Listening

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart,Nelson Mandela.

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did,Sarah Caldwell.

One of the basic strategies to significantly increase your language skills is to listen as much as possible.

What could you listen to? As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. It is all about listening as many subjects, topics, and sources as possible.

The web sites you might want to visit are: -free of charge, of course- :)

1. ESLVideo.com is an impressive collection of videos organized by level, many with subtitles and quizzes.

2. Elllo has an incredibly large number of listening resources designed especially for ESL and EFL students and teachers.

3. Podcasts are a great way to improving your English while doing chores, cooking, exercising or commuting: The Joe Rogan Experience, The Daily, Freakonomics Radio, This American Life, etc. Nowadays, the most well-known applications to listen to podcasts are Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Overcast, and Podcast Republic.

4. YouTube is another outstanding resource. It is packed with free videos about anything and everything you could possibly want to know or you are curious about. In particular, there are many ESL courses, such as JenniferESL, Learn English with Mister Duncan, BBC Learning English, amongst others.

5. Other websites for watching videos are: Open Culture, one of the best free cultural & educational media on the web; Ted, Ideas worth spreading, packed with many inspiring videos to watch and keep you occupied; OVGuide, Your Online Video Guide, etc.
   

6. Videos and television. Many consider television to be bad for us. It encourages consumerism, presents a distorted image of what is really going on in the world, is linked to depression, social anxiety, attention problems, obesity, sleeping problems, antisocial and criminal behaviour in adolescents, etc. However, watching English television programmes is very helpful to improve your listening skills and pronunciation. How can you find these English television programmes?

• Video sharing sites: YouTube, veoh, NetFlix, Vimeo, Metacafe, imgur, and Dailymotion. You may want to watch some sitcoms such as, The Big Bang Theory (it has become not just one of the most successful comedies in television history, but a cultural phenomenon), Friends, South Park, The Simpsons, The IT Crowd, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.

• Satellite: Astra 19.2°E, Eutelsat Hot Bird 13ºE, etc. For further information visit European Satellite Zapping & Directory

• That’s English is a free Spanish TV series for learning English.