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Listening

I am doing French and German AS... I am coping very well with grammar and writing [they have always been my strong points in both languages], the reading is fine in some parts but some bits have been quite difficult [again, in both], the translations are fine, my French speaking is okay, not very fluent, but the French assistant who takes me for speaking says I am coping well for my level. My German speaking is not so great, but it will probably be okay with practise - my German teacher says to 'fear not' because even the best students have struggled with speaking at the beginning because it wasn't something very focused on at GCSE. However, the listening in both languages I am struggling with. My friend who got an A in German has just said she really struggled with the listenings but in the end it was fine. With the French there is SO much slang and they speak so quickly and I just think to myself, "Wait a sec. The listening's over?!" With the French, I'm actually doing okay but I feel this is down to good guessing, not skill. With the German - they speak a lot more clearly than the French but SO quickly and I can pick out words but just can't put it into context because it's too quick!

How can I improve my listening skills? Will it just come with practise or is there anything I can do to help myself? Help VERY mcuh appreciated. :frown:

Reply 1

smile_2107

which board are you doing?

About the speaking: I was the same, my German was always weaker but improved SO much over last year.

As for listening: keep going over it, just pick out what you understand, note down vocab, look it up and try again. Try getting hold of a transcript and seeing how much of that you understand.

Other than that just general things: films in german with subtitles on, listening to podcasts or watching the news online. News is good- you already know what is going on in English, so you just have to match it up with what's going on in Germany!

Reply 2

Louisdf

Try je t'ecoute by Richard Marsden, it has loads of exercises which are quite hard, the edition my school gave me was from 1995.It's perfect for all exam boards for AS+A2 level (depending on your topics)