How to Improve your Listening in Chinese?

Listening is the most significant skill to concentrate on when learning Chinese. But enhancing your listening skill is not as simple as you consider listening to get improved quickly. 

Here are the 5 top tips that will help you to improve your listening in Chinese. 

Tip #1: Do Listening practices as much as you can do

Listening practices are the main key to improve your listening skill. Listening practices often raise questions with listening content, listening to new topics, and focus on the info in a more passive way like watching a Chinese TV show. 

If you join a Chinese language course, your textbook is likely filled with many listening practices. To keep the content in your mind, you should practice listening frequently, and to collect new content, you need to understand the previous things.

If you have not joined a Chinese language course, you can get a lot of listening practices in any HSK test preparation textbook. 

As a foreigner in China, for ethnic Chinese learning, I find many listening practices in test prep books. You can get these test prep books from a local bookstore. You can also buy HKS test prep books online. 

Tip #2: Choose a Listening content suitable to your level

If you are a beginner, you may be unable to improve your listening skill alone at all. You could not understand dialogues while watching a Chinese TV show. All these practices are just a wastage of time.

So, choose the right content that is suitable for your level. This way, you will be able to focus and understand the content you are listening to. Pick up the short content that is easier to understand. You have to be choosy in selecting the listening content suitable for your listening level.

Tip #3: Select the right listening topics

Always choose the right listening topic that is interesting and informative. Listening to something extremely broad like a radio broadcast can be very difficult and boring. It can be difficult to find the right listening topics. Choose a topic that can enhance your interest in listening. 

If you choose the topic yourself, you don’t need to guess what the speaker is talking about. You have to focus on the vocabulary and grammar used in the dialogues. When the topics are relevant to your interest, you will be able to improve your listening better. 

If you want to learn how to order food in China, visit a Chinese restaurant and focus on listening to people. Instead, if you listen to a lecture on traditional Chinese diets, it is likely useless when ordering Chinese food in a restaurant.

Tip #4: Choose your Listening environments wisely

Try to choose the frequent area where you can easily focus on listening and content that you want to learn. 

If you want to learn about shopping in China, the best way is to visit some shopping area focus on people and shopkeeper conversation or practice yourself. 

Don’t think that just living in China and listen to people's conversation will improve your listening. Find some areas where you can practice listening and focus on the topics you are interested in.

Tip #5: Use tools as a key resource for Listening to content

You should not just rely on your test prep textbooks; it will lead you to small info. To find good listening content with interesting topics, you should use some tools like ChinesePod. 

ChinesePod has a library of over 3,500 audio and video lessons that can be used for improving listening. The best thing about ChinesePad is fun and making learning interesting and something you love to do. 

ChinesePod is also very effective in selecting what you want to learn and what is suitable for your level and environment. It helps to learn language by focusing on listening. 

You can use this tool for free for 2-weeks with their premium free-trail. 

Final Thoughts

It is important to remember that listening is not something that can improve overnight. It needs constant exercise and dedication. If you try to improve your listening by using all the tips above, I guarantee you it will give you good results within a few days. 

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