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Developing your English listening muscles is very important.  When you are a listener, you are the receiver of information from various senders or transmitters. And you may have to respond to that information you have just received.  Not all ransmitters are equally efficient or articulate in what they want to tell you. When you take the role of a receiver, you should first let the person complete what they have to say. You should not pigeon hole what the other person is going to say  meaning that you should not decide beforehand what the other person will say to you and interpret the message as one of your  pre-conceived ideas. You should listen to the message attentively, try to understand fully what they have to say before answering or giving your comments...

English, unfortunately, is spoken in many different ways with different accents in different countries. This can be seen even within  English speaking countries -  UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada.  People from the all these countires speak in different accents and also use different vocabulary.  Even in the same country, different groups of people, due to either their educational or regional backgrounds talk differently.  In UK, the English find it difficult to understand the Scottish accent mainly because of the difference in duration of the different vowel sounds.  

You should aim to develop your English LISTENING muscles to such a state so that you can understand most of the things people talk in English in different accents.  Irrespective of whether a person is from an English speaking or a  non-English speaking country you should be able to understand them.  You will notice that people from your country talk in different style and accents as well.  You should understand them all.

To develop your English Listening muscles, you should practise Active or Reflective Listening.  This is a very useful and important listening skill. In active listening you have to become genuinely interested in understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting or what message they want to convey.  In acitve listening, you first check out your understanding of what the speaker said before you respond with your own new message, if necessary. You may restate or paraphrase your understanding of their message and reflect it back to the sender for verification. This verification or feedback process is what distinguishes active listening from passive listening.

Level 1 :  Apparatus/Tools

Tools- To develop your Listening muscles to recognise the correct Enlgish pronunication.

Note:   You should first be able to recognise the correct English accent even if you cannot speak in that accent.  You shoul first learn to understand all words spoken in that accent.

Exercises:

1.   Listen to the news on radio, preferably BBC, for at least 30 minutes a day. Practise active listening and  try to understand each news item.  This is one of the best tools to use to improve your English Listening skills.

2.  Passive Listening.  If you do not have the time, then listen to the BBC radio or similar good international and national news while doing other chores like cooking,  brushing your teeth washing up in the evening after coming home from work, getting ready for work in the morning, driving to and from work,  etc.  This will also develop your ENGLISH LISTENING muscles slowly. 

3.  Listen to internationa sports commentaries on radio of international events like  soccer, cricket, tennis and other games that you enjoy.

4.  Listen to other international events - musical, annual military tattoo at Edinburgh etc. on radio.

5.  Listen to the annual speech given to the nation by the Queen of England on BBC radio.and speeches in English given by other well known people.

Level 2 : Tools and Exercises - Listening  - TV and films for correct English

1.  Watch  film versions (English) of well known classical novels (see Reading) either on TV or DVD
2.  Listen to speeches and interviews of important international political and non-political leaders on TV. 
3.  Identify some TV programs where the program conductor speaks very clearly and in correct English accent.  Make it a point to listen to them regularly.
4.  Listen to sports or other live commentaries of other events on television.

5.  Listen to programs where there is audience participation.

In all the above you should practise active listening.

Level 3:  Tools and Exercise - Listen to English programs originating from different coutnries on TV.

1.  Watch popular English films from all countries including those from non-English countries.. Try to understand and compare the dialogues in different English accents.
2.  Watch TV serials from different countries, either live or on DVD.  Learn to get familiar with street and common talk and country specific terms and phrases.  There are English TV serials from England, USA, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India etc.  You should note the difference in their speaking style, accents and even language.  Try to compare with the BBC accent.

Level 4: .Tools and Exercises - Listen to live English

1.  Whenever you get a chance attend lectures, seminars, debates, plays and films, which are in English.  Do active listening and try to follow and enjoy the event.  Always compare with BBC English.

If you do the above ZALEG English Speaking exercises regularly you will soon notice that your English Listening muscles are  developing and you understand everything that you hear in English by people of different backgrounds.  You will no longer have to make a special effort to understand different English accents.  The more you do active or reflective listening, the more your English listening muscles will develop.