Common Mistakes People Make When Listening To A New Language

Listening to a new language can be difficult and you will find that there are a lot of common mistakes you can make, regardless of what language you are trying to learn.

I will go through some of the most common so you try and watch out for them in your own studies. 

Listening is a really important part of learning a language and you will find that if you manage to avoid these mistakes you will notice your overall progress is a lot faster, so it is worthwhile making sure you can spot and avoid these mistakes. 

(You can read more about – How To Practice Listening In A New Language)

Not Comprehending What You Are Listening To

When you start listening in a new language everything is going to be confusing for you. You won’t understand anything and this might be okay for the first few days, but you can’t keep going like that.

You need to understand what is going or it’s a waste of time and it will just be white noise.

Usually the mistake is listening to something that is way above your level. It is annoying, but you need to take a step back.

If you watch a video where a man is pointing at a cat and saying “cat” you are going to understand what is happening.  A video like this would be more beneficial to you than listening to something where you have no idea what is going on.

Comprehension really is key when it comes to listening. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but having some sort of grasp on the language is needed.

(You can read more about – What Is Comprehensible Input In Language Learning?)

Having Full Comprehension Is Also A Mistake

Another mistake is going to the other end of the scale and making sure you know every last word and trying to fully understand everything.

While this is great and is sort of the end goal, it can also be a mistake.

If you are only listening to material that you can comprehend 100%, it means it is too easy for you.

It’s okay to not understand everything. It means you have room to expand and the grey areas are still things you need to learn.

If I go back to the example of the video of a man pointing at a cat and saying “cat”, this would be fine to watch on your first day, but I think you would very quickly master it.

If you only watched this one video for a year, you are not really going to make much progress. I know that’s maybe a drastic example, but you can see the point, being able to understand everything doesn’t push you forward.  

Looking Up Every Word Is A Mistake

If you are stopping the audio after every word to look up the meaning, this is a mistake. You might think this is a good idea as you are finding out what everything means and therefore increasing your comprehension.

While is this true, it’s not the most effective method. Having to look up pretty much every word would suggest that you do not comprehend what you are listening to at all, and as I discussed above, that isn’t great.

You are going to find it much easier to just take a step back and listen to something simpler.  It’s okay to look up the occasional word, but you need to get the balance right. If the majority of your time is spent with the dictionary, you are clearly struggling and need to accept that the material is too hard for you at this time.     

(You can read more about – How Can You Improve Your Listening Skills In A Second Language?)

Listening To Something That Is Too Fast

Unfortunately as beginners we are going to struggle to listen to native speakers just talking normally, they are going to be too fast for us.

This can be annoying as we think that we need to be listening to this level to actually improve. This is true, but we need to build up to this level.

Listening to something that is too fast is just going to leave you feeling dizzy and your brain will not be able to cope. You need to find material that is a little slower. This is usually going to be the stuff that is aimed at learners.     

I know this stuff can be boring at times, but you need to work through it. Listening to the slower material will help you work up to the faster real native stuff. You can get there; just build your way up slowly.

(You can read more about – How To Get Faster At Listening In A New Language) 

Not Listening Enough

I think it is very easy to underestimate how much listening you need to do in a new language and I also think it is very easy to overestimate how much you are doing.

I have told myself I am putting in plenty of effort with a language, but when I am honest with myself, I maybe only do 10 minutes a day …which is just not enough.

You really need to be doing an hour a day, probably even more than that. Listening really requires a large time commitment. It’s not difficult to listen, but it is difficult to put enough time in.

If you are not seeing results you need to take a step back and be really honest with yourself and ask if you are listening enough. You probably are not and if you can commit to doing a whole lot more, you will start making progress. It is worth the sacrifice.

(You can read more about – Listening Resources To Help You Learn A Language)

Not Paying Attention

When you are listening, you need to actually listen! To be honest I am pretty guilty of this myself. I can find my concentration slipping and it is very easy to drift off.

This makes the whole process pointless so you really need to be aware that this is happening. You will find that your concentration levels are drained very quickly when listening in a different language, so this will happen to you.

You are comfortable in your own language so you can just listen all day long, that’s not a problem, but in the language you are learning you will not have this stamina, you will need to build it up over time.  

You should start with smaller sessions, or break them up throughout the day. This should allow you to stay focused the whole time and you won’t find yourself just day dreaming.

(You can read more about – Can You Avoid Listening In A Language You Are Learning?)

Passive Listening

Passive listening is a mistake and this is when you purposely don’t pay attention to what you are listening to. You just put something on in the background and hope your brain absorbs it somehow.

This doesn’t work. You need to be paying attention to the material or it is a complete waste of time.

I think listening to music in your target language, in the background while you work on something else is alright, but you still will not really learn anything from this, it’s just nice to hear in the background.

(You can read more about – Is Passive Language Listening Helpful?)

Not Re-Listening To Things

One of the best things you can do when listening is to re-listen to things. So many people don’t do this; they hear something once and move on.

If you are doing this you are missing out on so much. You will be surprised at how much more you can hear the second time round. The first listen just gives you some basic context and the 2^nd of 3^rd time allows you to really focus on areas you didn’t catch before.

You are also exposing yourself to the same words over and over again, so while it may be boring, it’s very good for you.

You don’t even need to listen to things back to back, you can listen it again the next day, or week later, it still all helps.

This also means you need to find less material as you can listen to the same stuff a number of times. 

(You can read more about – How Much Listening Do You Need To Do When Learning A Language?)

Listening To A Lot of Slang

There is a time and palace for slang, but it is not as a beginner. Listening to slang will end up confusing you and it’s not worth it.

A lot of the slang words may have other meanings and you will probably not get the context and take things literally, which is always going to end badly.

You are better to just focus on the proper form of the language until you get to grip with things and then you can start dabbling with slang.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Listening In A Language You Are Learning)

Not Reading and Listening At The Same Time

Reading is something you should be doing in general, but you should also be reading and listening at the same time.

Some people seem to see this as cheating, which is ridiculous. It is extremely beneficial for you to see the words and hear them at the same time and to deny yourself that is crazy.

Just to be clear, you need your text to match the audio, which means if you are listening to French, the text needs to be in French too. If you are just watching a French movie with English subtitles …then yes, this is both cheating and a waste of your time. You will learn nothing if you do this.

As you progress you will need the text less and less, but as a beginner definitely use it. Seeing and hearing things together is just better for you.

(You can read more about – What Are The Common Challenges You Will Face While Listening To A Second Language?)

Conclusion

As you can see there are a lot of mistakes you can make when listening, which is kind of funny as it’s seems like it is such a simple thing to do.

If you stay clear from all these mistakes then your listening sessions will more beneficial and you will progress faster. Listening is one of the best things you can do for learning a language, so make sure you are not hindering yourself and instead are maximising your potential.  

(You can read more about – Why Is Listening To A New Language So Difficult?)