ISI Dublin │ Academic Tips: How to improve your English listening

There are many ways to improve your listening skills. Try some or all of these, and see how much it helps.

Films, series, YouTube

Watching films, series on Netflix/Disney/Amazon etc, or videos on YouTube can really help improve your listening. It is important to find something that you like. Watch what you like without subtitles for an extra challenge.

I recommend YouTube. There are channels on YouTube for everything. One of my favourites is Cinema Therapy, for example, which looks at films and talks about the psychology behind them. The hosts are American, their accents are quite neutral and easy to understand, and the content is fun and interesting.

Radio

Listening to local radio will help you get used to the Irish accent. This is the hardest thing to do on this list, but radio DJs have to speak clearly, so maybe you’ll find them interesting.

Some of our most popular stations include:

FM104
Today FM
Radio Nova
Newstalk
Q102

Listen to locals

Turn off your music, and listen to local people. Eavesdropping might be rude, but people don’t have to know you’re doing it. Listening to how local people talk will help you with accents and expressions. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher what something means afterwards if you don’t know.

Language Exchange

Speaking and listening go together. Join a language exchange group, and have conversations. Practise, practise, practise. Be part of our 對話角!

podcast

Last on the list, but my number 1 recommendation. Podcasts are a great tool, and you can slow the speed/tempo when listening of you think the hosts are speaking too quickly. Don’t go below X0.7, though, or they will start to sound like robots. Below is a list of Irish podcasts to help you get used to how we talk. They cover a range of topics and subjects.