How Extensive Listening Can Transform Your Language Learning

Ever found yourself listening to a podcast or radio show in your target language, feeling completely lost, and wondering if you're actually learning anything? You're not alone.

In this post I'm diving deep into a reader question about extensive listening – a powerful but often misunderstood approach to language learning that can complement your studies in ways you might not expect.

This question came from Andy in Staffordshire, who's learning Spanish and wanted to know how extensive listening during his daily commute and exercise routine could complement his active study programme.

It's a brilliant question that gets to the heart of how we actually acquire languages in the real world.

Prefer watching videos to reading? Hit play on the video version of this post at the top of the page. Otherwise, here's what you'll discover in this article:

What Is Extensive Listening in Language Learning?

Let's start by clarifying what I mean by extensive listening, because it's quite different from the intensive listening approach I discussed back in episode 27.

Extensive listening is when you listen for longer periods to a lot more content – think podcasts in the car, radio at home, or even TV series in your target language.

You're not necessarily dissecting every single word, but rather just listening for exposure. It's about quantity over intense analysis.

This is different from intensive listening, where you're actively studying dialogues and trying to extract as much language as possible from shorter pieces of content.

Both have their place, but today we're focusing on that broader, more relaxed approach to listening.

I don't know if you can relate to this, but have you ever found yourself listening to something in the language you're learning – possibly on the radio or TV – which is far too high above your level?

It just feels like a load of nonsense and you can't understand anything. It feels like nothing's going in. Have you ever experienced that? I'm sure you have. I have – it happens to me all the time.

I often find myself wondering what's the point when I'm doing that. Is this really working? Am I actually learning the language right now? So I want to get into that a little bit today.

The Science Behind Extensive Listening: Krashen's Hypothesis

Now, there's a very well-known concept in language education from Dr. Stephen Krashen called the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis.

It's somewhat disputed linguistically in terms of how scientifically provable it is, but it's been incredibly helpful for a lot of people to conceptualise learning.

Krashen talks about something called i+1. This represents your current level in the language (what you're currently able to understand) plus a little bit more.

Here's what this means in a nutshell: if you're going to actually take in something and learn it, you have to be exposed to language that is slightly above your current level.

Think about it logically:

• If you listen to something that's exactly at your current level, you won't learn anything new – makes sense, right?
• Similarly, if you listen to something that's way above your level, you're not going to learn anything either because it's too advanced

In one case, we've got no new words or structures, and in the other case, we've got something so difficult you can't follow anything.

So the sweet spot is material that's pitched very slightly above your level – you understand most of what's going on, which means you're fresh to take in anything new that comes your way.

That's the ideal. But in reality, where do you actually find material that's perfectly pitched at that level? Most of the time, it's very difficult to do that. I've solved the problem somewhat with my short story books for language learners.

Extensive Listening vs. Intensive Listening: When To Use Each

This is where it gets interesting, and why Andy's question is so important. Let's take podcasts as a case in point, because this really depends on your current level.

If you're a beginner in Spanish and you're listening to podcasts intended for native speakers, you're not going to understand much at all.

You're going to walk away from those podcasts with very little tangible having been “learnt” (and I'm putting that word in inverted commas deliberately).

On the other hand, if you're an advanced learner – if you speak quite well already – and you listen to that same podcast, you're already going to understand quite a bit of it.

This means the more advanced words are there for the taking. You're going to be able to guess meaning from context, relate words to English perhaps. And there's much more there that you're going to be able to learn.

So on the face of it, listening to native speaker podcasts is going to be much more beneficial for advanced learners than for beginner learners. I'm sure that's intuitive to you.

But here's the crucial question: does it actually matter if it's too hard?

Making Extensive Listening Work For Your Level

The answer is both yes and no. Let me break that down for you.

In my Language Learning Foundations course, I talk about the difference between two important concepts: study time and downtime.

Study Time vs. Downtime

Study time is focused, sit-down study when you're actively engaged in something, trying to understand it, trying to learn and improve as much as you can.

