kind of listening have you tried so far? Any specific tasks? Based on authentic or non-authentic materials?
If your listening skills are of relatively low quality, I'd recommend trying non-authentic and scripted materials at the beginning.
If you like songs, try The Beatles.. it's easy to find their lyricsin the Internet and they have a very clear pronunciation.
hould you have any further questions, ask.
Hope it helps,
S~

[Soup]

Sara, in addition to seba's advice, you could also go over your errors on the listening test to find out exactly where your weaknesses are and what you need to focus on improving. It's motovating.

If you are having problems determining where and when you erred, send us parts of the transcripts and we will guide you through.

[sara88]

Originally Posted by seba_870701

Hi Sara.
What kind of listening have you tried so far? Any specific tasks? Based on authentic or non-authentic materials?
If your listening skills are of relatively low quality, I'd recommend trying non-authentic and scripted materials at the beginning.
If you like songs, try The Beatles.. it's easy to find their lyricsin the Internet and they have a very clear pronunciation.
hould you have any further questions, ask.
Hope it helps,
S~

Thanks Seba for your reply.
I would like to know whay do you mean by authentic and non-authentic materials!!
I've been listening lately to those podcasts:
English as a Second Language Podcast
And this informative new serie:
BBC Learning English | Talk about English - Who on Earth are we?
This one too; "better speaking":

BBC Learning English | Talk about English - Better Speaking

In the same time I sometimes try to take some IETLS listening exams; I took the three first ones from this website but I got really bad scores:
IELTS preparation online
(click on free practice icon)

However I'm still trying to improve my listening on a daily basis.
As for songs and lyrics, I think it's a good idea; I already tried it and I like it. I listen to Kareem Salama's songs because I love them and I follow with the lyrics along.
Read from you soon.

[sara88]

Originally Posted by Soup

Sara, in addition to seba's advice, you could also go over your errors on the listening test to find out exactly where your weaknesses are and what you need to focus on improving. It's motovating.

If you are having problems determining where and when you erred, send us parts of the transcripts and we will guide you through.

Thanks Soup! You are right, that way helps a lot.
I tried last time to take 3 IETLS listening exam( as I mentioned in my previous post, you can go over that link to find the transcript) and as you know I made a lot of mistakes when trying to respond. What did I do as a next step is trying to see where I erred and then to listen again but this time with the transcript in front of me. After that I thought it would be a good idea to spend some days, inorder to forget, and then return again to take the same test. By this way I got my ears used to the subject and to the way they put their questions.

[seba_870701]

Authentic materials are the real ones. They are spoken by native users of the given language and they are mostly spoken off the cuff. Therefore, it is better to start with something easier - non-authentic recordings. They are prepared by teachers - it means they are adjusted to (learners') listeners' level of proficiency.
I checked the link you posted - BBC ones seem a good choice, but if you have problems with comprehension, do try non-authentic materials to catch up. Then move to 'real' listenings.
To choose a good listening exercise, appropriate for one's level a specialistic book may be needed.
As far as the Internet resources are concerned, you can try this one. If the level is too low for zou, have a look on the following: listening 1, listening 2.
I hope it'll help.
S~

[sara88]

Thanks so much for the links Seba, they are interesting to begin with. The use of exercises when listening is really effective.
I think I don't agree with you, when you said that it's better to listen first to non-authentic( non-native speakers) recordings; simply because we may have another problem which is obviously pronunciation. Thats is, not all the non-native speakers pronounce correctly, however I must admit that most of the chinese, I have heard, speak really like a native one.
Therefore, in my opinion; a beginner listener may find it a good way to listen to native speakers when they speak in a low speed. Such recordings are availble in the net, take for example eslpod.com.
Sara

[sara88]

Seba, I just noticed that you are from Pologne.
From time to time I check the student blog in the bbc learning English site. It's where learners of English have permission to post whatever they want for an entire month for one person. This month's blogger is a Polish guy. I must really say that I'm fascinated with his very good English. Take a look:(His name is LuKasz):
BBC World Service | Learning English | Learning English Student Blog

[Tdol]

There's also English Listening Language Lab Online - Learn English Naturally

[Devil's tear]

Englishbaby.com is good for u.