Listening

PERIOD 1

Week 1 ( August 11 - 17 )

With some videos that I found in Youtube I practice a little bit listening TOEFL conversations and finally I had to choose the main idea of ​​what they were trying to explain.

I watched the movie "The source code", this 

movie is so interesting because of all the 

softwares that they used to look for the one 

that put the bomb on the train. 

Reflection

I realized that it is very important to practice the different types of listening exercises that exist for both exams BULATS and TOEFL. Sometimes we forget certain tips that are important when we were doing the test and we focus in other things that´s why we need to not stop practicing everyday.

Week 2 ( August 18 - 24 )

I found a very useful web page that has a lot of 

conversations in English for practice listening... 

http://www.esl-lab.com

In which you could choose the level and the topic of the conversation and improve your skills about listening.

This week I watched the movie... "About time" without subtitles I really love it I guess it became one of my favorite movies. 

Reflection

Each day that I continue watching movies and T.V programs en English is much easier for me to understand it. Of course there are a lot of words that I don´t understand but I used to think about it if I could I search it meanings but when I can´t I just try to relate it to the context and I guess that this is going to be so useful in our English life. 

Week 3 ( August 25 - 31 ) 

I practice some listening exercises of short 

conversations in the link: 

http://www.testden.com/toefl/grammar/questions_a.html

I watched the movie "THOR 2", it was really awesome. I used to watch that kind of movies because it´s so exciting all of the fights and the action scenes. 

Also I continue practicing some exercises of short conversations putting in practice a lot of tips that I learned in my workshop course last semester. 

Reflection

Doing the exercises of the web page was really 

helpful because every time when I practice I just try 

to focus on the second voice being that the following 

question mostly refers to what the second person 

refers. This and more tips are going to help us in our 

test put us a start in.  

Week 4 ( September 1 - 7 )

I watched 4 episodes of one of my favorite series, Pretty Little Liars.

I watched some news of LatinAmerica and Europe on BBC web page.

For my Differential Equations class I watched videos of how to solve linearly and separable equations.

Reflection

It is very helpful the fact of watch videos listening different topics such as math or notices because it is an opportunity of learn new vocabulary that could be used on TOEFL being that most of the time the conversations are between students or teachers in a school environment. 

Week 5 ( September 8 - 14 ) 

I listen some short conversations in the link: 

https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL_ITP/html/Section%201,%20TOEFL%20ITP,%20Listening%20Comprehension.html .

For my singing class, I have had to  learn a song for doing a performance, so I throw the letter only listening it, then I memorized and practiced it. The song was Crystalised - The XX.

I watched 3 episodes of: "How I met your mother". It is a comic serie that I really like the characters say common phrases of the American English which I consider very useful for taking the TOEFL and BULATS exams.

Reflection 

This week I put more attention in the pronunciation of each thing that I heard. It was very interesting the way of how some words are pronounced as different in British English. I was so accustomed to pronounce and listen American English but now that I put more attention to how some words change I learn how to differentiate them. 

Week 6 ( September 15 - 21 )

I asked some of my friends for talking in English each they could. I guess that will help me in listening and of course speaking. 
Online I solved the listening part of BULATS. As I realized before the pronunciation is a little bit different because it is for Cambridge. 
I practice some listening exercises of short conversations in the link: http://www.testden.com/toefl/grammar/questions_a.html

Reflection
During this week every time when I practice listening TOEFL conversations I try to focus on the second voice because the following question mostly refers to what the second person refers. This and more tips  I am going to keep practicing with the purpose to improve my score next time I take the test.  

Reflection Period 1

Thinking in all the aspects that we need to study constantly to be prepare and get good scores on our exams TOEFL and BULATS  and gives me much more conflict,  is the listening part, because most of  the pronunciations of certain words are very similar to others so this could be blurred in some extent and do not understand too well the meaning of everything, so I think it's very important the fact to practice listening conversations of both: British English and American English because each one has certain changes that can confuse our ears in sometime given.

PERIOD 2 

Week 7 (September 22 - 28)

This week I solved some listening sample test son the BULATS website. 

