How to Understand Fast Speaking Natives Through Movies

Listening expert, Cara Leopold, talks with Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy about how she helps people improve their ability to understand fast-talking native speakers.

For the majority of people, listening is the first language skill we develop - it actually starts before we’re born! Cara explains how visual context, transcripts, and relevant content are all crucial for effective listening development. She also talks about how English changes when it’s spoken quickly, and gives advice for using subtitles effectively to learn a language by watching movies.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Leo Listening
• ANV Cop 21
• Alternatiba
• L’Affaire du Siècle

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• The stress of classroom listening activities at school
• Why our listening ability may be behind our other language skills
• Overcoming the fear that comes with not understanding when someone speaks
• Visual clues playing an important role in listening
• How to improve your listening comprehension
• Ways to use TV and movies as tools to improve listening
• Different ways to use subtitles effectively
• Being an eco-friendly language learner

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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