How to Listen to Conversations on Your Own

What should our listeners do if they're learning on their own? Because a lot of our listeners are independent learners. What should they do when they go to StoryCorps and start listening to these conversations in order to maximize the learning experience? Should they first just sit and absorb the English, or should they be taking notes and writing down vocabulary that they don't know? Well, I think when you choose a particular conversation, they give you some general information about the subject. The conversation is usually just two or three minutes long.