This is the kind of study you really have to do if you want to make any meaningful, quick progress in the language.

But you can't do study all day because you get tired. So what do you do with the rest of your time? This is what I call downtime – time you might spend watching TV in English or doing other things, just relaxing. And you can use it to your advantage.

The best way of thinking about it is this: if you're just chilling out at home, in the car, or wherever you may be, anything that you would normally do in English, you may as well do in your target language – because it can only do you good.

The Long-Term Benefits Of Extensive Listening

This is the approach I tend to have towards extensive listening. If you're a beginner, you're not going to get a lot out of podcasts in a really tangible way by listening to stuff that's way above your level.

However, if you spend enough time listening to the language, some stuff is going to sink in, particularly in terms of pronunciation and intonation.

I remember when I was learning Cantonese – I had no Cantonese around me at all. I was using some online software called Cantonese Class 101 and a Teach Yourself book, but I got to an overwhelmed stage at one point.

What I actually did was spend about three or four weeks watching Cantonese TV series – not actively learning anything, but just watching in the evenings.

I actually learnt an awful lot because I was able to just relax and let my brain soak stuff in.

Whether or not I was consciously learning, after one of those three or four week sessions of watching loads of TV, I had a conversation with my tutor and she said, “My God, you've improved so much!”

I didn't see it myself because I hadn't been actively learning, but from having spent three or four weeks listening to hours of Cantonese every night, my pronunciation and my general ease in the language improved without a doubt.

The Big Picture Approach

You've got to see this in a bigger picture, long-term way. If you're listening to lots of podcasts or radio, you're not going to notice any tangible benefit or improvement day to day. But you will start to become gradually more natural in the language.

So I would absolutely recommend that you do extensive listening in your free time, whilst you're driving – but just remember that it's not going to be an effective substitute for proper study.

A lot of people, when they hear me say “listen to loads of the language,” think, “Okay cool, that means I don't have to study anymore, that means I don't have to do any hard work.” Well no, it doesn't work like that.

You've really got to have your dedicated study time every day, and then when that's done, during any extra time you've got: listen to the language, soak it up, don't worry that you don't understand, try to pick out words, listen to the melody of the language.

It will go in, but you've got to keep it up over the long term.

Practical Tips For Effective Extensive Listening

If you are doing lots of extensive listening, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of learning:

1. Listen To One Thing Repeatedly

Rather than listening to new stuff all the time, I suggest that you listen to one thing over and over and over.

Every time you listen to something on repeat, you're going to get more and more from it. This is exactly what I teach in Conversations, my listening course.

As a general principle: don't keep listening to new material – listen to one thing repeatedly.

2. Listen To Content You Already Know

Try to listen, as far as possible, to material you already know. What I mean by this is:

• If you've got the audiobook of Harry Potter and you've already read it in English, the fact that you know it in English is going to give you lots of clues and hints to help you understand it in Spanish
• If you've listened to the news on the BBC in the morning and then you listen to the news in Spanish later, because you already know the facts, you're going to have a bigger advantage when it comes to understanding it in Spanish

It can be quite difficult to get your hands on these materials sometimes, but this approach really works.

The Bottom Line On Extensive Listening

Extensive listening isn't a magic bullet, but it's an incredibly valuable complement to your active study routine. Here's what you need to remember:

For beginners: You won't understand much, but your brain is still absorbing pronunciation patterns, rhythm, and intonation. It's worthwhile during downtime, but can't replace focused study.

For advanced learners: You'll pick up new vocabulary and expressions more readily, making extensive listening much more directly beneficial.

For everyone: Consistency is key. Make it part of your daily routine during activities like driving or exercising, but always pair it with dedicated study time for real progress.

The beauty of extensive listening is that it transforms dead time into learning time. You're not going to become fluent just from listening to podcasts in the car. But you will gradually become more natural and comfortable with the language – and that's absolutely worth doing.

So go ahead, learn Spanish while driving by putting on a podcast during your commute. Your brain is working even when you don't realise it.

Extensive Listening FAQ

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.