LISTENING & UNDERSTANDING in 3 Easy Steps

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video, I am going to teach you how to be a better listener.

你好，我叫艾玛（Emma）。在今天的视频中，我将教你如何更好地听懂英文。

I'm going to teach you three steps, which will really, really help you with your listening.

我将教您三个步骤，这些步骤将确实对您的聆听有所帮助。

So before I teach you how to be a better listener, I want you to think about: What kind of listener

在教您如何更好地听懂英文之前，我想让您考虑一下：您是哪种听众？

are you? Okay? So, I have, here, a question. I want you to imagine this. You're talking

OKay。我有一个问题： 我想让你想象一下

to somebody, an English speaker, and you don't understand what they're saying. Okay? You

当你和一个说英语的人谈话时，你听不懂他们在说什么

have no idea. I don't understand what they're saying. What do you do?

你不知道（他在说什么）。我不理解他们在说什么。你会做什么？

Okay? Here are your choices.

这里是你的选项：

Do you: A) look scared? A lot of students do this.

你会：A) 露出吓到的表情？很多学生这样做。

Do you: B) Nod and pretend you understand? Nod and say: "I understand",

B) 点头装作你懂了？点头说，我明白？

but you really don't understand; you have no idea?

但你真的不明白，根本不知道（他们说什么）。

C) Are you honest? Do you say: "I'm sorry. I don't understand"?

C) 或者诚实地承认：不好意思，我听不懂？

Or, D) Do you say: "I don't understand", and you ask the person to write down what they're saying?

D) 或者说我听不懂，同时要求对方写下来他们说的？

Okay? So, which one do you do? Do you look scared, do you nod and pretend you understand when

哪一个是你的会做的？你看起来吓到，或者点头装作听懂。

you don't? Do you say: "I don't understand" or do you say: "I don't understand" and ask

或者说，我听不懂。或者说，我听不懂然后

them to write it down? Maybe you do multiple things. Okay? Which one do you think is the

要他们写下来？或者你会做其中几样？

best thing to do? If you said: D or C,

哪一个你认为最好？如果你选择D或者C

you are correct. Okay? Now, there is a little

你是对的。C和D之间也有点不太一样

bit of a difference between C and D. It's mainly that D, we use some sort of listening

主要是在D选择中，我们使用了一些听的技巧。

strategy. I'm going to teach you some very, very good strategies you can use, which will

我会教你一些非常好的技巧

help you be a better listener.

帮助你更好的听懂。

Okay, so if you don't understand something, very first thing you should do is

如果你听不懂，第一件事你就应该显示出来你听不懂。

show you don't understand. Okay? You should really let the person know you don't understand.

你应该让对方知道你听不懂。

There's nothing to be embarrassed about. We all have times where we don't understand what

没什么好尴尬的。我们都有听不懂别人说什么的时候。

somebody is saying, but we really do want to know, so it's very important you let the

但我们真的想知道（他们说什么）。这是非常重要的，

person know that you don't understand.

让对方知道你没听懂

So, here are a couple of different ways we can say that. The first one:

有几个不同方式我们表达这一点。第一个，

"I didn't catch that.", "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

I didn't catch that （我没明白）。I'm sorry I didn't catch that （不好意思，我不·明白）。

This means the exact same thing as: "I don't understand."

这个和I don't understand一样意思

So you can say: "I don't understand." or "I didn't catch that." You can also say:

所以你可以说，"I don't understand." 或者 "I didn't catch that." 你也可以说

"I'm sorry I don't understand." One thing a lot of students say,

"I'm sorry I don't understand." 有一句话，很多学生会说但是不对

but it's not a good thing to say: "I no understand."

I no understand

Okay? This: "I no understand", I hear many students say it. This, wrong.

这句话，I no understand，我听到很多学生说过，但它是错的。

Okay? So you can either say: "I didn't catch that.", "I'm sorry I don't understand.",

你可以说"I didn't catch that."或者"I'm sorry I don't understand."

but you cannot say: "I no understand." That one is bad English.

但是不可以说，"I no understand." 那是不对的。

Okay, so that's the first step.

这是第一步。

The second step is using a strategy. Okay? So what do I mean by this? When you use a

第二步是使用一个技巧。我的意思是，当你使用这个技巧时，

strategy, you're pretty much asking somebody to help you out in a different way. You're

你是为了要对方用不同的方式帮助你

asking somebody to do something to help you understand. So, this is an excellent expression,

要对方做点什么帮助你理解。这里是很好的表达方式

very polite. All of these start with: "Could you please". You can ask the person:

而且礼貌。开头你应该说，Could you please...。你可以这样跟对方说

"Could you please write it down?" Okay? So: "I'm sorry I didn't catch that. Could you please

Could you please write it down?（您能写下来吗？）或者"I'm sorry I didn't catch that. Could you please

write it down?" Some... For some people, when they read it, it's easier than listening to it.

write it down?" 有一些人，他们阅读好过听力

You can also ask somebody to repeat what they're saying. "Could you please repeat that?" Okay?

