Установите соответствия между зоголовками A-F и текстами 1-5. A. Speaking is not the first step. B. Listening by watching English films. C. A good way to improve speaking. D. The advantages of listening. E. English speech is available. F. Listening from the moment of birth. 1. Everyone knows that there are four skills in learning a language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. They are always related in terms of usage, and speaking is viewed by learners as the most desirable skill in face-to-face communication in the globalization era. What do you have to do before you can speak? What does a child learn before he talks? Listen, of course! 2. Naturally, children begin listening to their parents when they are babies. They are often greeted, spoken to and admired without any response expected. Though nobody knows if the baby understands the spoken words, the process continues. Children automatically acquire such language over some time. That leads to speaking skill which is quite applicable to daily conversation. 3. In learning English, listening can help to improve speaking considerably. Although it is the first of all skills, it is neither the easiest nor the most meaningless. We need to hear various types of English repeatedly and continuously if we want to communicate properly, meaningfully and naturally. 4. When listening, we are reviewing a lot of English usage such as vocabulary, grammatical structures, intonation, accent etc. We can learn new words and expressions by hearing them frequently. We can imitate what we hear and apply it with great confidence. Listening can be a good «hobby» while we do other things such as cooking, ironing, exercising, relaxing etc. In other words, we have no wasted time at all. 5. Nowadays, radio cassette recorders are household appliances, but we often overlook their radio function. We can experience English language radio programmes almost anywhere in the world. They are usually picked up on FM bands and aired particularly for foreigners. Short wave radio programmes are another option. Two of the most easily found English language broadcasters are the BBC and Voice of America. Today, you can even access them by Internet.
