Using audio (from any source) and writing down exactly what you hear. Ideally, you check your work against a transcript or with a native speaker, but that's optional.
Parent Skills:
Using audio (from any source) and writing down exactly what you hear. Ideally, you check your work against a transcript or with a native speaker, but that's optional.
Exceptional ear training
Force yourself to convert the spoken language into written language
See how real natives use the language
Transcription is pretty easy to understand how to do, even if it's very hard to actually do.
When you're focusing on your listening skills, a little daily transcription practice goes a long way. You don't need to spend more than 10-20 minutes on it to get a lot of benefit.
Checking your work can be very difficult if you don't have 100% matching text to verify with. Asking native speakers to verify clips that you transcribe is a good way to check your work.
Once you have these things, listen to the audio a little bit to get into the mindset and flow. Focus on understanding and noticing the little words and way the speaker(s) are talking.
Then, find a chunk you want to transcribe and listen to it a few times. For this reason, having a simple audio editing tool like Audacity for your listening can make it much more seamless. You don't need to use any of the features, but being able to visually see the waveform and select individual sections will make your life easier.
Once you've listened to the section a few times, play it once more, then stop it and write down as much as you can. If the clip is long, don't worry. Do what you can. Now, repeat it again and fill in places you missed. If you need, put the audio on loop again and continue adding in and improving your transcription.
When you're happy with what you have written down, it's a good idea to check your work! Either verify with the official transcription, a native or ask an AI if your sentence makes sense for the spoken language (possibly prone to error, but better than nothing).
If you're correct, move on to another section. If there are mistakes or differences, listen to the audio again, really focusing your ears on the things you missed. Sometimes, they're literally not there (but are implied by how the language works). Give yourself a pat on the back and move on.
To get started, you'll need: some audio and a way to listen to it, a way to write/type, patience and optionally, a correct text version to check your work against.
Some tips: