Transcript
LISTENING Review
The Purpose Purpose of of the IELTS Listening Module i Establish your ability to function on a daily basis in a countr where English is spoken as a first language Establish your ability to function in an academic environmen where English is used as a tuition medium.
Listening in a 'Social Context' You may need to telephone a landlord about renting an apartment, or you might want to arrange a night out in a restaurant with your friends from university or college.
Listening in an 'Academic Context' At university or college you may have to listen to a lecture or presentation, take part in workshops and discussions, and perhaps speak to your tutor or classmates about an assignment you receive.
The Listening Test a lw a y s h a s t h e s a m e f o r m at : The questions get i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t as t h e t es t . progresses All instructions on what to do and how to answer questions are provided on the recording you listen to during the test, so listen carefully! The test is 3 0 m i n u t e s l o n g , there are always f o u r s e c t i o n s and 40 ; approximately 2 0 m i n u t e s t o l i s t e n t o t h e t ap e a n d questions answer the questions , and 1 0 m i n u t e s t o t r a n s f e r y o u r an s w e r s t o a n A n s w e r S h e et provided with the test booklet. S ec t i o n s o n e a n d t w o t e s t y o u r a b i li t y t o d e al w i t h s i t u a t io n s w h e re En g l i s h i s s p o k e n i n a s o c i a l c o n t ex t (for example, buying a
plane ticket over the telephone). You will be expected to listen to dialogues and monologues and answer questions based on what you hear. S ec t i o n s t h r e e a n d f o u r t es t y o u r a b i l i t y t o l i s t en t o E n g l i s h s p o k e n i n a n a c ad e m i c c o n t e x t . This might include listening to a
presentation or some form of dialogue.
T h e L i s t e n i n g m o d u l e o f t h e IE L TS c o n s i s t s o f a t o t a l o f 40 questions There are four sections:
1. Social Needs (conversation between two speakers ) - based on social or life situations: for example, travel arrangements, visiting a new city, or making arrangements to go out. This is usually a conversation between at least two speakers. 2. Social Needs (speech by one speaker ) - also based on social or life situations: for example, a news broadcast, or a description of college facilities. This is usually a passage with only one person speaking. 3. Educational or Training (conversation between two up to four speakers) - usually based on education and training situations: for example, a group of students planning a project, or a tutor and a student discussing career options. This is often a conversation with up to four speakers. 4. Educational or Training (speech by one speaker ) - also based on education and training: for example, a lecture or a talk of general
PAY ATTENTION FOR: Main Ideas
Important words and main ideas in conversation are ones that will come up again and again. Listen carefully for any word or words that come up repeatedly. Voice Changes
IELTS expects you to be able to recognize and interpret nuances of speech . Be on the alert for any changes in voice, which might register surprise, excitement, or another emotion. Example:
Man: Let’s go to Wal-mart. Woman: There’s a Wal-mart in this small town? If the woman’s statement was higher pitched, indicating surprise and shock, then she probably did not expect there to be a Walmart in that town.
Specifics Listen carefully for specific pieces of information. Adjectives. Example: Man: Let’s go to the store and get some apples to make the pie. Woman: How many do we need? Man: We’ll need five apples to make the pie. A typical question might be about how many apples were needed.
Interpret As you are listening to the conversation, put yourself in the person’s shoes. Think about why someone would make a statement. Example: Woman: I think I’m sick with the flu. Man: Why don’t you go see the campus doctor? Sample Question: Why did the man mention the campus doctor? Answer : The campus doctor would be able to determine if the
F i n d t h e Hi d d e n M ea n i n g Look for the meaning behind a statement . Man: Are you going to be ready for your presentation? Woman: I’ve only got half of it finished and it’s taken me five hours just to do this much. There’s only an hour left before the presentation is due.
M em o r y E n h a n c e r s You have scratch paper provided to you while taking the test. While you listen, you are free to make notes. Example: Speaker 1: I’m Bob Thomas, and I’m majoring in business development. Speaker 2: I’m Matt Smith, and I’m majoring in chemical engineering. Speaker 3: I’m John Douglass, and I’m majoring in speech therapy. Your short hand might read: Bob – Bus. Matt – Chem. E John – Sp. Th. With notes, you’ll be able to remember these basic facts and answer
Test Tips How to Improve Your Listening Skill 1] Read before you listen - predict the answer, think grammar 2] Read as you listen - focus on the whole question, not just key words 3] Look at 2 questions at once - often they come one after the other very q 4] Don't leave the writing to the end - you're not going to remember the de 5] Practice your shorthand - you need to write quickly as you listen 6] Check your spelling - wrong spelling, no mark 7] Don't write the answer too quickly - often the speaker corrects himself you need the second answer 8] Do not leave any answers blank - You are not penalized for incorrect an so ‘guess’ wisely. 9] Listen for repeated information - sometimes the answer word is repeat or reformulated 10] Look for clues in the question - other questions or the layout of the ta can often help
DURING THE TEST MA NAGE YOUR TIME CAREFULL Y The tape is heard once only, and the questions are answered as you listen.
