问题一：我不太喜欢听，也许是因为有时听不懂所以很快想放弃了。
问题二：听力一直是我的弱项。但是我听中国人说英语是没有问题的，我指的是那些大的电台节目听不太懂。
问题解答：
有的朋友认为听VOA、BBC等外电有困难，我认为这个问题的核心在于目标的确立，请看我的分析：
我们在生活中无时不刻不在确立目标–达成目标–确立新目标，这个过程中最重要的是确立目标这个环节，如果目标订立得太高或者太低，那么整个过程的实现都有可能适得其反。
英语学习的不同阶段，听力材料的选择是不一样的，你不能要求一个初学者去听明白VOA Standard English；你也不能要求一个具备高级英语水平的学习者从英语儿歌中寻求挑战。
前面提问的那个朋友目前所处的阶段应该是 intermediate level，再向上发展成 upper-intermediate 或者 advanced level，就必须在选择听力材料上下功夫。
请大家站在英语老师的角度做一做下面这个练习：
1. I take language into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text the language of which is: （你习惯于选择什么难度的听力材料？）
A. exactly at the current level of the students.
B. slightly above the current level of the students.
C. slightly below the level of the students.
2. I take length into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer （你喜欢选择多长时间的听力材料？）
A. a short text of, say, half a minute or less.
B. a long text of, say, more than two minutes.
C. a text of between half a minute and two minutes.
3. I take content into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text the content of which contains: （你喜欢选择什么内容的听力材料？）
A. information my students are very familiar with.
B. concepts totally unknown to my students.
C. topics interesting to my students and some information that is new to them.
4. I take the use of visual support material into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text illustrated by: （你喜欢选择带插图的听力材料吗？）
A. some pictures, graphs or charts.
B. no pictures, graphs or charts.
5. I take the style of delivery into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text spoken by: （你喜欢选择带地方口音的听力材料吗？）
A. RP speakers. (RP是received pronunciation 的缩写词，意为被公认为正确而普遍接受的读音，如汉语的普通话。)
B. speakers with regional accents.
6. I take the speed of delivery into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text spoken at: （你喜欢选择什么语速的听力材料？）
A. normal speed.
B. slower than normal speed.
7. I take spontaneity into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a text which is: （你喜欢听即兴发言还是书面语？）
A. totally spontaneous.
B. scripted, but produced as close as possible to spontaneous speech.
C. totally scripted and clearly spoken in full grammatical sentences.
8. I take the quality of production into account when selecting listening materials, and I prefer a recording which contains: （你喜欢选择有背景声音的听力材料吗？）
A. distracting background sounds.
B. tolerable background sounds.
C. no background sounds.
八道题目做完了吗？请看评讲：
There are no fixed answers to this exercise, and different teachers who teach different students at different schools will naturally make different choices. However, there are still a few principles for a teacher to apply when he tries to select for his students suitable listening materials. The eight questions in this exercise in fact cover the eight essential factors any teacher should take into account when selecting listening materials. （没有明确的答案。八道题目的意义在于：每个题目都代表了听力材料的一个要素。当我们选择听力材料的时候，我们可以将八个要素综合考虑，最终找到适合自己的材料。）
1. Language is often the first thing many teachers would consider. Whilst you do not want the language to be beyond the level of comprehension of your students, you do want them to learn something, so the language should provide a challenge to the students so that they feel they gain something new from it and really use their listening skills to the full. （有点难度和挑战的素材能充分调动听者的积极性并激发听力的潜能。）
2. As for length, a listening text of between half a minute and two minutes is in most cases suitable. If it is too short, it will not allow the students enough time to get used to the topic or speaker’s voice or tone. If it is too long, it might put too much train on the students, who can be easily distracted or demotivated due to boredom or tiredness.（一般说来，半分钟到两分钟的中等长度的听力材料最适宜。）
3. In terms of content, there is little doubt that a listening text which is interesting and thought-provoking is best for the students, for only such a text can stimulate them to try all the means to extract the meaning. Students are not motivated to listen to something they already know and might be demotivated if the concepts are beyond their understanding. They should listen to something that interests them and contains some new information for them to find out. （新鲜有趣的内容适合作为听力材料。）
4. A listening text illustrated with some pictures, maps or charts is often desirable, as it can give the students useful visual support, especially when the topic is unfamiliar. This graphic material can also be very useful to the teacher in designing tasks, such as labelling a map or a picture, interpreting information in a graph, giving a suitable caption to a picture or drawing. （图示对听者理解不熟悉的素材能起到很好的帮助作用。）
5. With regards to the style of delivery, students should be introduced to the listening texts spoken with a variety of accents rather than being limited only to those with the standard one, so as to prepare them to understand different people in real-life situations. （仅听标准音是不够的，熟悉不同的口音有助于听者面对现实中的局面。）
6. Remember that texts spoken at a speed slower than the one normal for its purpose, will lose a great deal of its natural rhythm and intonation, and therefore leave the students with a wrong impression of “real” spoken language. （常听慢速英语，不利于听者对节奏和语调的掌握。）
7. The degree of spontaneity of a listening text largely depends on the level of your students, but remember that the eventual aim is to understand and produce natural spontaneous speech. （选择书面语还是口语素材要依听力水平而定，但要知道能够将语言脱口而出才是最终目的。）
8. As you probably noticed in your examination of authentic Chinese speech, it is difficult not to have some background noise. The problem with the classroom situation is that the quality of recording or playing equipment might already place a strain on the listener, which could be aggravated by undue background noise on the tape. However, unobtrusive background sounds, such as music, traffic, people around speaking quietly, weather conditions, can add a realistic flavour to the context and also give an indication of the physical setting. （由于种种因素，我们听声音的时候多多少少都会遇到噪音。然而有些噪音可以为我们所用，帮助我们去更好地理解听力材料。）
"no pain, no gain." 这“八大因素”直接影响了你在进行自我听力训练时的效率。一言以蔽之，VOA, BBC是肯定要听的，但是属于“泛听”的范畴，听大意，不求甚解。
“精听”的材料不妨选择外研社出版的 Listen to this 这套教材，难易梯度编排得很到位，我三年前接触到该书时颇有“豁然开朗”的感觉，听完了初级和中级，听力和口语上了一个大台阶。
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