Boost Your Listening Skills Significantly by Listening to Podcasts Passively! I'll Share the Tips

I use English almost every day for work, but I felt that listening and speaking were my weak points. My latest TOEIC score is 985, but that's a different story from actual test scores...

Because of that, I tried going to English conversation schools and taking lessons on Cambly, but none of them lasted.

It costs money, and it's hard to block out time for it, so I quit quickly.

On Cambly, there were teachers who ignored my preferences and just did their own thing, so I often felt it was a waste of time. (It's important not to continue when you're feeling frustrated.)

But recently, I feel like words are coming out smoothly, and I've started to be able to understand almost everything.

Actually, there is a habit I've been keeping for about two years, and I think that's probably the reason.

It is listening to episodes I like repeatedly on overseas podcasts.

At first, I was listening to a news program called Morning Brew Daily. I highly recommend it for advanced learners who are interested in the latest information on investments and tech companies.

It's a casual chat style, and it's about 30 minutes long. It's perfect for listening to during your commute or while doing chores.

However, they speak quite fast, so I could only keep up with about half of it.

I lost confidence, thinking I really couldn't understand English at all.

I also couldn't maintain interest in the news and current events themselves, so I stopped listening before I knew it.

After that, for some reason, I started paying for Spotify Premium (980 yen per month). Then, I could listen to music and podcasts without ads, so I was able to enjoy content comfortably.

It's not limited to Spotify, but since they recommend content based on your viewing history, episodes that suit me keep appearing without me having to search for them. While listening to those kinds of programs, I found a few favorites.

What I enjoy listening to are interviews with experts on communication, psychology, investment, health, and so on. I love gaining new insights and trying them out.

When you listen to a few, episodes appear that make you think, 'I want to understand this more,' or 'I missed that part,' or 'I'll listen to this again.'

Naturally, I started listening to just that episode persistently over and over. I was lucky to encounter high-quality content that I felt I could firmly understand and use as a guide for my life.

I don't do study-like things such as listing words or translating them into Japanese because it's a hassle.I thoroughly avoid them.

If a word I'm really curious about comes up, I might write it down and look it up all at once. Even if I look it up, I'll just forget it anyway.

In my case, I listened to conversations between Brené Brown and Arianna Huffington, among others, more than 10 times while walking.

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of topics related to health, such as hormonal balance.

When you listen to the same episode over and over, it often happens that you missed something the first time, but you catch it on the second, third, or tenth time.

And once you've caught a part, your ears get even more accustomed to it by listening repeatedly.

I've been doing this for about two years, and I listened to Morning Brew Daily for the first time in a while, and I was surprised.

I understand it so much better than before!

Since then, even when I have conversations at work, I find that I

can understand what's being said!

Once you gain a little confidence, you can speak without feeling tense, so I think my speaking skills have improved as well.

I think this method was effective because it suits my personality and interests, as I am eager to learn and enjoy discovering new ideas.I think that's why it worked.

Additionally, I think it can also be effective if you have a favorite (actor, singer, comedian, etc.) whose stories or voice you want to listen to repeatedly.I think.

If you still lack confidence in your listening skills and just want to get a rough idea of the meaning, try turning on the auto-captions on the YouTube version (most shows upload the same content to YouTube) to get a quick overview of the content.If you don't understand, it's painful to listen even if the content is good.

It doesn't have to be Spotify; YouTube videos or anything else is fine. However, it's better to avoid short-form videos or social media clips because they tend to distract you.

And once you get a little used to it, I recommend trying to imitate only the interviewer's reactions.Things like backchanneling (Uh huh) or exclamations (Wow! / Really? / Unbelievable!).Shadowing requires a lot of concentration, but you can do backchanneling without any stress.

The important thing is not just to repeat, but to say it with emotion.

To summarize.

• Find an episode that suits your personality and interests, and one you'd want to listen to over and over.

• Listen to the same episode repeatedly.

• Don't look up the meanings of words; don't try to "study."

• If you have the energy, try adding some backchanneling.

It takes a little time, but your listening skills will skyrocket, so please give it a try.