Listening To Music

Two two easiest parts of learning Spanish are reading and writing, especially for those who are learning Spanish in a country where Spanish isn’t spoken predominately, like in the United States, Canada or England. As a result, the parts that Spanish students develop the slowest are speaking and listening comprehension.

So how does one go about developing Spanish listening comprehension? Well, there are a number of ways. Just pop in a Spanish DVD and watch the movie and you’ll soon start picking up on the sounds, or find a converstion partner. But I recently discovered a great technique that has helped me develop better Spanish listening comprehension.

A really great way to improve your listening comprehension skills is by listening to Spanish music. The goal, however, is to be able to listen to it and write out the song lyrics in Spanish. This may take some time, and you may become frustrated as you listen to the same part a million times over and still can’t distinguish the word. But keep at it. Start with slower Spanish songs, songs in which the pronunciation is much clearer and where it is easier to distinguish the words.

This Spanish listening comprehension drill will really help you improve your listening abilities, especially when it comes to speaking with native Spanish speakers. And if you’re learning Spanish so you can communicate with others, then it’s not going to help you if you can’t understand what they’re saying back to you in Spanish, right?

So get moving and start working on your Spanish listening comprehension through music!

Sonny Sheth is the author of OuterSpanish, http://www.outerspanish.com, a free Spanish learning resource with grammar lessons, vocabulary, listening comprehension drills and practice exams. He also maintains two other sites: SpeakAbroad, http://www.speakabroad.com and MyHomeCareTips, http://www.myhomecaretips.com