Let’s talk listening skills. Do you remember how you felt the first time you heard someone speak your target language?

Personally, I’ve always found listening to be the most difficult language learning skill. Maybe you feel the same way?

In this post, we’ll look at the key to improving your listening and I’ll share the method I use to work on my listening skills.

One the reasons I used to struggle with listening is that I didn’t really know how to practice it. Should you read along while you listen or should you listen without a text? What should you listen to? Do you need to translate every single word?

I had many failed experiments when I first started learning Spanish and it took me a long time to figure out the best methods to practice my listening skills.

In fact, it was only when I moved to Argentina that I finally realised what I needed to do to improve my listening and I discovered it somewhat by accident! Before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I thought my Spanish was pretty good. Then I landed and I couldn’t understand anything! It was a bit of a baptism of fire! On the bus, in the supermarket, no matter where I went I found myself smiling, nodding and desperately trying to work out what people were saying to me.