Getting good German listening practice is essential if you want to get fluent. Even if you “know” lots of words and grammar, can read, write and even say quite a lot, listening often seems to lag behind. It’s really frustrating when you still can’t understand your favourite shows or movies. How embarrassing in a live conversation when you can’t catch the responses to your carefully rehearsed phrases!
To improve your listening skills, you need to get a lot more of what’s called “extensive” German listening practice. That’s listening to follow the main message or story.
But it’s also hugely beneficial to do “intensive” German listening practice.
That’s when you focus on understanding a short burst of spoken German, word for word.
But how?
In this post let’s look at how you can use dictation to practise understanding spoken German better. I’ll show all the steps in my laser listening technique and you’ll see how and why it’s so effective.
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The secret weapon of intensive German listening practice
In an intensive “laser listening” session, you don’t just listen intently to a recording of German. You also write down what you hear.
Back in the age of chalk dust, a teacher would sit at the font of the class and read out a text as the pupils dutifully wrote down. The “listen and transcribe method” – laser listening – is simply an updated version of “dictation”, adapted for self-study.
It’s a surprisingly beneficial old school technique.
Dictation is just good for listening. Used as part of a focussed study routine, laser listening is a great way to introduce new vocabulary and grammar for the first time (and I’ve pulled together a full list of six benefits towards the bottom of this post).
Simple? If you follow the clear steps that I set out in this post, yes.
You’ll have mastered the method in no time.
Easy? Not as easy as it sounds!
To get started you need a short German audio clip, thirty seconds to a couple of minutes doesn’t sound much, but you’re about to see why it really is great for the task. You also need a word-for-word written transcript (in German) of the audio.
Conversations are the most natural kind of speech and the kind you’re most likely to want to understand, so go for a recorded dialogue, if you can.
We’ll look at the end a bit more at the materials you can use, but let’s first dive straight in and break this amazing method down into clear steps.
Stage One: listen, no, really listen!
First, hit play and try to understand as much as you can just by listening.
No peeking at the transcript!
Listen as many times as you need.
Pause and rewind as often as you like.
Keep going, five or ten times if necessary, until you feel that you’ve “caught” as much as you possibly can of the meaning.
Stage Two: from ear to paper
Second, write down what you hear. It’s much better to do this with a pen or pencil than keyboard and screen. The physical act of writing really helps you to concentrate on the words and phrases.
This is not a speed writing exercise, so use the pause button as you go.
Don’t be afraid to rewind bits and listen yet again.
There are bits you aren’t sure about?
If you think you hear distinct German words that you know but they don’t fit in the context, write down what you hear anyway.
If all you can hear seems to be gobbledygook, write that down regardless.
Trying to capture as much as you can on paper will really force you to think….and to use that rewind button to listen even harder.
Only leave a gap as a very last resort.
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Stage Three: ah-ha, I knew that all along
You now have a written version of the audio in your own fair hand, complete with gaps (and gobbledygook). Stages Three and Four of this intensive German listening practice are the “comprehension checking” stages.
At Stage Three, it’s time to compare the “official” written version with what you wrote down.
Underline the mistakes you made and compare across to the correct German in the “official” transcript.
Once you can see the actual German in black and white, you’ll probably realise that there are some parts that you “know” on paper but couldn’t actually hear when you listened through, due to your untrained ear.
Consider why that was.
Was the problem that you couldn’t distinguish sounds at the level of an individual word? You knew the word, but you didn’t know how to pronounce it?
Was the issue less about the sound of an individual word in isolation and more a matter of how individual words are strung together into phrases? In real, flowing “connected speech”, the way individual words are pronounced can change markedly and sounds are simplified or even dropped altogether.
For example “Hast du ihn gesehen?” might be pronounced on the fly more like “Has n g’se’n?”. “Könnten Sie mal?” could sound more like “Könnse mal?”.
See?
At this stage, you’re already reaping benefits from laser listening.
You’re reinforcing vocabulary and grammar you already know as you see another example of how it’s used in real conversation…
….and of what it sounds like in context.
You’re fine-tuning your ear to how connected speech works.
But what about the bits you can’t understand, even when you see them written in black and white?
“Weekly German Workouts” course area interface
Stage Four: ah-ha, I didn’t know that!
It’s time for the next stage of “comprehension checking”.
This time turn to the words and phrases that you’ve underlined in the “official” transcript that you simply don’t understand, even when you see them in the official transcript.
This is when an English translation of the official German transcript comes in very handy indeed.
Comparing across the versions in the two languages is much quicker than checking up on vocab and patterns in a dictionary or grammar book. It’s more effective too because you’re seeing the words in context in both languages.
