评论
打印
Well hey there I'm Emma from mmmEnglish!
大家好，我是mmmEnglish的Emma！
I think that working on your listening skills is one of the hardest parts of becoming fluent in a new language.
我认为，能够流利使用一种新语言，提高听力能力是最难的部分之一。
It's like all of the rules that you learnt in a classroom,
就像是你在教室里学到的所有规则，
they just disappear when you start talking to native speakers
它们会在你开始与母语人士交谈时消失
because they start using slang words, they push words together so fast when they speak, that you can't even recognise them.
因为他们开始使用俚语，他们说话的时候把单词拼得很快，你甚至认不出来。
And there's nothing that makes you feel more frustrated and more deflated
最让你感到沮丧和泄气的莫过于
when you're talking to someone and you're unable to understand them,
当你和一个人谈话时，你无法理解他们，
when you want so much to be a part of the conversation but you get stuck.
当你非常想加入对话时，但却陷入困境。
It's the worst feeling.
这是最糟糕的感觉。
I actually, I can feel that feeling now in my gut.
事实上，我现在能感觉到那种感觉。
It's awful
这很糟糕，
but today we're going to talk about why it's so difficult to understand native speakers
但今天我们要谈谈为什么很难理解英语母语者，
and what you can do to become a better English listener
以及你能做些什么来成为一个更好的英语倾听者
So why, why is listening to native English speakers so hard?
为什么听英语母语者这么难？
Firstly, there are so many versions of English and this is true for most languages.
首先，英语有很多种版本，大多数语言都是这样。
There's regional dialects and accents that make it hard to listen and understand.
有些地方的方言和口音让人难以听懂。
But to put it in context, there are some English accents that I have trouble understanding.
除了结合语境，否则有些英语口音我也听不懂。
All English speakers, all of us, we're all trying to understand and communicate with each other,
所有说英语的人，我们所有人，我们都在努力相互理解和交流，
even if it is our own native language.
即使这是我们自己的母语。
Sometimes we use different words or different grammar rules to each other and that makes things really tough for you.
有时我们在互相交流时会用不同的词或语法规则，这让理解变得非常困难。
Now there are also significant differences between formal and informal spoken English.
现在正式英语口语和非正式英语口语也有很大的区别。
Informal English includes slang and common expressions that are unique to a particular region or even a particular group of people within a community.
非正式英语包括俚语以及独特的一个特定地区、甚至一个社区的特定群体所共同的表达方式。
You come into the cricket and you bowl and conditions are alright there's probably bit of movement that was a bit off the pitch and the batter's got no idea.
你去打板球，情况还不错，可能有点出乎预料的动作，球员完全不知道发生了什么。
I mean, I have no idea what my brother said just then and we speak the same language.
我的意思是，我自己也不知道我哥哥刚才说了什么，虽然我们说的是同一种语言。
We learnt it from the same people!
我们都是从同样的人那里学的！
Another reason why listening is hard is because you're used to the English that you hear from your English teachers and that can be a little different to real-life English.
听力难的另一个原因是你已经习惯了从英语老师那里听到的英语，这和现实生活中的英语有些不同。
Now think about the way that you speak or you chat with your friends in your own native language
现在想想你用自己的母语和朋友说话或聊天的方式，
and then think about how you would present in front of your colleagues at work.
然后想想你在工作中会如何面对同事。
The words you use would be slightly different, you would maybe speak a little more clearly, maybe more formally.
你所用的词会略有不同，你可能会说得更清楚一点，也许更正式一点。
And this is exactly the same difference that I'm talking about.
这和我正在谈论的区别是一样的。
Your English teachers are trying to express themselves clearly so that you can understand them.
你们的英语老师正在努力表达清楚，以便你们能理解他们。
Right, that's all so interesting but what can you do to improve your listening skills?
是的，这很有趣，但是你能做些什么来提高你的听力技巧呢？
Right now, I'm going to go through a few things that will help you to take action and start improving your English listening skills.
现在，我要做一些事情，帮助你采取行动，开始提高你的英语听力技能。
What and how are you practising?
你现在在练习什么，是怎么练习的呢？
This is a really important question for you.
这对你而言是一个非常重要的问题。
So there's listening as a verb, you're doing that right now.