For the class the teacher ask us that according to the subject of grammar of the unit it was up to each team we need to search a song  to identify the parts in which this topic should be used. The topic that touched me and my team was the use of a / an / the many songs and listened to find one that had much more pronounced use of articles. Finally the song that we choose was Old - 45s of Chromeo.

Suddenly I reviewed all the tips that we saw in workshop class in order to remember them and they can be used for our long awaited TOEFL and  BULATS exams. 

Reflection

I enjoy a lot the exercise of the song because I love music and the fact of learn a topic using this I found it so fun and useful. Before we choose that song each of us listen about songs and with this I put more attention than ever to the letter of each one so I practice a lot because of I need to now why and how it was using the articles.

Week 8 (September 29 - October 5)

For my singing class, I need to  learn a song for doing a performance, so I throw the letter only listening it.The song that I chose was Trying to be cool - Phoenix.  

In a special book that I found I read some tips of how to be prepare for a BULATS listening part and what type of exercises we could be asked.

Reflection
Often we do not understand why people say it is very important to practice and practice doing different types of exercises for listening. Now understand I do, I understand why they say it. Many things are much easier for me when I'm doing every exercise test is less difficult as I can see the answers and I see that I have better grades than before.

Week 9 (October 6 - 12)

During this week I practiced some exercises 

for listening but with other kind of 

pronunciation, this could help me for 

recognize different sounds. I listen to short 

conversations and when I consider that I this 

was easier for me I continue with long conversations. 

Also I watch the serie "Black is the new orange" without subtitles paying attention at the pronunciation. 

Reflection

As we knew the pronunciation is a very importan fact in listening so during this week I compared a little bit some words of both kind of pronunciations and I realize of some differences that British English usually do than American English.

Week 10 (October 13 - 19)

To know some tips on how to improve the 

listening part of the time to be doing

exercises I look into some recommendations 

and tips that will be useful for my TOEFL 

exams and BULATS.

Also I continue working on the websites of 

practice test but this time with long 

conversations. 

Finally I see some episodes of "Top Gear".

The pronunciation of the hosts are so particular so 

each time I watch this program I practice listening 

British English.

Reflection

It is very useful to find out a lot of recommendations but also put it in practice because if we only read them and do not practice it may be counterproductive and not help us much as we want.


Week 11 (October 20 - 26)

I listened short conversations about different ways, the ones that have homophones and synonyms. 
I found a website that it is a kind of radio in which you could listen to music, news, interviews, of course in English. So every time I could I play it to practice.

I watched more that 6 episodes of the serie Gossip Girl. I enjoy it so much because I like the story and the characters.

Reflection

Because I've been practicing the sight of TV shows, movies and other things in English when they have subtitles I do not take them into account I prefer to focus more on the pronunciation of the characters and understand for myself the plot of the dialogues.

Week 12 (October 27 - November 2)

For my math class I watched some video 

about how to solve ,lagrange functions, non-

homogenous and independent equations.

It was very helpful for my quiz because the questions 

that it has were so similar than the ones  of the 

examples of the video.

Also I did the lasts exercises of the BULATS Book and 

I´m very excited because I got a really good grade 

when I rather myself. 

Reflection

This was the last week that I write about the evidence of practice in the blog until that I will continue practice hard in the same order to achieve my goal. Now that is much more clear because all of these issues things turn me in a better way. I learned a lot of the type of exercises that TOEFL and BULATS ask and recommendations so now I just have to keep practicing and don´t get nervous. 

Reflection Period 2

When we think in the fact that we need to do many exercises in order to practice and study it could give us a lot of slack but if we think in all the ways this is going to helping us to improve our ability to listen to the carrying out of activities becomes easier and even I started doing unconsciously. During this period I realized that watching TV shows, movies, news, listen to radio programs and listen some songs in English, be much easier than before and it does not to be with a lot of concentrate at all I understand better the contexts. Similarly I will keep practicing hard for all this because it is true that it help me with my exams and with my daily life too.