Listening and reading at the same time

Many people ask me how to learn to listen to English. They say, "I can read English but I can't understand it when a native English person speaks to me." Here is a suggestion, give it a try to see if it works for you. Your browser must have two windows open at the same time. 

Step 1: Go here: http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/audiobooks/Sawyer/mp3/  

Step 2. Choose Chapter 1. Press pause to stop the player.

Step 3. In a new window go here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/74/74-h/74-h.htm

Step 4. Choose Chapter 1. 

Step 5. Open the first window and press the arrow to play the sound. 

Step 6. Go back to the other window to read along with the narrator. 

Now, at your own speed, you can listen to a man read Tom Sawyer while you read along in the online book. As you listen you can check the meaning of the words, see how they are pronounced and even learn how to change your voice when you see the punctuation marks.  Listen to the man's voice as it changes, depending on the kind of sentence he is reading. 

I think this will help you learn English a bit more easily than before. Once you get used to hearing English, you'll be able to understand it better. Once you have read one chapter, why not just listen and see if you can understand what he is saying. If you don't understand something, you can refer back to the online book and see what it is that he said. 

A word of warning about the book. Tom Sawyer is an old book, more than 100 years old. Back then, people used different words sometimes than they do now. People spoke differently than they do now. Don't get discouraged if you don't understand something. Remember, you can always ask me what something means. The point of this is to learn to 'listen' to English. If you practice this way, pretty soon the words will make sense and you will be well on your way to being able to understand what someone is saying to you. 

Lastly, the two websites are totally free. You can look for other books on each site, but try to match them up side by side, like I did with Tom Sawyer. I chose that book because I know that you might have taken it in school. If you can think of other books, share them with me so I can tell other people about them. 

Good luck and thanks for reading!