LISTENING PRACTICE WITH FILMS 2
10 / 01 / 2012
LISTENING PRACTICE WITH FILMS 2: meaning and examples
Good morning everyone.
Today we continue with our tips to improve your listening comprehension and pronunciation with films. Yesterday we talked about observing the pronunciation and intonation of the actors to become more consciously aware of the rhythm of English. The next step is to imitate what you hear.
Listen and repeat. Repetition is a useful exercise. If you are watching a DVD, you can pause the film at any time and repeat a phrase. (You can activate the subtitles in English to help you remember the words.)
- Try to imitate the actor's tone of voice. If he/she sounds angry, you should speak angrily, too. Use the same intonation. What words are stressed? Does the actor's voice go up or down at the end of the phrase?
- Exaggerate the English accent when you speak. You may feel silly but when we exaggerate the typical sounds of our second language, we end up sounding more authentic! Exaggerating helps you to develop the muscles that you need to correctly articulate the sounds.
Remember that your goal for this activity is to improve your pronunciation and intonation, as well as your comprehension skills. If there are words that you don't understand, don't worry about them for now. As you continue to become aware of the sounds of English, you can start to use these sounds when you speak. For now, have fun listening, observing and imitating as you watch!
I hope to see your comments in the Daily Vitamin section on the website.
Have a great day!
Today we continue with our tips to improve your listening comprehension and pronunciation with films. Yesterday we talked about observing the pronunciation and intonation of the actors to become more consciously aware of the rhythm of English. The next step is to imitate what you hear.
Listen and repeat. Repetition is a useful exercise. If you are watching a DVD, you can pause the film at any time and repeat a phrase. (You can activate the subtitles in English to help you remember the words.)
- Try to imitate the actor's tone of voice. If he/she sounds angry, you should speak angrily, too. Use the same intonation. What words are stressed? Does the actor's voice go up or down at the end of the phrase?
- Exaggerate the English accent when you speak. You may feel silly but when we exaggerate the typical sounds of our second language, we end up sounding more authentic! Exaggerating helps you to develop the muscles that you need to correctly articulate the sounds.
Remember that your goal for this activity is to improve your pronunciation and intonation, as well as your comprehension skills. If there are words that you don't understand, don't worry about them for now. As you continue to become aware of the sounds of English, you can start to use these sounds when you speak. For now, have fun listening, observing and imitating as you watch!
I hope to see your comments in the Daily Vitamin section on the website.
Have a great day!
