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How to improve listening comprehension


叫我小山

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I've learned the HSK vocabulary levels except level 6, including approx. 500 random words from life and I feel it's a good amount of vocabulary to start venturing out to native-level sources to learn. With this, I've recently been watching a lot of TV shows, (欢乐颂 anyone? lol) and movies including lots of children's programs. My problem is I find that I understand almost all of the words when I read the subtitles, but without pausing and reading, I understand maybe 20% just from listening. The words that they are saying are ones I've learned and know, but when it is spoken it's just a barrage of sounds that I don't "get". I know that this is an unbalance between listening and reading ability, but is there some way to perk up listening skills? I know people will say, "listen more", but is there any way to effectively do that? I feel embarrassed when people ask how long have I been learning 普通话 (2 years) and they begin speaking some regular, everyday speech and I don't understand. I have been learning the Most Common 3000 Characters (currently at #1050) and the HSK level words but I just feel like it's not progressing...

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Probably start from listening to simpler dialogues like intermediate/advance Chinesepod or something similar. Dialogues or podcasts that are made for intermediate or advance learners. 

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Sometimes you don't get it because you don't expect the words to come up, even though you have learnt the words. This is field practice. 

 

just listen again and again. When you don't understand people, ask them to say it slower!

 

for TV make a point of listening first. Then looking at the subtitle.

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You could try Chinese Pod, their lessons are good, ........ if you can stick listening to the cheesy presenters

 

12 hours ago, 叫我小山 said:

I feel embarrassed when people ask how long have I been learning 普通话 (2 years) and they begin speaking some regular, everyday speech and I don't understand.

 

Do like 90% of people do and lie about how long they have been learning. :D

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44 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

Do like 90% of people do and lie about how long they have been learning. :D

 

Ha, ha...I'll have to keep this in mind.  I've got the added dilemma of sometimes wanting to use the age card to explain why I'm not further along after so much study but then feeling reluctant to do this as I don't want to add to the aging stereotypes/prejudice that most of us older folks experience.  The truth is that virtually everyone experiences cognitive decline when they age but the rate at which this occurs varies so widely that no one can speak for anyone else really.  I've found that the easiest way to avoid discouragement is to simply measure my progress against where I was a few months ago.  And in December of 2016, I remembered only a few phrases from my childhood while, now, I can hold an, admittedly stilted, conversation about lots of things.  Onwards and sideways.

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