One of the students’  major concerns when they start 3rd level is the listening skill. Most of them complain about the big leap between 2nd and 3rd level where they are exposed to real-life English. Some students tend to come to me after the first mock exam  to ask for advice. What can I do? Is there a way to improve my listening comprehension?. Why do I understand most of the words when I read a written text but  I’m unable to understand the same text when I listen to it?

As you have probably guessed, one of the main challenges when learning English is …. pronunciation. Unfortunately, words are not pronounced they same way they are written and this is the reason why listening becomes an uphill struggle for most students.

So what can I do? you may ask. Well, the best effective way to improve your listening skills is training your ear to recognise sounds and therefore words, clauses and finally texts.

How can I do this?. Here is dictationsonline  for ear training. You can choose from a wide range of graded dictations. Follow the instructions and try to do a dictation at least once every fortnight.

dictationsonline.com    Native speaker dictations, free online

I’m pretty sure that if you keep listening and writing, your listening skills will improve a great deal by the end of the academic year. Good luck!