Save your Listening score with "passive listening practice in English"

Ever puzzled over why, despite recognizing 60-70% of the words in a listening passage and grasping individual sentences, following a longer piece becomes bewildering? The most plausible explanation is a lack of deep immersion in the English language. This is where passive listening practice in English comes into play as a potent strategy for enhancing your linguistic abilities. Dive into the article below to get a comprehensive insight into how passive listening practice in English can work wonders for your language proficiency!

I. What is passive listening?

What is active listening vs passive listening? What is the difference between these two methods? Before diving into the differences, let’s join PREP to define passive listening.

Passive listening is the act of listening to something/someone without a specific purpose (paying little to no attention to the matter). The main purpose of passive listening is to help individuals become familiar with a new language in the most relaxed way as possible.

A common question that many learners ask is whether or not they should practice passive listening. PREP's answer is that you should engage in passive listening every day. However, do not consider passive listening as the primary method to improve your listening skills. Instead, view it as a supportive tool.

II. Benefits of passive listening

1. Limiting translation in your head

Undoubtedly, for beginners in English, understanding a passage in English is extremely challenging. Have you ever encountered a situation where you listened to a sentence, and translated its meaning in your head, but the audio has already moved on to the next sentence? Or when you want to express an opinion, do you have to translate the idea from your mother tongue to English in your head? The reason for facing such situations is that we haven't exposed ourselves to English enough. So, how can we limit translation in our heads?

If you engage in passive English listening for a long period, you will create an English environment for yourself. Immersing yourself in English daily helps you gradually develop reflexes in your brain. Your brain will naturally respond to the received information, without conditional reflexes. Over time, passive English listening helps you eliminate the step of translation in your head.

2. Developing a native language system

You listen to podcasts when you wake up, listen to music during lunch break, and watch your favorite videos on YouTube before going to bed. Every day, repeating and practicing passive listening will gradually make you familiar with the sound patterns of native speakers. Listening to English helps you recognize that every utterance of a native speaker has intonation, rises and falls, and pauses at the right rhythm.

As time goes by, this helps you "absorb" the native language system in a natural and prolonged way, right?

Please refer to the following article:

• Should you practice dictation when self-studying IELTS Listening at home?

III. Four detailed steps for passive listening practice in English

Step 1: Choose listening sources

Authentic listening sources:

To effectively practice passive English listening, PREP suggests that you find authentic listening sources. What are authentic listening sources? Look for podcasts, radio channels, or YouTube videos by native speakers for practice. Don't just focus on finding your favorite accent, but also explore different accents and expressions. The more accents and different ways of expression you become familiar with, the more your listening skills will improve.

Suitable for your level:

Many suggest finding listening sources that match your level, but how can you determine which sources are truly suitable for you? PREP will help you determine your own level with the following method:

• If you understand 60-80% of the vocabulary in the audio, then it is suitable for your level.
• If you understand 40-50% of the vocabulary in the audio, then it is at a higher level than your current level, and you may find it difficult to grasp the information while listening. In that case, you may feel frustrated and want to give up on it.

Step 2: Choose your favorite topics for listening

Choose topics that you personally love and find interesting. If you admire famous people or those with influence, don't hesitate to choose videos featuring them, such as Totally Emma Watson or videos on Vogue's channel. In short, choose listening sources and voices that you aspire to be able to express.

Step 3: Study vocabulary

In this step, conduct a small research and gather all the vocabulary related to the topic you are going to listen to. This way, you will have a better overview of the listening material. Moreover, during the listening process, you will easily "catch" the vocabulary that you have studied. That moment of "catching" helps you transform from passive listening to active listening.

Step 4: Repeat listening

When you listen to a piece repeatedly, you will undoubtedly discover many interesting things. Repeating listening helps you experience a sense of achievement and conquer rewards that you couldn't attain before. Just think about it, on the first day, you understand 60% of the content in the video, and the next day you understand a little more, after listening 3-4 times, you will surely grasp the key theme, isn't that great?

PREP has a note for you: Don't listen to a different video every day, as it will prevent you from fully understanding the intended content of the video, and you may feel extremely disappointed.

This article has provided an overview of the passive listening method. PREP wishes you effective preparation and high scores in the IELTS Listening test. 

If you are looking for a comprehensive IELTS learning path that covers all four skills and offers flexible timing, feel free to check out our online IELTS preparation course at PREP!