What Strategies Can You Use To Overcome Anxiety Or Nervousness When Listening To A Second Language?

A lot of new language learners get nervous about studying as they don’t want to waste their time, or learn things the wrong way. This is totally normal and is something we will all face from time to time.

Some people will get anxious about having to listen in the language and I will go through some ways that you can reduce that feeling and just get on with listening and learning your new language with less stress and more productivity.   

Listening Is Just Input, So Relax

When it comes to listening, you need to just remember that it is only input. You just have to sit there and listen. Out of all the things you can do in the language, this is one of the gentler activities and there really is nothing to worry about.

You can’t mess it up. Of course you might get annoyed that you don’t understand something, but that is okay, just let the language wash over you and pick up what little pieces you can here and there.

If you understand literally zero, then you may need to listen to something else, but overall, don’t get stressed out, leave that for the other areas of the language that are going to push you to think and actually respond.

Just relax and allow yourself to listen, regardless of how much of it you can understand. With time your listening abilities and understanding will increase.

(You can read more about – Is Listening The Best Way To Learn A Language?)

Listen To Audio Recordings, Not Real Life Listening Will Reduce Your Anxiety 

Listening to audio recordings is going to be a whole lot easier than listening to real people speak.

While the two may sound identical, there are a lot of things a recording can do, that a real person cannot.

For a start, you can be alone when you are listening to a recording, which instantly is going to reduce your stress. Having another person in front of you, watching you struggle is never enjoyable and you won’t have this when you are listening to audios.

You then have the advantage that you can pause, rewind a replay an audio countless times, which you can’t do when someone is there in front of you. Of course you could ask them to repeat themselves, but after the third time they are going to get annoyed.   

Even if you have friends in the language, ask them to send you an audio message rather than have phone calls. then you can listen to them speak 1000s of times when you are by yourself and this will greatly reduce your stress for when you have to actually listen to them in person or on the phone.

Listen To Easier Material If You Are Anxious

A lot of the anxiety around listening is usually to do with not understanding what is being said. This is understandable, but it is something you need to get comfortable with.

Listening to your new language can often feel like you are in heavy fog and it can it can be very disorientating. However, the more you try to improve, the more the fog will lift.

Some may argue that the fog never truly goes. It’s only the native speakers who get the clear vision of the language. Learners may always have hazy patches here and there.

Taking a step back and listening to material designed for kids, or for adult language learners can be a good place to reduce your anxiety and as they will be a lot easier to comprehend.

The fog of confusion is going to disappear a lot faster with this sort of material, so it can be a comfortable place to start feeling your away into the language.    

(You can read more about – How Can You Use Movies or TV Shows In Your Second Language To Enhance Your Listening Skills?)

Listen To The Same Audios Repeatedly To Help Ease Anxiety Around Your New Language

Familiarity can help breed comfort, which means listening the same audios multiple times can help to ease your anxiety around listening.

You will have heard the audio before and you will start to get used to it and will start to feel comfortable. There will be no sudden surprises and even if there is a particularly difficult section, you will be ready for it.

Being comfortable with what you are listening to can really help you start to relax and over time you will start to understand more and more and this will also help you feel less stressed.

Just take your time and repeat things, it can get a little boring at times, but it is still an effective way to study your listening. 

Listen To Short Audios Can Help Ease Anxiety Around Your New Language

My advice is always to listen to as much of the language as you can …but I know this can be intimating.

I know it can be inspirational to hear stories of people who study 8 hours a day …but it can also be very un-motivating at the same time.

I know as a totally beginner I would start watching a video to practice my listening and within about 3 minutes, my brain would be fried. I was just overloaded with language in that short window as I just had no experience and therefore no stamina.

I remember thinking “how do these people last for 8 hours” and if you are feeling the same. Don’t worry about it. It is something you need to build up to and starting with short audios is the way to go.

You just need to find something that is a couple minutes long and just focus on that. You can even replay it a few times like I mentioned above. Your progress will be slow, but that is okay, as you grow in confidence and your anxiety eases you can go for longer and start listening to more and more.

You don’t need to start at 8 hours a day, just do what your brain will allow you to and work from there.

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

Listen To Things That You Enjoy In Your New Language

I think it is very important to listen to things that you actually have an interest in and enjoy, regardless if you have anxiety of not around listening.

Listening to a language you don’t really understand is tough and the second you lose interest in whatever you are listening to, it’s a waste of time.

Your mind will wonder and you will be paying zero attention. So look for material that you like and you should be able to focus a lot more. The fact you are enjoying it should also help you ease your anxiety and help you relax and just listen.  

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

Try and Listen A Lot To Help With Your Anxiety In The New Language 

When you are starting anything new, it can be scary and this is because you have no experience and you don’t really know what to expect.

This can also be true for listening in a language and it will be why some people are nervous, however the more you do something, the faster this feeling will fade.

If you just take the time to listen more in your new language, you will start to feel comfortable with it. It is going to take a while to get there, but even after a few hours the general sounds should become less jarring and slowly the noises will become more recognisable as sounds and actual words and all you need to is keep going.

The more you listen to the language, the more your abilities will grow and so will your confidence all while your anxiety should start to fade.

(You can read more about – Common Mistakes People Make When Listening To A New Language)

Conclusion 

Hopefully these different techniques will help you to reduce your anxiety around listening.  There really isn’t anything to worry about.

Just listen to as much as you can handle, while also understanding as much as possible and you will make progress. The more progress you can make, the more comfortable and confident you will feel.

It is a slow process and it can be hard at the start, but you will get there. Don’t give up and you will feel the anxiety fade away and your language skills bloom. 

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