Suggestions for Powerful Chinese Listening

Many people learning Mandarin have an easier time writing and reading Chinese rather than listening and speaking Chinese.

As they increase their vocabulary, they find it easier to write and read. Despite this, they still fight using the sentences and phrases they have learned when trying to communicate with Chinese native speakers.

The reason for this is simple: they have not put in the effort and time required to build their listening and speaking skills. Here are some suggestions that you might find useful.

Listening to anything in Chinese

Naturally, the best thing is if you can find material that interests you and something that you can mostly understand.

One thing you could do is to set an online radio station on auto start on your computer.

Also, you could rip the audio from videos, cartoons, films, that you have found online. Make sure that you always have enough audio material on your phone.

If you are a student of the Chinese language program, it is likely your textbook is filled with sufficient listening or will be assigned by your teacher.

Try to practice them throughout the semester to keep the material fresh in your mind and to pick new content you previously could not understand. You are not enrolled in a Chinese language course; you can find many listening exercises in any HSK preparation book.

Use an iPod or an MP3 Player

The great thing about iPod or MP3 players is that they are portable.

You can make a playlist of Mandarin lessons and then learn it even on the go.

Another great option is to download Chinese lessons, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, interviews, and more from the Internet onto your MP3 player or iPod. Learn Mandarin everywhere you go.

Extensive listening

Listen to the material only once, and remember that you only have one chance, so try your best to memorize the contents within this one chance.

If you cannot catch some sentences or words, let it be. Still, the exercise will help you shape a good language sense and get into the routine of the listening sentence instead of word by word.

So be patient, do not worry if you can only catch half of the whole piece. Try to re-listen to the piece after a couple of days.

The suggested practice period is 20-40 minutes per day, while the suggested listening materials are a conversation conducted between two persons on some exciting topics.

Intensive listening and Transcription

Choose audio materials that are around five minutes or shorter.

Before transcribing anything, listen to it carefully without trying to write anything down.

The second time, listen carefully to the clip and write down each word. If you do not get every single word for the first time, that is ok; you might have as many chances as you need.

Do your best to focus on the whole phrases, rather than words, except in any places where you are having a tough time even after several tries.

This method will make a significant difference in increasing your listening skills, and you will learn a range of everyday phrases that native Chinese-speakers use in their life.

When you are done with your transcription, listen to the audio clip again to ensure your work. Then relate what you have written with the script. If needed, listen to the parts where you had trouble until you finally understand them.

Diversify your listening

If you limit yourself only to your textbook and teacher, you will have problems understanding ordinary people.

Listen to TV shows, radio programs, movies，and podcasts – all of them are excellent resources to diversify your listening. I strongly recommend the golden wedding (jīnhūn) TV serial.

The story of this TV serial consists of a couple who go through their golden wedding, and it also shows the societal changes within China over the last past 50 years.

You should follow the following method; Watch the episode with your native language subtitles to understand the overall meaning.

After understanding the meaning, watch each scene with Chinese subtitles. Pause to look up any new phrases or words you do not know in a dictionary; write these phrases or words in your notebook.

After you have done this, watch each scene many times with Chinese subtitles, and do not pause.

The final step is to watch each scene again without subtitles, and then do the same with the entire episode.

This method should be used daily for a couple of days and then repeat the process with the next episode. It may take you a long time to finish a TV serial, but this is useful.

Build your vocabulary

When native Chinese speakers communicate, they use different words, not necessarily due to hailing from a different region or area, but because it is a habit.

Different words are virtually interchangeable in Chinese, and using one or another is simply a matter of practice.

So a significant part of constructing listening comprehension skills in building your vocabulary. Each word is a pattern, and when you know more patterns, you will recognize more words.

Focus on listening content suitable for your level

If you just started to learn Mandarin, you are not at all likely to improve your listening skills, let alone understanding anything when watching a Chinese movie.

All of these results wasted time. That is why choose content that is specific to your listening level.

In this way, you will understand most of the language you hear, and there will be fewer items that you will not understand.

That is why you need to be very careful in choosing a listening environment suitable to your level.

Be selective on topics for listening

You should increase your listening skills topic by topic.

When you look at broad things like radio broadcasts, it will be hard for you to discover the subject.

Also, the conversation can shift once you have some idea on what the hosts are talking about.

When finalizing the topic for listening, you should know the topic in advance, so you will not waste time guessing what the speakers are talking about.

Prior study before listening will allow you to understand the basic vocabulary and grammar specific to the topic. 

Whenever you visit a restaurant, you should learn from the other people that how to order food, instead of listening to a lecture on ancient Chinese diets as you will not use any of that information when you order Chinese food.

Choose your listening environment wisely

Those people who are learning the Chinese language in China try frequenting areas where you can listen to a topic that you want to learn.

Suppose you want to improve your listening to shopping.

The best way is to visit busy shopping areas in China and listen to local bargaining for goods or do the negotiation by yourself.

Ignore the perception that any conversation in China will improve your listening in Chinese.

In its place, find areas where you are likely to immerse yourself in a topic of use and interest to you.

Real-life one-on-one practice

The practice is essential to improve your listening skills further.

As a beginner, being able to practice the content you have learned would shape a more substantial base for refining your listening.

For that reason, we suggest you find a native speaker who knows your level well and together, and you can conduct practice conversations.

It could be a tutor, friend, or a language exchange partner. The format can be a simple question and answer, in which your partner will ask simple questions, and you reply accordingly.

This can be an engaging and fun exercise while giving you a taste of putting your knowledge into real-life conversations.

Step into real-life situations

Apart from videos and shows, try real-life scenarios.

At this time, you should be able to happily handle some simple Chinese speaking settings, such as in shops or restaurants.

If you are not living in China, find out if there is a Chinatown within your area, where most people use Chinese to communicate.

Being physically present in a Chinese speaking environment is a straightforward and effective way to practice your listening.

To understand a wide range of topics

When you are at the advanced Chinese level, you should be comfortable interacting with people easily under normal daily settings without any problem with listening.

To advance further, you might want to focus your learning on a specific topic of interest, like your professional scope.

What you are doing is looking to increase your Chinese usage to a broader set of issues, where richer listening skills are essential.

To do so, it is highly suggested that you immerse yourself in a thorough Chinese speaking environment for a specified period.

Visiting China is a good option, and the trip can last from a couple of weeks to even years.

Being fully absorbed in China means you are passively listening to Chinese being spoken daily life, where you are open to all sorts of scenarios, ranging from buying groceries, renting apartments, to looking for jobs.

Meanwhile, you are exposed to Chinese native speakers who may even become your new friends. In this way, you will get lots of opportunities to practice Chinese listening.

Join Chinese seminars of your interests

Apart from traveling to China, if you are looking for to increase language ability to a more specific scope, such as the topic of your interest.

Then it is suggested that you join relevant conferences, talks, seminars, webinars that are conducted in Chinese.

As the content discussed would be related to your chosen specialty, you will get an excellent opportunity to improve your listening skills within these areas. It works great if these events could be attended frequently, which helps to maintain your level.

When learning Chinese, Listening is often overlooked skill. A learner can end up focusing more on reading texts and speaking the language, that he forgets that the listening aspect also improves your overall language skills.

There is a saying that goes, ‘When you speak, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you will learn something new.’

Such is the same with learning Chinese. Chinese listening practices matter. If you listen, you will inevitably learn new things, and your Chinese language skills will advance much faster.