Strategies1 to Improve English Listening Skills 提高英语听力技能的策略

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

当你听的时候，你可能会对自己有限的理解感到沮丧。你可以采取以下的一些做法：

☉经常听是提高听力技能的最重要的方法。

☉要接受这样一个事实：你不可能理解所有的事情。

☉没听懂的时候要保持放松——即使你在一段时间内仍然无法理解。

☉不要翻译成你的母语。

☉听一听对话的大意。在你理解中心思想之前，不要把注意力集中在细节上。

◆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.

◆翻译在你和说话的人之间造成了障碍

当你在听另一个人说英语时，你可能会立即翻译成你的母语。这是很自然的，因为我们想理解所说的一切。然而，当你翻译成你的母语时，就把关注的焦点从说话人身上转移到了在你大脑中发生的翻译过程上。然而，在现实生活中，当你翻译的时候，对方会继续说话。翻译会导致你大脑中产生思维障碍，有时根本不让你理解任何东西。

◆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.

◆大多數人会重复自己说的话

想想你的朋友、家人和同学。当他们说中文的时候，他们会重复吗？如果他们像大多数人那样，他们可能就会重复。这意味着，每当你听到别人讲话时，他们很可能会重复这些信息，给你第二次、第三次甚至第四次机会去理解他们所说的话。

要保持冷静，允许自己有听不懂的地方，并且在听的时候不翻译，这样你的大脑就可以空出来专注于最重要的事情上——用英语理解英语。

使用互联网来提高你的听力技巧的最大好处可能是，你可以选择你想听的内容和次数。听一些你喜欢的东西，你也可能了解到更多所需的词汇。

◆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”， “last 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.

◆使用关键词并留神听上下文

可以用关键词或关键短语来帮助你理解大意。如果你听懂了“纽约”“商务旅行”“去年”，你可以假设这个人说的是去年去纽约的商务旅行。但是记住，当对方继续说话时，理解大意将帮助你理解细节。

如果你结合上下文进行思考，你可能就会开始理解。记住什么才是你需要关注的东西：不是你不懂的词，而是你确实理解的词。

（英语原文选自：www.thoughtco.com）

1. strategy [■] n. 战略，策略

2. frustrated [■] adj. 懊恼的，沮丧的

3. detail [■] n. 细节;具体信息;次要部分

4. barrier [■] n. 障碍物;界线

5. context [■] n. 上下文

6. assume [■] vt. 假定