Strategies1 to Improve English Listening Skills 提高英語聽力技能的策略

by Kenneth Beare 景一

◆Listening Strategies

When you are listening， you might be frustrated2 by your limited understanding. Here are a few courses of action you can take：

◇Listening often is the most important way to improve your listening skills.

◇Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.

◇Stay relaxed when you do not understand—even if you continue to have trouble understanding for a while.

◇Do not translate into your native language.

◇Listen for the general idea of the conversation. Dont pay too much attention to detail3 until you have understood the main idea（s）.

◆聽力策略

當(dāng)你聽的時(shí)候，你可能會(huì)對(duì)自己有限的理解感到沮喪。你可以采取以下的一些做法：

☉經(jīng)常聽是提高聽力技能的最重要的方法。

☉要接受這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：你不可能理解所有的事情。

☉沒聽懂的時(shí)候要保持放松——即使你在一段時(shí)間內(nèi)仍然無法理解。

☉不要翻譯成你的母語。

☉聽一聽對(duì)話的大意。在你理解中心思想之前，不要把注意力集中在細(xì)節(jié)上。

◆Translating Creates a Barrier4 Between Yourself and the Person Who Is Speaking

While you are listening to another person speaking English， you may immediately translate into your native language. This is only natural as we want to understand everything that is said. However， when you translate into your native language， you are taking the focus of your attention away from the speaker and concentrating on the translation process taking place in your brain. In real life， however， the person continues talking while you translate. Translation leads to a mental block in your brain， which sometimes doesnt allow you to understand anything at all.

◆翻譯在你和說話的人之間造成了障礙

當(dāng)你在聽另一個(gè)人說英語時(shí)，你可能會(huì)立即翻譯成你的母語。這是很自然的，因?yàn)槲覀兿肜斫馑f的一切。然而，當(dāng)你翻譯成你的母語時(shí)，就把關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)從說話人身上轉(zhuǎn)移到了在你大腦中發(fā)生的翻譯過程上。然而，在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，當(dāng)你翻譯的時(shí)候，對(duì)方會(huì)繼續(xù)說話。翻譯會(huì)導(dǎo)致你大腦中產(chǎn)生思維障礙，有時(shí)根本不讓你理解任何東西。

◆Most People Repeat Themselves

Think for a moment about your friends， family and classmates. When they speak in Chinese， do they repeat themselves？ If they are like most people， they probably do. That means that whenever you listen to someone speaking， it is very likely that they will repeat the information， giving you a second， third or even fourth chance to understand what has been said.

By remaining calm， allowing yourself to not understand， and not translating while listening， your brain is free to concentrate on the most important thing： understanding English in English.

Probably the greatest advantage of using the Internet to improve your listening skills is that you can choose what you would like to listen to and how many times you would like to listen to it. By listening to something you enjoy， you are also likely to know a lot more of the vocabulary required.

◆大多數(shù)人會(huì)重復(fù)自己說的話

想想你的朋友、家人和同學(xué)。當(dāng)他們說中文的時(shí)候，他們會(huì)重復(fù)嗎？如果他們像大多數(shù)人那樣，他們可能就會(huì)重復(fù)。這意味著，每當(dāng)你聽到別人講話時(shí)，他們很可能會(huì)重復(fù)這些信息，給你第二次、第三次甚至第四次機(jī)會(huì)去理解他們所說的話。

要保持冷靜，允許自己有聽不懂的地方，并且在聽的時(shí)候不翻譯，這樣你的大腦就可以空出來專注于最重要的事情上——用英語理解英語。

使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)來提高你的聽力技巧的最大好處可能是，你可以選擇你想聽的內(nèi)容和次數(shù)。聽一些你喜歡的東西，你也可能了解到更多所需的詞匯。

◆Use Key Words and Listen for Context5

Use keywords or key phrases to help you understand the general ideas. If you understand “New York”， “business trip”， “l(fā)ast year” you can assume6 that the person is speaking about a business trip to New York last year. But remember that understanding the main idea will help you understand the detail as the person continues to speak.

If you think in context， you probably will begin to understand. And remember what you need to focus on： Not the word that you dont understand， but the words you do understand.

◆使用關(guān)鍵詞并留神聽上下文

可以用關(guān)鍵詞或關(guān)鍵短語來幫助你理解大意。如果你聽懂了“紐約”“商務(wù)旅行”“去年”，你可以假設(shè)這個(gè)人說的是去年去紐約的商務(wù)旅行。但是記住，當(dāng)對(duì)方繼續(xù)說話時(shí)，理解大意將幫助你理解細(xì)節(jié)。

如果你結(jié)合上下文進(jìn)行思考，你可能就會(huì)開始理解。記住什么才是你需要關(guān)注的東西：不是你不懂的詞，而是你確實(shí)理解的詞。

（英語原文選自：www.thoughtco.com）

1. strategy [■] n. 戰(zhàn)略，策略

2. frustrated [■] adj. 懊惱的，沮喪的

3. detail [■] n. 細(xì)節(jié);具體信息;次要部分

4. barrier [■] n. 障礙物;界線

5. context [■] n. 上下文

6. assume [■] vt. 假定