LEARNING TIPS: LISTENING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

Good morning.

This week we are reviewing key-philosophies that you should keep in mind if you are serious about learning English.

Ziggurat Paradigm 1 (Tuesday): Nobody can teach you English; you have to LEARN English.

Ziggurat Paradigm 2 (Wednesday): The most difficult thing about learning a language is maintaining what you’ve already learned.

Ziggurat Paradigm 3: Poor listening skills are what keep the majority of English students from reaching their desired level.

Do you know what usually terrifies an English student more than anything? Speaking on the telephone in English. Why? Because you must depend 100% on your comprehension abilities, since you can't depend on gestures, facial expressions, etc.; and most students' comprehension abilities are poor, or non-existent.

Imagine that you could suddenly understand everything that native speakers were saying. How long would it take you to learn English? Not very long. Improving your listening skills automatically improves your overall English level. In my opinion, listening is the most important skill to develop. 

Improving your listening comprehension is slow, so you need to start right away, practice often and never stop! "Expose" yourself to English as much as possible: original version films, music, radio and television programmes, listening activities that accompany your English text, the Daily Vitamin Plus! sound file, Pod-casts, etc. Try to listen to English every single day.

If you're reading this message in an email, why don't you connect to the Daily Vitamin Plus! section on our website (www.ziggurat.es) and LISTEN to this text? You'll need your login and password, which are provided at the end of this message.

If you have any questions, please let us know. I hope you have a good day!