Now, why didn’t you understand even the written German version?
Was the problem a new word….
….or familiar word used with a new meaning that you didn’t know before?
Maybe you understood each word in phrase but the overall meaning still didn’t make sense?
Is the problem that a familiar word is part of an idiomatic turn of phrase, an expression you just didn’t know?
Or is it something to do with grammar, for example the use of a case, an unfamiliar verb tense or mood or the use of a connecting word (conjunction) to link two ideas together in a longer phrase?
Try and get clear. If you’re still flummoxed, bring the problem to your German teacher next time you meet up.
Stage Five: listening again
You started with sound, you went deep into the relationship between spoken and written German and into the meaning of what you heard (or failed to hear).
To wrap up your German “intensive listening” practice session, pull back and listen again.
That will reinforce the sound and meaning of the German from your new position of increased awareness and deeper understanding.
Follow along with the “official” transcript for the last but one listen through.
Then, to finish, listen to the whole thing again without looking at the text.
Returning to the same material at intervals is a great way to reinforce your memory and so you could listen again to the audio after a few days, first without the transcript, then with.
It’s great if you want to do the dictation again at a few days later. But it does take time. For a quicker, light touch “revision” version of the exercise, just hit pause at places where you’ve got stuck again and write down what you think that particularly cloudy word or phrase could be. You’ll quite probably remember even as you write. If not, check the transcript.
Two extra techniques for an added focus on improving your German pronunciation
Five-step laser listening is already a very full exercise but if you want to take your session further, here are two optional, additional steps.
At Stage Five, after you’ve listened to the whole clip again, you could record yourself performing from your corrected transcript.
If you’re feeling quite confident, read out the whole dialogue in one take. Rely on your auditory memory (and the corrections on your transcript) to try to get the connected speech, accent and intonation right. Really imagine yourself into the part and speak with a bit of dramatic flair.
If you’re less confident, you can take it phrase by phrase, maybe playing the audio on your table or laptop, hitting pause and recording your own voice on your phone.
Either way, once you’re finished, ask your teacher or an exchange partner to point out any recurring weak points in your German speaking performance.
The other way you can return to the same clip to reinforce your memory and to practise the sound production aspect of pronunciation is to read along from the transcript in unison with the audio. That’s an exercise known as shadowing. Curious? Check out my post Shadowing for language learning explained.
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Six reasons why dictation helps your German listening skills and more
If you’ve read this far, you’ll have started to see that this simple method is about more than getting great German listening practice. Let’s draw together all the benefits:
1. Boosts your attention level and keeps you focussed
It’s very difficult to listen intently without your attention wandering. If you try dictation, you’ll find that the need to write down what you hear will help you to keep focussed.
2. Reinforces your existing vocab and grammar
Listening and transcribing exercises are a great way to strengthen your grasp on German vocabulary and grammar that you already know, embedded in real examples of the kind of conversational spoken language you’re going to need.
3. Increases awareness of how individual words sound in “connected speech”
Where you had difficulty hearing words you already knew “on paper”, this “laser listening” method really drives home how individual words are pronounced in connected speech.
4. Helps learn new vocab and grammar in an interactive, memory-melding way
Listening and transcribing is also a great way to introduce yourself to new German vocab and grammar. That’s because when you check the English version of your text, or hit the dictionary, you’re already motivated to find an answer to a real question. That ah-ha moment of discovery will be that much more satisfying.
If you discover new words and phrases in this active way, you’re more likely to notice them next time the crop up in your it in your more relaxed “extensive” exposure, when you’re listening or reading simply to follow the outlines of the plot.
Of course, you may have to hear or see what you’ve discovered in your laser listening session several times more before it sticks, but you’ve planted a seed quite firmly.
5. Writing and spelling practice thrown in “for free”
Using laser listening dictation isn’t just beneficial for pronunciation, for learning vocab and grammar and for honing your listening skills. It also your reading and writing.
For many of us, writing is an often-neglected skill. For starters, listing AND transcribing, erm, gets you actually writing. More than that, as you correct your transcript, you probably flushed out the odd spelling mistake.
6. Strengthens the auditory-visual link and improves your reading skills
The benefits for reading are that you become more aware of the relationship between written German and how it’s supposed to sound. You’ll “hear” more realistic German in your head next time you do some reading or next time you try some writing.
At which level are dictation exercises useful?
Dictation comes into its own as a way to improve your German listening skills when you’re an upper beginner or at lower intermediate or above. You’ve already got a basis of vocab and grammar to work with.
It’s also good to “put sound central” when you’re just starting to learn the language. As a beginning German learner, you need to nail your pronunciation from the beginning, so that bad habits don’t set in.
