LISTENING PRACTICE WITH FILMS 3
11 / 01 / 2012
LISTENING PRACTICE WITH FILMS 3: meaning and examples
Good morning everyone. After talking about how to use films to help you improve your English pronunciation, today we're going to look at a strategy to improve your overall comprehension of films.
Objective: To improve gist listening comprehension (GIST = the main or general meaning of a piece of writing, film or programme).
Strategies for Watching: When you are watching a film or a TV programme in English, how much do you understand? This depends on many things: your overall English level, how often you listen to English, the accent of the actors, your familiarity with the topic, background noise, and so on. Recently I was watching an episode of a crime series called The Wire and the language was so colloquial that even I didn't understand everything, and I'm a native. It wasn't a problem, though, because I just wanted to understand what was going on and I could still enjoy the series.
Understanding the "gist" of the programme, in other words the general idea, should be your objective in these situations. If you start worrying about understanding every single word, you can sometimes lose track of the general plot of the film or programme.
To practice listening for gist, try these strategies:
1) If you have some information about the film or programme, like the review on the back of a DVD cover, then read this first. What's the film about? Who are the main characters? Where does it take place?
2) Watch without subtitles. This will force you to focus on the gist instead of specific words.
3) If it's a long film, try watching one or two scenes a few times with the objective of understanding the gist, even if you don't understand everything. Later you can watch them again for specific information (which we'll talk about tomorrow).
4) Some genres, like detective stories or thrillers, can be more difficult to understand because of the intricacies of the plot. Try choosing a film with a more linear story, like a comedy or a biography.
Remember that your objective is to understand the general idea of the film. Keep watching, even if you don't understand all of the words. Avoid pressing pause-replay continuously because this will interrupt the flow of the film.
I would be happy to answer any questions about today's Daily Vitamin in the Daily Vitamin section on our website. To post a question, click on the "add a comment" button.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Objective: To improve gist listening comprehension (GIST = the main or general meaning of a piece of writing, film or programme).
Strategies for Watching: When you are watching a film or a TV programme in English, how much do you understand? This depends on many things: your overall English level, how often you listen to English, the accent of the actors, your familiarity with the topic, background noise, and so on. Recently I was watching an episode of a crime series called The Wire and the language was so colloquial that even I didn't understand everything, and I'm a native. It wasn't a problem, though, because I just wanted to understand what was going on and I could still enjoy the series.
Understanding the "gist" of the programme, in other words the general idea, should be your objective in these situations. If you start worrying about understanding every single word, you can sometimes lose track of the general plot of the film or programme.
To practice listening for gist, try these strategies:
1) If you have some information about the film or programme, like the review on the back of a DVD cover, then read this first. What's the film about? Who are the main characters? Where does it take place?
2) Watch without subtitles. This will force you to focus on the gist instead of specific words.
3) If it's a long film, try watching one or two scenes a few times with the objective of understanding the gist, even if you don't understand everything. Later you can watch them again for specific information (which we'll talk about tomorrow).
4) Some genres, like detective stories or thrillers, can be more difficult to understand because of the intricacies of the plot. Try choosing a film with a more linear story, like a comedy or a biography.
Remember that your objective is to understand the general idea of the film. Keep watching, even if you don't understand all of the words. Avoid pressing pause-replay continuously because this will interrupt the flow of the film.
I would be happy to answer any questions about today's Daily Vitamin in the Daily Vitamin section on our website. To post a question, click on the "add a comment" button.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
