WHAT IS PASSIVE LISTENING?
With passive listening you simply listen to a recording of your target language or watch a movie. The idea is that even though you don’t understand it now, over time you will start to understand more and more through a natural process of absorption.
The problem is…it doesn’t really work.
Students often fall for the idea of passive listening because many language programs are based on the practice. These programs suggest that you can improve your listening skills while doing the dishes, driving to work or even while sleeping.
It is also such an alluring concept—learn a language while you sleep. It doesn’t get more enticing than that!
Sadly, like most ideas that promise maximum results with minimum effort, it rarely delivers.
Why does passive listening fail? To answer that question, you need to learn a thing or two about performance and stress.
Even when I knew what was being said, by following along with movie subtitles or an audio transcript, the sounds I was hearing weren’t connecting with the words I understood on paper.
I thought maybe the answer was more listening. So I did just that—I listened for hours.
The problem was, even after hours of listening, I still wasn’t improving.
After a few years of studying the language in my own country, it wasn’t until I went on a trip to Spain that I realised what the problem was…I had fallen for the passive listening trap. It wasn’t until I had spent time using the language and interacting with locals that I realised that my passive listening was the reason I hadn’t made any significant progress.