Craig Dodge - Blog

I strongly believe in the natural way of learning a language, which is to get input (listen/read), process that input (figure out what it means) and then express yourself by using the words and phrases you've previously heard (repeat and confirm). This is called the "Fluency Cycle", which I referred to in my post "Fluency vs Accuracy". This is how we learned our native language, and is more effective in learning foreign languages than memorizing grammar rules. I am not saying grammar rules are not important, but for most language learners, from the perspective of being able to communicate, it should not be the priority.

Unless you get the chance to live in the country where the language you are learning is spoken, it's sometimes hard to get input. Reading material in that language might be difficult to find, or expensive even if you can find it. The Internet and e-books, however, have helped. Listening opportunities are also limited. The language in TV programs, the local foreign language radio station and movies might be too difficult to understand and there may not be many native speakers with whom you can communicate. The Internet has also become a great source for listening material at a level you can understand, though, which I wrote a little about in "Improve English Listening Comprehension" and "Tune Your Ear".

On the subject of getting listening material, besides your computer, MP3 players and smart phones are also very useful and convenient. You can listen while you are on the bus, subway or wherever. You can subscribe to podcasts at any language level and listen whenever you have a few minutes. I shared some of my favorite ESL podcast sites on the Useful Sites page of my web site, but there are many more. Just do a Yahoo/Google/Bing search for "ESL Podcast". If you use iTunes, you can use the same search terms.

Since I recently changed my phone from iPhone to HTC Desire HD, I have found a great tool for Android users to get good listening material. It's called Google Listen.  They have a lot of sources for listening material, including one of my favorites; Voice of America Special English. If you have an Android phone, you can download Google Listen in the Android Market.

If you're serious about learning English, take advantage of all the listening opportunities you can. I am happy to add Google Listen to my list of recommended listening tools.