这里的听是一个动词，你现在就正在听呢。
But practising listening is a completely different exercise
但是练习听力是一个完全不同的练习，
and when you're practising listening, you must pay attention to what you're listening to and how you're listening to it.
当你练习听力时，你必须注意你在听什么，你是怎么听的。
So if you're listening to this video right now and you're understanding about half of what I'm saying, it's a little difficult to keep going, right?
如果你现在正在听这个视频的话，你能够理解我说的一半内容，有点点难以继续下去，对吗？
Your first reaction might be to put the subtitles on which is great for helping you to understand but not really a great way to practise your listening skills.
你的第一个行动可能就是打开字幕，这能够很好地帮助你理解，但是并不是练习听力技能的很好的方式。
So when you're practising your listening skills, instead of turning on the subtitles, slow down the speed of the video, alright?
所以当你练习听力的时候，不要打开字幕，而是放慢视频的速度，好吗？
This gives you a little more time and space to help hear the sounds that I'm making and then connect them to the words that you recognise.
这给了你更多的时间和空间来帮助你听到我发出的声音，然后把听到的和你能识别的单词联系起来。
And you can use this trick on any YouTube video.
其他的油管视频都可以使用这个小妙招。
This one or a more challenging one.
这个或是更具挑战性的。
So you can click that button just down there and slow down the speed.
所以你可以点击下面的按钮，然后放慢速度。
Okay then you'll hear the things that I'm saying more clearly.
好的，然后你就可以更加清晰地听清楚我说的是什么了。
Now slowing down the speed is not cheating,
放慢速度并不是作弊，
it's a really great way to start hearing the sounds and recognising words as they're spoken and listening to common patterns in English.
这是开始听清楚发音，认出来单词的很好的方式，而且能听到英语中常用的一些结构。
Then at any time you can speed it back up to natural pace and hear it as a native speaker would say it.
然后在任何时刻你都可以调回原来的自然的速度，听听母语者是怎么说的。
Now there are a few of you who complain that I speak too slowly in my lessons.
你们当中有些人抱怨我上课语速太慢。
But you can actually use this same tool to increase the speed of the video too
但实际上你也可以使用这个工具来提高视频的速度，
and this is a really great feature to start getting into the habit of using, right?
这可以帮助大家养成使用这个功能的习惯，对吧？
You can do it with audio books, you can do it with other video platforms as well, get into the habit of it.
你可以通过有声书，也可以用其他视频平台，养成习惯。
Now if you're watching this video and you can understand most of what I'm saying without the subtitles on, awesome!
现在，如果你正在看这个视频，你可以在没有字幕的情况下理解我说的大部分东西，那就太棒了！
But now I want you to try and challenge yourself a little.
但现在我要你试着挑战一下自己。
So challenge yourself by listening to some videos by native English speakers who aren't teachers, right?
挑战一下自己去听不是老师的英语母语者的视频吧。
So use the same technique that I mentioned just before, slow down the speed when it's difficult to hear before you turn on the subtitles.
使用我刚才提到的相同的技巧，如果听不懂的话，在打开字幕之前，放慢视频速度吧。
So to summarise, listening to complicated movies in English with the subtitles on, is not the best way to practise your listening skills.
因此，总结一下，听复杂的英文电影时加上字幕，并不是练习听力的最佳方法。
In fact, subtitles don't really help you with your listening skills much at all.
事实上，字幕对你的听力没有多大帮助。
Start with material that you can understand and from there, increase your difficulty.
从你能理解的材料开始，慢慢增加你的难度。
And just to be clear, when I say difficulty I'm talking about different accents.
说清楚一点，我说的困难指的是不同的口音。
I'm talking about the context so lots of background noise makes it challenging to listen.
我说的是整个语境，可能有很多背景噪音，所以会听起来比较有挑战性。
I'm talking about more informal conversations, you know, that often use slang or different expressions that might be new.
我说的是非正式的谈话，就是经常使用俚语或者新的表达方式的对话。
All of these things increase the difficulty of listening to someone in English.
所有这些都增加了听别人说英语的难度。
So these are the things that you should challenge yourself with.
所以这些是你应该挑战的东西。
