Buondì.
Kathryn emailed to ask about the difference betweeen ‘listening’ and ‘listening practice’.
Is there one? If so, what?
‘Listening practice’ has a goal or goals which are differerent to those associated with listening that isn’t ‘practice’.
If your goal is to improve your listening skills, then you’re practising listening, though you may at the same time also have goals associated with meaning, enjoyment, and other linguistic objectives, such as learning new words.
‘Listening’ on the other hand is just one of those things we do with our brains, for all the usual reasons.
The two things are usually seen as distinct activities, but ideally need not be.
For instance, my approach of never listening to news or radio in English means my news/radio ‘habits’ are done for their own sake (company while doing chores, passing the time, staying informed), and so are motivating and easy to maintain, yet result in learning/improving that didn’t use to happen when I only listened to the BBC.
My goal is listening, not listening practice, but I’ve organised things so that listening IS listening practice, and so produces the hoped-for results, that is to say, that I become ever more familiar with what people are talking about in the languages I’m learning, and how they do so.
What about you?
Do you ‘practice’ listening to Italian?
Or do you just listen to Italian?
If the answer is ‘Neither, but I study lots of grammar!’, please go stand quietly in the corner while the rest of us get on with language-learning.
Oh, and write out (with a pen, not copying and pasting), “I must prioritise skills development over ‘study’ and memorization.”
A thousand times.
You can listen to Italian radio while you’re doing it.
A venerdì, allora!
P.S. New Ebook Reminder
Don’t forget our latest ebook easy reader, Don Chisciotte della Mancia, a B2/C1-level ‘riassunto’ of this classic, the second in our world literature series, the first being I racconti di Canterbury.
Both are worth a look, for the Italian reading/listening practice if nothing else.
And/or, check out our Italian Literature series.
Don Chisciotte della Mancia is 25% off the usual easy-reader price until Sunday night.
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Don Chisciotte della Mancia, just £5.99! | Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) | World Literature | Italian Literature | Catalog
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook (.mobi/Kindle-compatible, .epub) cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them.
P.P.S.
Tuesday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news is another good opportunity to get in some listening/reading practice. Also, it’s free!
Or subscribe, and so receive each thrice-weekly bulletin via email, on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. That’s free too.
OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.org (ebooks) | NativeSpeakerTeachers.com (1-1 lessons)
Barry Edwards says
Recently I have started to do a lot more listening in Italian on my daily hourly dog walk, which I find very useful. I also do some learning with Paul Noble on audio books as that way I get speaking practice as well in different scenarios..
At home I try and read what I have listened to earlier to see if I can gain more understanding of what was said. I think this whole combination is working well without the need to learn endless grammar, which I find boring anyway.
Daniel says
Bravo, Barry!
Lynne F says
To me, listening is listening and all make a contribution to language learning. Each day I immerse myself in as much as possible, the radio, podcasts, TV, anything, usually done while multitasking. In addition, I have my more focused listening such as Easy Italian News and other sources that are accompanied by text. Then I have a couple of hours of Skype each week. These are not lessons just conversations with like-minded Italians who want to learn a new language and help others in that quest.
As for the grammar and vocabulary, well that seems to make more sense in context. Some subject-specific words crop up or I start to hear a grammatical pattern so they become the focus of my study for the week.
The balance has changed from just hearing one or two words that I understand to now, the few words that I don’t. OK, it will depend on the subject matter but now Italian doesn’t seem so much a foreign language.