Teaching listening skills is one of the most difficult tasks for any ESL teacher. This is because successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. It’s frustrating for students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Speaking and writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills. This is not to say that there are not ways of improving listening skills, however they are difficult to quantify.
每個外語老師都會覺得聽力是最難教的課程之一。這是因為，好聽力不是一日練就的，它需要大量的實踐練習。不像語法教學有規律可循，說與寫作也有相應的練習供學生提高，而聽力卻不然，這令學生們感到很頭疼。并不是說就沒有好的途徑去提高聽力，只是難以對其進行量化而已。
One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn’t understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying translate a specific word. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves.
對學生們來說，練習聽力時遇到的最大的障礙之一就是他們經常精神溜號。聽著聽著，有的學生突然發覺自己聽不懂了。出現這種情況，許多學生是因為走神了，或者正在腦子想著某個詞的意思。有些學生太不自信，認為自己沒有聽力天賦，聽不懂英語口語。這也給他們自己造成了很多麻煩。
They key to helping students improve their listening skills is to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time.
幫助學生們提高聽力的關鍵是要讓他們相信，聽不懂是沒什么的。態度上的轉變比什么都重要。何況，一些學生的態度也比較容易轉變。我在教我的學生(資質各不相同)時發現，還有一點很重要，那就是要讓學生盡量多聽英語，但每次聽不要時間過長。
I like to use this analogy: Imagine you want to get in shape. You decide to begin jogging. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles. If you are lucky, you might even be able to jog the seven miles. However, chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Fitness trainers have taught us that we must begin with little steps. Begin jogging short distances and walk some as well, over time you can build up the distance. Using this approach, you’ll be much more likely to continue jogging and get fit.
我喜歡這樣類比：假如你想減肥。你打算去慢跑。第一天你出去跑了7英里。沒準兒你還真能跑7英里。但是，你很可能近期就不再出去跑了。健美教練提醒我們，我們一開始要小步跑，跑的距離不宜過長，并走著回來。這樣，你繼續慢跑并變得健康的可能性就會更大。
Students need to apply the same approach to listening skills. Encourage them to get a film, or listen to an English radio station, but not to watch an entire film or listen for two hours. Students should often listen, but they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. This should happen four or five times a week. Even if they don’t understand anything, five to ten minutes is a minor investement. However, for this strategy to work, students must not expect improved understanding too quickly. The brain is capable of amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for results. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their listening comprehension skills will greatly improve.
對于練習聽力，學生們也需采用同樣的方法。要鼓勵他們去看個電影或者收聽英語廣播。但是，不要讓他們看一整部電影或者聽廣播聽上2個小時。他們需要常聽，但每次聽的時間不宜過長，以5到10分鐘為宜。每周聽4、5次。就算他們什么都聽不懂，5到10分鐘的時間也不會影響到他們什么。但是，這種方法若想奏效，決不能讓學生們急于求成。如果多給些時間，大腦是可以創造奇跡的。學生們一定要有耐心去等待。如果一個學生能堅持這種訓練方法2到3個月，那他的聽力肯定會有很大的提高
