Why passive listening does not work in language learning?
These language learning ideas
are shared by Santiago Modrigal
at inglesk.com
If I just keep listening
to the language…
does it help me learn it?
No, it doesn’t.
Remember the golden rule
of language learning…
We acquire languages in one way,
and only one way.
We understand messages.
We get comprehensible input.
A meaningful input…
the one we can understand.
Right, I totally agree.
This principle is true
for all human beings,
whoever you are,
wherever you live,
whatever the language
you want to learn.
True. I guess this would apply
to any language learner.
If you listen passively
to something in English
that you don’t understand,
you will not be learning anything.
And if you listen passively
to content in English
you already understand,
that is not new input
that helps you progress in English.
I see.
Good point.
You can be listening to songs
and other audio content in English
while you work on tasks
that require almost no concentration,
like washing the dishes,
or eating, or walking,
or taking a shower,
or working out,
and other things like that.
Right…
And maybe this will help you
get a bit used to
how the songs and other content sound.
But besides that,
listening passively to content in English
will not give you any significant advantage,
and it will not improve
your understanding of the language.
Yes, again, I agree.
What’s important is that
you set some time each day
to train your English actively
using audio and audiovisual content,
transcriptions and dictionaries.
Right.
It’s an active listening
rather than a passive one.
In the long run,
that’s what truly counts…
active learning.
Yes, it is a lot more effective.
No question about it.
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
No problem.