Do not use this time to transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet because you are given 10 minutes at the end of the test in which to do this. THE GOLDEN RUL E OF IELTS The Golden Rule is "Always give the monkey EXACTLY what he wants". In other words, your answer to a question must be exactly what is required. READ THE QUESTIONS VERY CAREFULL Y
Know the type of information the test asks you to give: Is the answer a method of transport? ... a person? ... a place? ... a number? Do you to complete a sentence, or fill in the missing words in a sentence? Know what youhave have to do with the information:
If so, your answers must, therefore, be grammatically correct within that sentence. Do you have to provide an answer with no more than a maximum number of words? If so, your answer must not contain more than that maximum number of words. Do you have to name two items that you must hear on the tape, or find in a reading passage? A lIfwso, a yyour s kanswer n o w must ex acontain c t ly two w hitems at t only; y p ethree o f iitems n f o would r m a tbe ioincorrect. n y o u n e ed
t o g i v e an d w h a t y o u h av e t o d o w i t h i t
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CA REFULL Y Candidates who do not read or listen to the instructions carefully may believe they are saving time, but the instructions contain vital information which must be understood in o r d e r t o a n s w e r correctly.
The instructions may contain information about the passage topic which helps to predict what you may hear or read. The instructions tell you what to do, what kind of answer to give, and, in the case of the Listening Test instructions, they tell you when to answer. It is important to read the instructions quickly and accurately. You might not have time to complete the test if you are too slow at reading the explanatory information.
A L W A Y S L O O K A T TH E E XA M PL E The example is given to you for a number of very good reasons. It is i m p o r t a n t t o r e ad a n d /o r l i s t e n t o t h e e x am p l e c a r ef u l l y . Some candidates believe they can save time by not looking at the
LEA RN TO PREDICT: There are many types of IELTS listening question tasks: matching tasks multiple choice tasks gap fill tasks short-answer question tasks diagram labeling tasks true/false tasks sentence completion tasks chart / table completion tasks
In the Listening Test you use four skills at once. It is not surprising that candidates often find this the most demanding of the four tests. You need to be able to:
read the instructions and questions listen for general information listen for specific information write the answers as you listen for the answers to the questions that
follow.
PREDICTING Before each listening passage, in the time given to you to look at each section in the test booklet, you should try to predict information about the listening passage situation. The more effectively you can predict, the quicker your mind will form the correct word associations to make with the topic, and the better you will be able to work out the meaning of what you hear. A useful exercise for helping to develop the ability to predict is to play videos, taped news items on the TV, interviews on the radio etc. It is important to think about the words that you expect to hear . Write them down, and then check to see how many you guessed correctly.
T h e s e c r et t o i n c r e as i n g y o u r l i s t en i n g s k i l ls i s t o b e t t er p r e d i c t w h a t y o u m i g h t h e ar .
USE SHORTHAND FOR SPEED Y W RITING In the Listening Test, you are often required to listen for the next answer while writing down the answer to the previous question. It is one of the measures of effective listening - the examiners want to find out if you can comprehend what is said while attempting another task at the same time. To write down the answers more quickly, write only the first two or three letters of the answer that you hear. You can complete the words during the short period of time given to you after the passage has finished.
PRA CTICE FOR L ISTENING GAP FILLS Gap fill tasks are usually considered by candidates to be the most difficult of the IELTS listening tasks. Your grammatical knowledge is as important as your listening ability, for answers should be grammatically correct within the given sentences . The most common type of IELTS listening gap fill task requires you to listen to a passage of spoken English containing information concerning a particular topic or event. In the tests in this book both gap fill listening tasks are news items.
PRA CTICE FOR SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS The IELTS short-answer question tasks require you to listen to a passage of spoken English, often a conversation between two people, and choose words or phrases from the dialogue which best answer the given questions. It is good practice to listen to interviews and conversations with interesting persons on the TV or radio, and make brief notes from short excerpts of what you have chosen to listen to. The notes above make use of abbreviations underlining symbols (especially dashes, arrows and brackets). missing vowels etc.