你也可以要对方重复他们说的。"Could you please repeat that? “

That means: "Could you please say it again?" A lot of English speakers and also me, myself

意思是，你能再说一遍吗？拜托。很多英语为母语的人，包括我自己

included, sometimes we speak too fast. So, it's perfectly okay if you say politely:

有时候说地太快。所以，如果你礼貌地要求

"Could you please speak more slowly?" Maybe the problem is the person who's speaking is talking way

"Could you please speak more slowly?" （你可以说慢点吗？）完全没有问题。或许问题就出于对方说得太快。

too fast. So just a nice, friendly reminder: "Could you please speak more slowly?"

所以请友好地提醒：Could you please speak more slowly?"

And finally, the fourth strategy: "Could you please say it in a different way?"

最好，第四个技巧：你能换个方式说吗？

This one is very useful because sometimes when you say to an English speaker: "I don't understand",

这个非常有用，因为当你只是告诉对方，我不明白的时候，

they keep saying the same thing the exact same way, and that's not helpful. Sometimes

他们会简单重复同样的话，但是毫无帮助。

you really need to hear it in different words, so it's also a great idea to ask the person:

而你需要的是换一种说法。所以这是一个好办法去告诉对方

"Could you please say it in a different way?" Okay? So these are the first two steps. First,

"Could you please say it in a different way?"（请换个说法行吗？）两个步骤：首先，

show you don't understand; second, use a strategy. Now let's look at the third step.

显示你没听懂；然后，使用上述技巧。我们现在看第三个步骤

Okay, so our third step is: Double check what the person is telling you. Check meaning.

第三步就是：仔细确认对方想告诉你什么。搞清楚他的意思。

So, this pretty much means that after you've told them you don't understand and you've

我的意思是，在你告诉他们你不懂，

asked them to use some sort of strategy, the third thing is you're going to make sure you

接着你要他们使用某些方法之后。第三件事就是你需要确定你

really understood. So, how are you going to do this? Well, one thing you can do is you

真的明白。怎么做到呢？你可以

can repeat back what the person said to you. Okay? So, for example, if somebody says something

重复他们所说的。例如，如果对方说了什么事，你认为你懂了，不要说

and you think you understand what they said, instead of just saying: "Yes, I understand",

"Yes, I understand"（我明白了），

you can check by saying: "So what you're saying is..." and repeat what they said.

你可以说，"So what you're saying is..." （所以你说的是...），然后重复他们说的。

"So what you're saying is", you know, "dogs are better than cats.",

"So what you're saying is", you know, "dogs are better than cats." （你说的是，狗比猫好）

"Okay, what you're saying is the colour blue is fantastic." Okay? Just some examples.

"Okay, what you're saying is the colour blue is fantastic." （你说的是，蓝颜色好看）。这就是一些例子。

Another way to do this: "So what you mean is..." Okay? So, these two things mean the

还可以说，So what you mean is..."（你的意思是...）这两句话都是一样意思：

same thing. "So what you're saying is...", "So what you mean is..." And finally:

"So what you're saying is..."和 "So what you mean is..."。最后说

"I think I get what you're saying...". "Get" in English can also mean understand.

"I think I get what you're saying..."（我明白你说的了）。"get"在英语里意思是理解

So this sentence means: "I think I understand what you're saying...",

这句话的意思就是：我想我理解你说的

"I think I get what you're saying...", "What you're saying is..." Okay?

记住"I think I get what you're saying..."还有 "What you're saying is..."

So, again, there are three steps to being a very good listener. The first one is saying

再说一遍，好的听力要有三个步骤，第一步是说出来

and being honest that you don't understand; the second step is using a strategy, for example:

承认你没听懂；第二步是用一个方法，例如

"Could you write it down please?", "Could you please repeat it?" Okay? And the final

"Could you write it down please?"还有 "Could you please repeat it?"

step is checking to make sure you really understood. "So what you're saying is..."

最后一步是，确认你真的听懂了。"So what you're saying is..."

If you use these three strategies, they will really help improve your conversation,

如果你用这三个方法，它们会真的帮助你改善你的对话。

because instead of not

因为与其

having any clue what is happening and being very confused all the time, at least you're

永远搞不清楚发生了什么，糊里糊涂，至少现在你

going to be more confident, and you will understand more. You're not going to understand everything,

将会更加自信，你将会听懂更多。或许你不会听懂所有的事

that's okay. But these strategies will help you understand a lot more than if you just

没关系。但这些方法可以帮助你理解更多，比起只是一脸惊吓。

look scared, and nod and say: "I understand" when you don't. Okay?

点着头说我听懂了而实际上不是。

So, I invite you to check out our website at www.engvid.com. There, you can find a quiz

我邀请你去我们的网站www.engvid.com。在那里，你可以找到一个相关的小测验

on this material, and you can practice some of these phrases that I've taught today.

你也可以练习一些句子我今天教的

Until next time, take care.

下次见，保重！