Everything was going so well in my quest to improve my (French) listening skills to B1.
I’d completed all of the exam materials for A1 level, and was ready to step up to A2 and start pushing myself further.
I knew it would be tough and I’d need to put in some extra time, but I was looking forward to the challenge.
Then real life got in the way.
The Christmas/New Year holidays ended and Tuesday saw me back at work.
Going back after the holidays is always a nightmare.
Everyone calls.
People drop by, thinking you’ll be pleased to see them and have time to chat about what you did on New Year’s Eve…
Chaos.
I’ve been working 12 hours a day all week.
And my listening?
Niente.
Anyone else having the same problem? Leave a comment on this post.
Finding time to study can be a challenge.
The trick is to know what your medium term priorities are, and focus on what would be possible, with JUST A LITTLE TIME EACH DAY….
You can see I’m trying to talk myself into getting back to it.
Even if I am busy….
It’ll be worth it in the end.
I was doing so well.
It would be a shame to quit now.
Etc.
P.S. I hear from some of you that there’s a real dearth of good listening materials for Italian out there on the Internet. If anyone has found anything useful, do feel free to post links (in a comment on this article) so everyone who’s joining in this ‘listening challenge’ can check them out.
Bruce says
It’s so encouraging to hear I’m not the only one beating himself up for not spending enough time each day. But I do listen only to Italian radio in the car (in LA that can be a lot), I’ve got a nice Italian lady giving me directions on GPS, iPhone is all Italian, I spend five or ten minutes daily at the HuffPost Italian language edition and hit News In Slow Italian at least 15 minutes a day. There I do play the info at the tortoise speed one or twice but always go back and replay at the hare, or rabbit speed. The Madrelengua grammar pages are excellent but I carry a lot guilt about getting to them only once or twice a week. Piano a piano.
Daniel says
Hi Bruce!
Are you back in LA then?
Shame, we were expecting you for dinner…
Sounds like you’re doing all the right things, though. See todays (new) post on motivation….
A presto!
Daniel
Debra says
Pimsleur Italian is great for beginners and intermediate students. It is at normal speech speed. I also use an app called Speak Text. Copy and paste quite long sections of the online news articles and listen to them at normal speed, as often as you need to.
Daniel says
Thanks for these suggestions, Debra!
July Rice says
My problem has always been the speed at which Italians speak. I’ve found a site called Slow News in Italian, but, of course it is not free. Maybe it’s maleducato(-a ?) of me to mention a competitor. Would you think of doing something like this,Daniel?
Daniel says
Hi July,
I’m going to reply to this in an article, if you don’t mind. That way everyone will see it.
Have a nice day!
Daniel
John says
Day 3 hummph I haven’t got past day 1. I’ve listened to a couple of the lessons and read your posts with a little guilt, anyway c’e sto a prova, spero che laltri vando piu bene do me
Daniel says
Ciao John,
No need to feel guilty. There’s always a right time for these things. But let’s hope we can provide you with some inspiration!
Daniel
Stefanie Newman says
As for listening resources, I found an android app called Tune in Radio which connects to radio stations worldwide Although it doesn’t have the resources of language class audios, I’ve found it really helpful to listen for 15 minutes a day if only to get used to the pace of the language. Plus I got to hear new year’s celebrations around the world.
Daniel says
Hi Stefanie,
Yes, I use Tune In too on my smart phone. On a normal computer, it’s enough just to visit the relevant website and press ‘play’.
The trick, though, is to find a radio station that you’re happy to listen to, and that matches your level.
For beginners and lower levels, maybe something that’s mostly music.
For intermediate students, local stations (lots of adverts, which are repeated a lot, so easy to understand)
For advanced students, politics, current affairs, culture, etc.
When I’m in the car I listen to RAI GRPR which reports proceedings in parliament. For someone who’s interested in politics, it’s fascinating, as well as being excellent practice…
Katy Wheeler says
Ciao Daniel
Yes, that pesky real life! How it does get in the way of things!
I’ve found a similar problem now that the holidays are over, but I’m feeling quite inordinately pleased with myself for doing a tiny bit of revision vocab each day with Teach2000, and having watched a whole hour of “Inspector Montalbano” yesterday! I’m also re-reading the units in my italian text book in place of bedtime reading … I know this isn’t all about listening but my feeling is that it all contributes to understanding and gets it into my head ready for when I am listening and responding.
Auguri
Katy
Daniel says
Ciao Katy,
No, it’s not about listening, but reading is a great way of learning vocabulary and grammar, and getting the background knowledge that helps with listening too.
If you like Montalbano, why not start reading Italian detective fiction? It would certainly make better bedtime reading than your Italian text book!
Confession time: I’ve never done an Italian course of any type, myself! I learnt the language almost exclusively by reading “gialli” (crime novels)!
A presto!