3 great ways to boost your team’s English listening

If your team is focused on English grammar then It’s time for a change in strategy. How many people spend years studying grammar with little or no progress for their efforts. Grammar is a set of rules which give the language a structure.

But If you expect to see improvement in your team’s comprehension, they will have to put the grammar book down and start listening to native speakers using real vocabulary. That’s the kind of English that they’ll be hearing on their next international conference call, at the upcoming expo/trade fair they attend or when that foreign customer/supplier calls them.

They won’t have to listen to boring Cambridge audio recordings either. Accessing quality content today is easier than ever before. I’m going to share 3 great tools that your team can implement today.

Podcasts:

Podcasts are ready when you are. You can enjoy them in your car, while you’re running, on the plane or even in bed. Anyone with a smartphone can access podcasts, either by streaming or downloading for later listening. Here are some selected links both business related and Businessenglishpod has free podcasts especially designed for business English learners. There are a multitude of diverse business situations where the narrator explores and explains the expressions in a practical and useful way.

NPR (American, similar to BBC)
How I built this – interviews with top entrepreneurs
TED radio hour – TED Talks explained
“Fresh air ” Culture
BBC Radio 4
BBC Business Daily
TED Talks Business
YOUPRENEUR for entrepreneurs
The Tim Ferris Show – Business podcast

Audiobooks:

Think about a book you’ve really liked and search for the corresponding audiobook in English. You already know the story so now it’s time to focus on listening to it in English. Audiobooks are like podcasts. You can listen anytime.

Movies and T.V. series:

Both are great ways to improve your English but you must be patient. It takes some time to get used to the fast dialogue found in most films/series. Watch something that you have already seen in Spanish. That way you already know what they are going to say but this time it will be in English.
There are 2 reasons why I recommend series more than films. You can usually watch an episode in less than an hour – that means no excuses. Soon you become familiar with the accents, expressions and cadence of the characters.
Leave the subtitles on… IN ENGLISH! It will help you to better understand the difficult moments and it will improve your spelling. Yes, you are subconsciously processing how to spell by watching words on the screen.
Focus on enjoyment AND on the type of English accent you need to know. It is also a fact that if the learning experience is enjoyable you learn faster and you are more motivated. The result is that your English improves.

In conclusion i’d just like to add that like with most things in life, with English the more you invest, the greater the returns. Start listening to English when you’re in the car. Try watching a T.V. series that you’ve already seen in English. With time you will feel the difference. Your ear will pick up more and you’ll be able to process real English.