What type of audio should I use for dictation and where can I find it?
Ok! You want to give dictation a go to improve your German pronunciation and listening skills?
What type of audio is best for this sort of super-active German listening practice?
Look for high-quality recordings of natives engaged in back-and-forth conversation.
That’s natural speech of the type you’re likely to need.
Course materials aimed at learners of your level have lots of advantages, provided they’re dialogue based.
First, the course audio will be relatively standard speech, probably slowed down a little in the early levels. Limited grammar and vocab to give you a fighting chance of learning in context.
Second, good courses – whether a textbook or an online format, will come with a transcript and parallel translation.
For beginners or false beginners (A1, A2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language), I love Bite Size German. Creator Kris Broholm has produced one hundred very short conversations (about 30 seconds each) between a man and a woman native speakers at rather slower than native speed. You get a German transcript and two English translations (idiomatic and literal, word-for-word)
If you’re moving into intermediate (B1) with your German, check out my ten “Weekly German Workouts”. Each week begins with a “laser listening exercise”: a two to four minute dialogue in lively German at native speed. The next day you get a German transcript and a parallel translation in English. Then come vocab and grammar explanations and exercises, as part of the wider “Weekly Workout” routine.
How to find authentic content for German dictation/listening-transcribing
It’s good as a learner to dive into “authentic” audio content (aimed at native speakers) as soon as you can.
Doing dictation with “native level” audio is a good way to smooth your transition between understanding audio material simplified for learners and German in the wild.
You could use a recording of a news bulletin or the voiceover from a documentary, but these aren’t dialogues.
Audio books versions of dialogue-packed novels have the advantage that you should be able to get your hands on a copy of the written text and quite possibly a translation in English (or the English original if that’s how the work started its life).
Most “natural” of all, though, would be a radio or podcast discussion or radio play, a TV soap opera or film.
Some podcasts are produced with downloadable transcripts and you may be able to find the scripts of your favourite shows or films online
If you’re having trouble finding a transcript but have the audio file, you could run it through a transcribing app. The technology’s getting better from year to yeaer but, the problem is, it’ll still need correcting. Your German probably won’t be at the level for you to do that yourself and, even if it is, the surprise effect would then have gone when you come to do your laster listening exercise.
Instead, you could pay somebody to produce a transcript for you. Search for willing help on a site like Freelancer or Upwork. You could have an English translation done as well for the comprehension checking stage.
If producing your own materials in this way sounds like too much hassle, you could simply do my “Stage One” (the listening) and “Stage Two” (transcribing) with the audio and then go through it in a one-to-one session with your teacher. Ask the teacher to correct your work and help you fill in the gaps.
| Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. Click here to get the training ! |
The time factor: how long should I spend on a German listening skills exercise and how often?
You’ll find that this type of German listening practice is much more intensive work than you’d think. It could easily take you half an hour to complete a dictation exercise on a two or three minute clip. If your clip is longer, take it in stages.
As the method is so intensive, it’s suited for getting deliberate listening practice during the focussed study sessions of thirty minutes a day that I strongly recommend if you want to accelerate your road to German fluency.
If you make listening-transcribing part of your study routine for a few weeks, you’ll start to see results.
Then, get right back into the rough and tumble of real, live German conversations and back to lots of the more relaxed “extensive” listening practice with all sorts of German audio.
It’s once again time not to worry so much about understanding everything, even as you notice that you’re already understanding more!
How laser listening dictation has helped my German – Dr P’s students speak
Here’s what some of my “Weekly German Workout” students have to say about how listening-transcribing “laser listening” method has helped them:
Trying dictation was the best thing to come out of the course for me. It really helped me to listen intently rather than just being happy with the gist.
Jan Ainsley (Sept-Nov 2020 Weekly German Workouts participant)
The first time it took me ages to do the dictation and correct all the sentences, I was such an accomplishment to see what I got.
Beth W (April-June 2020 Weekly German Workouts participant)
Dictations are definitely the way to make you listen carefully.
Lilian Poberezny (July-Sept 2020 “Weekly German Workouts” participant)
I thought the dictation would be a doddle. It was much more difficult. It was amazing the number of times I found new phrases that would then turn up in a podcast. Without the push and prompt it would have sailed over my head. It’s the reinforcement.
Grahame Boocock (Feb-April 2020 “Weekly German Workouts” participant)
Ready to get some super-intensive German listening practice? Give laser listening a good try and see for yourself!
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| Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. Click here to get the training ! |
You’re absolutely right. There is a website provides listening exercises with this same method: https://germanlistening.com
I used it for some time and it worked pretty well.
Thanks for sharing, Huy.I didn’t know about this site and it looks like a great resource.