extensive listening

☟☟☟☟ Things to listen to ☟☟☟☟

Why Extensive Listening?

Imagine trying to learn how to skillfully play a beautiful musical composition without listening to and really getting to know it first. Instead, you read some things about how the composition is "supposed to sound," and maybe practice some drills, which may or may not be similar to some parts of the composition. Maybe you even listen to a few minutes of some parts. This approach probably will not get you ready to play the piece in a concert hall, right? Yet, this is exactly what most language teachers try to make learners do, and what most learners think they need to do. They try to learn ABOUT the language, and practice and "memorize" words and phrases without really ever having listened to the actual language being used. 

Now imagine how different things would be if you immersed yourself in listening to the music over and over until it almost becomes a part of you, until you can hear it vividly in your mind and sing or hum it to yourself automatically. Now the music is yours, and when you go to play the piece, it will flow from you effortlessly and be charged with emotion. You will have acquired the sounds of the music. Similarly, listening is the core activity for acquiring a language. Audiologist Jane Madell states:

“We know, for sure, that kids need to hear [a language] all day long in order to learn [it].

Researchers estimate that by the time children start speaking their first language, they will have already listened to over 6,000 hours of that language (+/- 12 hours/day × 18 months). However, proficient conversation emerges only at around 5 years, and many children struggle with correctly pronouncing certain sounds in their first language until they are 7 years old and beyond (e.g., in the case of "th" and "r" sounds in English). This means that by the time they have fully developed linguistically,  they will have listened to over 30,000 hours of their native language (+/- 12 hours/day × 7 years)! 

Now the obvious question is: How many hours of Japanese do you actually listen to every day? 

For many students, this answer would probably be less than an hour, right (be honest!)? If that is the case, it would take you about 32 years to listen to the same amount as an 18-month old native child  (6,000 hours ÷ 30 minutes). When viewed this way, it shouldn't be any surprise at all that many students don't become as proficient in the language as they would like. 

While it simply may not be realistic for most adult learners to listen to the language for same number of hours as native children do, they can still listen to a considerable amount of hours of the language. Actually, contemporary technology and resources, such as wireless earphones, smartphones, podcasts and Youtube, allow more adult learners to come closer to native children in terms of hours of language exposure than ever before in human history. Ever. Ever! EVER!!

Current technology has made listening the easiest and most flexible thing you can do to learn Japanese, or any other language. You can listen almost anytime and anywhere. In my case, I listen to podcasts and other things in the language I am working on when I exercise, travel, cook, clean, shower (with waterproof bluetooth earphones!) and much more! Minutes here and there throughout the day quickly add up to hours of exposure to the language. 

The best advice I can give to you about listening in order to learn a language is this:

Listen to it the same way you would listen to MUSIC!

We listen to songs we love over and over, until we can hear the music in our heads and the lyrics become a part of us. You can do this with the podcasts and stories and conversations you listen to. Listen to them over and over, just like you would a playlist of your favorite songs. Find podcasts with speakers whose voices you love to listen to! Listen to some new ones, and then come back and listen to the ones you have heard before. 

Each time you listen, a little part of the language will become part of you without you even having to try. It is when this happens that you can begin to truly SPEAK the language without thinking about it. After all, you will have already heard the words and phrases so many times before that they are a part of you, truly yours!

You can also watch THIS really informative video about the benefits of listening for language learning from Steve Kaufmann, a man who speaks 20 languages.