How To Transcribe For Language Learning

The Transcription Technique: A Unproblematic Style to Meliorate Your Listening Comprehension

I'd similar to share a simple technique that has drastically improved my listening skills (many language learners say that listening the near difficult skill to master). What's more, this technique as well helps me with speaking, reading and writing. I know of no other technique that's so constructive at improving all of these skills.

I've never heard of whatever school or language class teaching this technique. And I've never seen it mentioned in anything I've read almost language learning. Just it's incredibly powerful — it has made active listening pretty much effortless for me.

I idea it would be expert to share this technique to help others with their language learning. I actually came across it by happy accident. Let me tell you how:

How I Discovered the Transcription Technique

A few years ago, I was taking a Chinese class that focused on listening skills, and mentioned to a classmate that I found listening to the recordings 'slow' because the talking speed was too tiresome. He asked, have y'all tried typing a transcript while you listen? I hadn't– in fact, as someone who ofttimes has problem properly understanding song lyrics in my native English, information technology sounded like an incommunicable job. Clearly there was a disconnect betwixt my 'boredom' and actual skill level. But, I had no trouble understanding the recordings overall, and didn't struggle the side by side twenty-four hour period in grade when we read over the transcript and discussed the material, so I decided to have on the challenge.

I opened a blank word document, and hitting play. It was difficult. Really hard. I had to listen twice to pretty much every judgement, sometimes more. In the finish, at that place were still a few blanks in my transcript, but I had gotten nearly of it down. It was humbling to run into how much I didn't know, and that put the class I had previously idea "wearisome" in a whole new calorie-free. The other amazing thing was how long I focused on listening to the recording– at least iii times longer than I had before. And it didn't involve forcing myself to focus– that just happened naturally while I was trying to type out what I was hearing.

What is the 'Transcription Technique'?

In basic course, the Transcription Technique has just 2 steps:

Listen to a recording in your target language, and transcribe (write down) the recording every bit you mind.
Tape yourself speaking the text that you've written down.

You then repeat these 2 steps until you've mastered that piece of text.

This creates a full skill circle from listening to writing then back to reading, speaking and listening.

During the outset step (listening and transcribing), I recommend that you listen to a recording in short segments, pausing and repeating the recording regularly to blazon or write what you hear.

Once your transcript is complete, check that it'due south correct before you tape yourself reading it aloud.

Does the Transcription Technique Really Work? (Spoiler: Yeah!)

Now I've explained the steps, perhaps the Transcription Technique sounds like a lot of work. It is! It does take time, merely I've institute it pays back amply on every minute I invest in it.

Now, if you're happy with how well you lot speak, mind and read, there's no need to use the technique. However, if y'all desire to improve on whatever of the to a higher place, and peculiarly if you want to do putting these skills together (for case, having a conversation where yous must listen, understand, process and speak a response), transcription do can help yous movement forward, faster.

The six Reasons I Utilize the Transcription Technique

1. I've Adult Effortless Agile Listening Skills

Close to 100% of the fourth dimension you spend listening using this technique will be active, since that's a natural consequence of trying to understand every word, phrase and sentence to write it down. You lot won't put on a recording to practice and detect yourself zoning out that 'noise' by accident.

two. It'due south a Super-Efficient Way to Learn All 4 Language Skills

With the Transcription Technique you'll simultaneously practice listening and writing, then reading and speaking. As I mentioned above, every infinitesimal I've spent on this technique, I've noticed my language skills improving.

three. I Can Understand Native Voices at Normal Speed

Making the spring from listening to materials prepared especially for second language learners (where speakers talk slowly, with perfect pronunciation and clear pauses betwixt words) to a regular native speaker (who will likely speak fast, combine words and might have a regional accent) is a big challenge for many language learners.

With the transcription technique, you can not only practise listening to a regular native speaker once more and again, but as well learn to connect the sounds you hear to words and phrases that you may in fact already know, but which, at first, your brain didn't connect to the sounds you heard.

This builds your confidence for real life conversations, and comes without the horrific embarrassment you might feel if yous asked someone to repeat themselves over and over again in an bodily conversation!

4. I've Got a Ameliorate Understanding of Sentence Structure

If you are learning a language that's written without spaces betwixt the words (such as Chinese or Arabic) or spoken without spaces between the words (such as French), then listening and and then creating a written version helps you learn how to suspension upwards a sentence at the right places so that the resulting words make sense.

5. I've Developed an Intuitive Grasp of the Visual-Audio Connection

Going back and forth betwixt hearing or speaking and the written language helps your brain build a connection between the visual cues you see and the sounds you hear. Fifty-fifty if you're learning a phonetic language, such as Castilian, it can be a challenge at first to connect the sounds that yous hear to the letters on the page. If you lot are learning a not-phonetic linguistic communication, such as Chinese or Japanese, this exercise reinforces the connectedness between what a word looks like and how it sounds, which y'all tin can't get from reading something silently.

