Have you ever had to ask someone to repeat something you couldn't understand?  Whether it's because they are talking too fast ; they have an unfamiliar accent; or they're using slang words you don't recognise... It can be hard to really hear what people are saying, right?

Here is the thing: What you hear in real conversations is often completely different to what you learn at school! And this is why it is so important to master your listening skills!

So, I'm sharing 5 techniques to help you practice and improve your listening skills. I hope, after reading this, you'll feel more confident about joining conversations and communicating in English!

1. Study natural pronunciation

This is one of the best ways to improve your active listening skills!

Now, let me be clear: I'm not talking about studying pronunciation as you would at school.I'm talking about recognising and paying attention to the sounds of English as it is actually spoken.  Because real English isn't always what you expect! Sometimes sounds blend together, they change - they can even disappear completely! 

For example, in school you may have been taught to hear, "What do you want to do?" But while listening to a native English speaker, what actually hear is sometning like,

"Whatdayawanna do?"

It can be super confusing, right?! So, how can you overcome these real-world listening challenges? It's all about studying the elements of natural spoken English, including:

1. Contractions
2. Reduced forms
3. Sentence stress, and
4. Intonation

2. Listen to TED talks

This is one of my favorite techniques to improve your listening and comprehension skills. 

TED talks are brilliant resources to improve your listening. They're a great way to immerse yourself in natural spoken English. You get to familiarize yourself with different types of English speakers.... which is an essential part of developing listening skills for everyday conversations!

Además de los títulos, las secciones con imágenes funcionan muy bien para separar el contenido en el lugar adecuado. Puedes separar las partes principales de tu artículo con imágenes que se correspondan al tema del mismo.

También puedes utilizar el formato "Cita" para enfatizar la información más importante.

Aquí comienza tu texto. Puedes hacer clic en este punto y empezar a escribir. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et.