My listening experience of FEN
　　　　　　　　　(the Far East Network)
　　　　　　　　　currently called
　　　　　　　　　AFN (American Forces Network)



　　　　　　　　　　　Takao Nakanishi

　　　　　　　　　　　February 15, 2000





　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Contents

　　　　　　　Preface

　　　　　　　1. How to overcome language barrier　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　2. Hearing comes first before reading 　　

　　　　　　　3. How the ears are developed 　

　　　　　　　4. How I have overcome my first hearing obstacle…noise

　　　　　　　5. How I have overcome my second hearing obstacle…word sounds

　　　　　　　6. How quickly the meaning is injected into the sound of a word　　　

　　　　　　　7. How to sustain a meaningful word in one's memory　 　

　　　　　　　8. Hearing phrases and clauses is not easy

　　　　　　　9. Progressive development of listening ability

　　　　　　10. My learning curve of FEN listening

　　　　　　11. Listening is instrumental to reading, writing and speaking




　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　PREFACE
　　　　　　　 When studying English, what matters the most is to be able to understand it
　　　　　　 through our ears. One may be able to have the skills to read, write and even
　　　　　　 speak English but be unable to listen and understand it. Those who have little
　　　　　　 or no difficulty in reading and writing often find hearing what others say very
　　　　　　 difficult to follow. Those who easily pick up the necessary words for daily life
　　　　　　 conversations often fail　to catch a single word others say. This must be a very
　　　　　　 abnormal experience for a student to encounter in his linguistic study of any
　　　　　　 language. Without remedy in this area, we can not hope for greater improvement
　　　　　 　in the communicative world. Nor can the student's competence in other areas
　　　　　　 such as reading, writing and speaking,　surpass the present level of today.
　　　　　　　 Today, the traditional method of learning English through reading and writing
　　　　　　 has given place to oral communication. This is a good way to access any language.
　　　　　　 The most striking aspect of ear training lies in getting one acquainted with foreign
　　　　　　 or alien sounds and its rhythm. Every language has its own rhythm consisting of
　　　　　　 peculiar sounds and accents. Everyone speaks in his own rhythm of intonation and
　　　　　　 punctuation. Rhythm carries not only a flow of sounds comprising the speech but
　　　　　　 also a flow or movement of meanings. The word rhythm originates from Greek
　　　　　　"rhythmos" meaning measure, or measured motion. It is interesting to note that
　　　　　　 arithmetic came from the same origin of this Greek word: meaning count. The
　　　　　　 person who understands the rhythm of English through listening can measure the
　　　　　　 motion of speech not only phonetically, but also syntactically and semantically.
　　　　　　 This means that the rhythm thus attained underlies other aspects of the study of
　　　　　　 English in reading, writing and speaking.
　　　　　　　 My-12000-hour-listening experience of the Far East Network (FEN) currently
　　　　　　 called American Forces Network (AFN) from age 51, has been, and will be an
　　　　　　 incessant challenge to acquire such a rhythm as seen in native English speakers.
　　　　　　 In 1984, at the age of 48, I attended a summer seminar on Management Information
　　　　　　 Service Resources in English at Harvard Business School. The seminar gave me an
　　　　　　 unbearable shock when I found myself nearly deaf and dumb to what the professors
　　　　　　 or other students said. Although that was my first experience of a lecture in English,
　　　　　　 I had never realized until then how poor I was at listening. The experience called for
　　　　　　 my complete reexamination of how I should learn English. The conclusion is that there
　　　　　　 is no other way but to listen to how native speakers speak as much as possible.
　　　　　　 　The following is a brief sketch of my theory of hearing based on actual experience
　　　　　　 of my own. This will, I hope, serve of any assistance to any English curriculum

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　To be continued