Active listening vs passive listening (in immersive learning)

Everyone is capable of LISTENING, but how many people are capable of UNDERSTANDING?

Sometimes your personal expectations of how much you can actually understand don't match the reality of it. You may be lucky and understand more that you thought (the humble warrior ;)) or, like me, listen to an original conversation after 6 months of studying the language (for me it was Russian) and realize that you barely got 2 words out of the whole exchange. What would your reaction be? Me, I quit class... and I regret it now, in hindsight.

When immersing yourself with some original language, you have two options. The first is PASSIVE listening (recommended the first times), and the second is ACTIVE listening (once you become familiar with the process). Let's understand what we are talking about.

PASSIVE listening is the practice of NOT WANTING to understand, I also call it the "stress free" strategy. You cook, clean, walk, do the laundry, drive.... and in the meantime you listen to music, or a podcast, in your foreign language of choice. The goal here is to familiarize yourself (your brain really, which sometimes doesn't seem to be connected with the rest of us) with the MUSIC of the language, the rhythm, and the sounds. You may catch words here and there, understand the overall situation, or not. No matter how much you actually understand, do not judge yourself. Take it, as babies do when these weird grown ups make funny faces and produce a bunch of new sounds. Let the music flow into you, embrace it, love it (if you do not love, maybe you should learn a different language ;)). Little by little, it will start being familiar.

ACTIVE listening, on the other hand, is the practice or WANTING to understand. Here you need a more quiet environment to focus. When immersing yourself, having a visual support can help greatly in the beginning (watching TV, documentaries or interviews). If you wonder whether you should use subtitles or not, well you can, but always in the target language (reading in a language and hearing in another can be exhausting for the brain). The goal here is to pay attention to words you understand, try to grasp as much information as possible, and focusing on grammar points (verbs used, conjugation, us of articles or possessives). Also, you may start grasping some idioms or expressions, to add to your vocabulary list.

Because listening is a fast exercise, it is always useful to have paper and pen (or your phone) nearby. You can note down new words and increase your vocabulary weekly.

If you have little ones at home, you are lucky! Watch cartoons in your preferred language; they are easier to understand, and kids are never bothered!

These activities, done regularly, will speed up the process of language production (speaking) because a subconscious part of the brain will magically guide you into it.