6. I'm a Meliorate Contextual Learner

With transcription, you learn to figure out words based on context as you lot listen. The becomes especially apparent when you run into a sound that you can't understand. You can't look it up in a dictionary, so what exercise you? Look at the words surrounding your blank to come across what might make sense, and run across if anything you retrieve of fits with what you're heard. This skill is invaluable in existent globe conversations when you demand to empathise the overall thread of a conversation, but don't understand every discussion.

The Transcription Technique: An In-Depth Stride by Step Guide

Step one: Detect a suitable sound clip.

Some things to go along in mind as you pick yours:

Get-go short: Just 30 seconds or one minute is good to start; if you want this can be a part of a longer audio recording
Brand it level advisable: it should push you out of your condolement zone, simply if yous don't sympathise anything that's being said, y'all won't exist able to transcribe it! Aim for 50-80% general understanding when you lot do a 'exam heed'
Interest: Pick a topic that interests yous'll, every bit you'll be spending a significant amount of time with this recording.
Transcript: If the audio comes with a transcript (or is a video with subtitles) this volition brand it easier to cheque your work at the end. Nevertheless, Practise Not await at the transcript / subtitles before stride 6, equally that defeats the purpose of doing this
Don't rush: Take the time to option a recording that'south right for your level and interests, as this is the nearly important factor in determining your results

Step 2: Listen once without trying to write anything down, just focusing on getting the big picture and general context. If you're having trouble with this, consider going back to #i and picking an easier recording.

Footstep 3: Prepare up a blank Word / Google doc, or a pencil plus a bare piece of paper if you prefer to write past hand. If you want to hand write, double spacing your lines will make steps #7 and #8 easier. Restart the recording, and begin writing what you hear, pausing or rewinding the audio whenever needed. If you lot mind to something a few times and notwithstanding can't figure out what's being said, don't worry– put a () in identify of the words you can't figure out, and go on moving forward until you terminate the recording.

Step four: Read over the first draft of your transcript– does information technology seem logical and generally make sense? Most all of the fourth dimension you'll have a some blanks– but that's ok if it makes overall sense. As y'all read, think virtually what words might make sense in that location based on the context, and write them in, leaving the () around them.

Stride 5: Restart the recording, and this time pay special attention to those () areas, and see if the combination of sound plus context makes whatsoever () clearer. You'll ofttimes have a few "aha moments" at this step.

Step vi (OPTIONAL): If y'all accept remaining () areas after step 5 and want to really challenge yourself, go back and do #4 and #5 once more to reduce those pesky () fifty-fifty more.

Step vii:Accept a native speaker friend / tutor / teacher take a look at your transcript to correct it and make full in any remaining blanks. Or, if you lot have a transcript or subtitles, use those to correct your transcript. My favorite way to do this step is to print out my transcript double spaced, and so mitt write corrections. Mitt writing the corrections seems to help me recall them ameliorate. Even so, you could as well use Word with tracked changes activated (Google Docs automatically tracks changes). If there are whatever words you don't know, look them up in a dictionary.

Step eight: Take your fully correct transcript, set up your recording device, and mind one terminal time while reading along, giving your brain a chance to connect the sound of the phrases you originally couldn't understand with the written words (which you've already looked up if you didn't know already).

Step 9: Record yourself reading your transcript.

What Are You Waiting For?

Having doubts well-nigh whether you lot can exercise this? I know you lot can. But if you're feeling a chip hesitant, just commit for 25 minutes to start. Option an audio clip and ready a timer.

So that you have absolutely no excuse to not try this, here are a few places where the perfect recording is waiting for you:

Your textbook, or an online course, if yous're using one. Most every language textbook or online course includes accompanying audio / video resources. Depending on your level, this may be a recording of the lesson, or supplemental materials. Skip ahead a lesson or two, and mind to a recording– just don't give in to the temptation to peek at the written text or transcript first!
Movies. Pick a brusk scene (or part of one). This is not bad if you lot're trying to make that jump from listening to materials created for foreign learners to regular native speakers. Having the video can as well give you some visual clues to meaning if you are stuck but don't desire to await at the transcript (don't crook!). Also, being able to turn on subtitles makes information technology easy to check your transcript.
News sites. A wealth of short videos, ofttimes with native speakers who have relatively standard pronunciation but are still speaking for a native audience. Many international news outlets (due east.g. the BBC) have stories and videos in multiple languages. Sometimes there will even be closed captioning available.
Podcasts / radio shows. These tend to exist the virtually challenging, as there are no visual clues and you lot tin can get people with heavy accents speaking at length (due east.g. podcast guests or listener telephone call-ins). Getting through 1 of these will heave your confidence to talk with native speakers like no other, though!

This listing is simply a starting point, so if y'all're inspired to look elsewhere for a recording, go ahead!