Akihiro's Journey: Closing His Eyes

Welcome back to English Listening World! I'm Les Perras, and this is the fifth episode in our series "Akihiro's Listening Journey."

In our previous episodes, Akihiro discovered the rhythm of English, learned to break sentences into manageable chunks, practiced shadowing, and mastered high-intensity repetition.

Today, he'll discover a surprisingly simple but powerful technique: closing his eyes. In our modern workplaces filled with screens, notifications, and visual stimuli, our brains must process enormous amounts of information.

For English learners, this visual processing can compete with the crucial task of understanding spoken language. Let's join Akihiro as he discovers how eliminating visual distractions can dramatically improve listening comprehension!

Chapter Five: Closing His Eyes

Akihiro adjusted his headset and stared at the three monitors on his desk. The left screen displayed the quarterly report he was updating. The center screen showed a video conference with five faces in small rectangles. The right screen flashed with incoming email notifications. It was just another Tuesday at Global Tech Solutions.

Six weeks into his journey of improving his English listening skills, Akihiro had made significant progress. His notebook contained detailed notes on four techniques: finding the rhythm, breaking sentences into chunks, shadowing speakers, and high-intensity repetition. Each had helped him overcome specific listening challenges.

But today presented a new obstacle—information overload.

"So what do you think of the proposal, Akihiro?"

Akihiro froze. He had been so focused on a complex graph on his left monitor that he'd completely missed Rachel's question.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I was looking at the quarterly numbers."

"No problem. I was asking about your thoughts on the Thomson integration timeline. Does it seem realistic?"

"Yes, I think it's achievable if we prioritize the core features first."

After providing his input, Akihiro tried to focus more intently on the conversation. But between the constant visual stimuli—people moving in their video frames, notifications popping up, and colleagues walking behind him in the open office—he found his attention constantly divided.

"Great discussion everyone. Let's hop on a quick call next week to finalize the details."

Akihiro heard "Let's" and "call" and "next week" clearly, but the middle part sounded unclear. What did "hop on" mean in this context? Was it an idiom? He had been practicing his four techniques diligently, but sometimes unfamiliar phrases still caught him off guard, especially when his attention was split between listening and processing visual information.

"Does Thursday work for everyone for our call?"

"So the call is on Thursday?"

"Yes, for the quick follow-up we just mentioned."

After the video conference ended, Akihiro sighed. His listening comprehension was improving, but the multitasking required during video calls made it exponentially more difficult. He had to watch faces, read shared documents, and process spoken English simultaneously—all while being ready to respond.

Later that afternoon, Akihiro noticed Tanaka-san on a call at her desk. What caught his attention was her unusual posture. While listening to someone speak, she had closed her eyes and slightly tilted her head. Her expression changed as she listened—nodding slightly, then furrowing her brow in concentration. When it was her turn to speak, she opened her eyes and responded confidently.

During the afternoon break, Akihiro approached her with a cup of green tea.

"Tanaka-san, I noticed something interesting during your call earlier. You closed your eyes while listening. Is that a technique you use?"

She smiled.

"Very observant, Akihiro-kun. Yes, it's something I learned from a voice coach years ago. When visual information competes with auditory processing, closing your eyes helps your brain focus entirely on the sounds."

"Is that why you close your eyes during difficult conversations?"

"Exactly. Our brains have limited processing power. When I close my eyes, I redirect all that power to my ears."

"In Japan, we're taught to maintain eye contact to show respect, but sometimes it's more respectful to truly understand what someone is saying than to watch them say it."

"During today's video call, I missed an idiom—'hop on a call.' There was so much happening visually, I couldn't process the audio properly."

"That's a perfect example. Visual processing demands significant brain resources. When you eliminate visual input, even temporarily, you can hear subtleties in speech that might otherwise be missed."

Back at his desk, Akihiro found a recording of the morning's video conference. With his headphones on, he replayed the section where the project manager had said, "Let's hop on a quick call next week."

First, he watched and listened normally. The phrase still sounded unclear, with "hop on" blending together.

Then he tried again with his eyes closed. The difference was immediate and striking. Without visual distractions, he could clearly distinguish each word. He realized "hop on" was an idiom meaning "to join" or "to participate in." Intrigued, Akihiro spent the next hour experimenting with other difficult recordings, alternating between eyes open and eyes closed. Consistently, his comprehension improved when he eliminated visual input. Complex phrases that had been challenging to decode suddenly became clearer.

The next day, Akihiro had an important call with a client. As they discussed technical requirements, the client used several unfamiliar phrases.

"We need to iron out these details before moving forward."

Akihiro briefly closed his eyes. The idiom "iron out"—which might have confused him before—now registered clearly as meaning "to resolve" or "to smooth out problems." By closing his eyes for just those few seconds, he had given his brain the space to process the unfamiliar phrase.

When the client asked a particularly complex question about system integration options, Akihiro responded thoughtfully.

"That's an excellent point. Let me think about that for a moment."

He closed his eyes briefly, organizing his thoughts and fully processing what had been asked before delivering a clear, confident answer.

After the call, Mr. Wilson stopped by Akihiro's desk.

"Good job on that client call, Akihiro. I noticed how thoughtful your responses were. The client commented on it too—said you seemed to really listen and consider their needs."

"Thank you."

Akihiro was pleased that what might have appeared as a moment of hesitation had been interpreted as thoughtfulness.

That evening, Akihiro added a new technique to his notebook:

"Technique #5: Close Your Eyes

• Eliminates visual distractions that compete for brain processing power
• Allows full concentration on auditory information
• Especially useful for idioms and unfamiliar phrases
• Can be used strategically in small moments during conversation
• Presents as thoughtful consideration rather than confusion
• Combines well with other techniques (rhythm, chunking, etc.)"

He also noted how to implement this technique socially:

• Brief eye closing (2-3 seconds) during complex listening moments
• Can say "Let me think about that" to create space for processing
• Not necessary for entire conversations
• just challenging moments
• Works for both in-person and video conversations

As Akihiro rode the train home, he practiced his new technique with the conversations happening around him. Closing his eyes for brief moments, he found he could isolate and follow specific conversations in the noisy train car much more effectively.

The journey of improving his English listening skills was unveiling something fascinating: sometimes the solution wasn't about trying harder to listen, but about removing obstacles that prevented clear listening. By closing his eyes, he wasn't blocking out the world—he was actually opening his ears to hear it more clearly.

Five techniques now. Each one giving him a specific tool for specific listening challenges. With each new discovery, the wall between him and fluent English comprehension was coming down, one brick at a time.

And that's how Akihiro discovered his fifth listening technique: closing his eyes to enhance auditory processing!

To practice this technique yourself, try these simple steps:

• Notice when visual distractions compete with your listening efforts
• Practice closing your eyes briefly (2-3 seconds) during challenging listening moments
• Use phrases like "Let me think about that" to create natural opportunities to close your eyes
• Pay attention to how much clearer sounds become without visual processing demands
• Combine with previous techniques: rhythm awareness, chunking, shadowing, and repetition

Remember, this isn't about closing your eyes for entire conversations—just brief moments when you need to process complex information. In professional settings, this can actually make you appear more thoughtful and engaged!

Join us next time when Akihiro discovers how identifying the basic structure of English sentences—Subject, Verb, Object—can dramatically improve his comprehension of complex discussions!

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