Be aware, however, that your test answers , must not be in note form. This is for practice only. For practice, you can devise and use your own system of notetaking
SPECIFY THE TOPIC In a question which asks you to provide a short answer to a question, you should first accurately out the question topic in order to give the correct answer. Before the passage is played, or as you listen, circle the topic of each question.
SUMMING UP You should wait for the speaker to sum up before giving your short answer to a question.
STEP BY STEP Before you listen: Read the instructions carefully.
As you listen: Accurately specify the topic before choosing the keywords/phrases to
listen for, and be aware of the question changing. In the time given to you at the end of the short-answer questions: Make sure your words and numbers are easy to read. Guess the answers to unanswered questions - do not leave blanks. Check that your answers are given in grammatically correct English.
i.e. for answers that should be in plural form.
PRA CTICE FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS First, look at the ways in which answer choices may be incorrect: There is often at least one given answer choice that is neither sensible nor logical, and therefore, cannot be correct.
CONSIDER A LL THE CHOICES Do not forget to consider all of the possible answer choices. The last choice may be one of the following two types: "all of the above" ... answer choices are correct, or "none of the above" ... answer choices is correct. If you do not read the last choice given, and it asks you to consider all of the other choices as correct or incorrect answers, you might easily make a choice that only partly answers the question.
STEP BY STEP Before you listen: You need to understand what the topic of the talk or conversation is about so that you can predict what ideas and words you might hear. Therefore, read the instructions first. Once you have read the instructions, do not forget to look at the example.
Next, you should read the first question and all the possible answer choices to that question. By doing this, you will be prepared for the first question when the passage begins. Underline any keywords/phrases in the question and possible answer choices that you feel might help you in listening for the answer. Then, you should at least read the other questions for keywords
A s y o u l is t en : Carefully examine the answer choices for each question as you listen to the passage. Do not overlook "all (or none) of the above" answer choices. If in doubt, consider the longest answer after rejecting any illogical answers.
In t h e t im e g i v en t o y o u at t h e en d o f t h e m u l t i p l e c h o i c e questions: Check the choices you have made. Guess the answers to unanswered questions - do not leave blanks.
PRA CTICE FOR TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS The IELTS True/False question tasks require you to listen to a passage of spoken English, often informative talk or lecture, and choose whether given statements are supported or contradicted the passage.
must
ought to
don't have to
must not (mustn't)
never
should
not required to might
however
may
have to sometimes
should not (shouldn't) certainly prohibit*
necessary to
unnecessary to
can
cannot (can't) often
an exception is
will
need to
need not (needn't)
won't
it is optional
usually
on the other hand
but
strictly
could always it is possible
Id e n t if y a n y m o d i f y i n g o r q u a li f y in g w o r d s i n T r u e /F al s e q u e s t i o n t a s k s "100% WORDS“ Be especially careful of True/False type questions when the statements given include words such as " a l w a y s ", " n ever ", " m u st ", " h ave to ", " o n l y ", and " a ll ". Sometimes statements which make 100% claims are not further qualified in the same sentence, but are qualified a little later in the passage. Beware!
STEP BY STEP Before you listen: Read the instructions carefully. Always look at (and listen for) the example. As you listen:
Choose the keywords and topic to listen for and be aware of the question changing. Check the question statements carefully for modifying and qualifying words. Beware of question statements that contain words that imply 100%. If necessary, wait for the speaker to qualify what has been said.
More Hints: In Listening, use the example at the beginning of the first section to familiarize yourself with the sound, the situation, and the speakers. Keep listening until the recording stops, looking only at the questions that relate to the part being played. There are often pauses in the recording between different sections. Use these to prepare for the next set of questions.
Answer Listening questions in the order they appear on the Question Paper. Remember that they normally follow the order of the information in the recording. At the end of the recording you have some time to transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet. Check your grammar and spelling as you do so. The instructions may also include a word limit, e.g. Use no more than three words. Keep to this by avoiding unnecessary words in your answer.
Spelling is not important in the Listening Sub-test, except that you ust spell words correctly when they are spelt out for you on the pe.
Your answers need to be legible , that is, they must be able to be ad. This applies to all the types of answers you give: letters, numbers and hrases.
You write your answers on the question paper as you do the istening Sub test, and when it is completed, you have 10 minutes to ansfer them carefully onto the Answer Sheet. Make sure that each nswer is transferred accurately and is legible.
You must write your answers during the Reading Sub-test on the Answer Sheet provided
