Rules for Listening Comprehension
In doing listening comprehension task, there is a lot you can do to prepare yourself before the teacher plays the recording and you actually listen to the text. If you are well prepared before you even hear the first word of the text, you will do your task much better.
Do you feel nervous when you have a listening task? Look at the ideas and keep calm! The calmer you feel, the better you will understand.
Don't panic.
Take a few deep breaths.
Use your common sense.
It's important to know how many times you will listen to the text so make sure you ask your teacher.
In the listening task, you hear the text twice. The first time you should listen for general understanding and the second time for more specific information.
Don't worry if you don't hear all the answers the first time. Keep calm and listen for the answers the second time.
If you don't hear an answer, don't panic. Sometimes key information is repeated later in the audio.
You can also think about the context and choose/write an answer that makes sense. Use your common sense and guess – you might be right.
Reading is also very important in listening tasks. Use any extra time before you listen to the text to read the questions.
Always read the questions carefully.
Underline the key information in the question.
If there are options, read all the options carefully.
If the questions or options have numbers, dates, or keywords, say them to yourself. This will help you think about the way they sound.
If the options are pictures, look carefully at them and think about words to describe them in English. This will prepare you for words you might hear.
There are lots of different types of listening tasks, so you must make sure you understand the instructions for the task before the test begins.
What exactly do you have to do? Tick the correct answers? Put the pictures in order? Complete the gaps?
If you don't understand the task, ask your teacher before you listen.
While you listen, all your attention should be on listening, not working out what to do.
If the listening test is about a topic that you know something about, you can use this information to help you.
Look at the questions. What do you know about the topic? Anything you know about the topic, even in your own language, will help you.
Look at the pictures or headings. What information do they give you about the topic?
What vocabulary do you know about the topic? Predict which words might be in the listening.
Any ideas you have before you listen in English, or even in your own language, will help you understand.
Always look for clues to help you predict before you listen. Predict as much as possible and listen to confirm your predictions.
Knowing how many different voices you are going to hear will help you prepare before you listen to the text. There is sometimes information in the question, which will give you an idea of who is speaking, and you can start to imagine the scenario.
How many speakers are there? Look at the instructions. Is it a dialogue? A monologue?
Is it an interview? If so, the interviewer's questions may be the same as your questions. This will help you listen for the answer.
While you are listening to the text you need to concentrate 100%. This is not a time for looking out of the window or thinking about what you are going to have for lunch! The actual listening part of most tests is very short so try to focus only on the task.
While you are listening to the text you won't understand every word, and you don't need to. That's a fact! But it is important to know which words you need to understand so that you can complete the tasks.
You don't have to understand every word. Don't panic if you don't understand everything!
The first time you listen, just listen for the general idea or gist.
The important, keywords or ideas will be stressed. They are usually said louder and slower than other words.
The words that are not stressed are not usually as important as the words that are stressed.
In general, listen for the important, keywords. Even native speakers don't listen to every word!
What can you do while you're listening and you don't understand an important word? These tips will help you.
If you hear a word that you don't understand, but you think it's important, think about the context. Does it sound like another word that makes sense in that context?
Don't think about the word for too long. Continue listening to the rest of the text.
It's important to continue listening to the rest of the text so that you don't miss any more important information.
Sometimes keywords or ideas are repeated later in the audio, so listen out for the word or idea again.
Sometimes you might hear a word you know, but you don't recognize the pronunciation. Use the context to help you work out the word and remember that when people speak quickly they often use weak sounds, or drop sounds from a word.
Don't stop listening! If you don't understand part of the listening, don't panic! Continue listening to the next part. This is a very important skill when listening. Learn to move on and continue listening!
The context is the situation of the listening text. So this will give you a lot of extra information to help you in the test. The more you know about the situation, the easier it is to help you imagine the scene.
The context can help you think about what the speakers are saying. What do you know about the context?
If you hear a word you don't know, think about how it might relate to the context.
If you are not sure about an answer, use your common sense. What makes sense in the context?
Where are the speakers? Does the background noise give you any extra information?
You often have to spell words, understand numbers, dates and times in listening tests. These are things you can prepare for before the test.
Do you know the alphabet in English? Practice spelling words in English.
Do you know how to say different types of numbers in English? Learn how to say phone numbers, big numbers, fractions, etc.
Do you know how to say dates in English? Practice saying the date.
Do you know how to tell the time in English? Learn different ways of telling the time.
Being aware of words that use contracted or short forms will help you in listening tests.
We use a lot of contractions in spoken English. Listen carefully for contractions, e.g. 'd, 's, 'll, 've, etc.
It's amazing how much one sound can change the meaning of something. For example, compare 'I'll go' (the speaker will go) and 'I'd go' (the speaker is advising someone else to go).
Usually the context helps you work out which contraction is appropriate. For example, when talking about hopes and dreams, the contraction 'd (would) is common.
Check the question carefully for contractions.
We can get a lot of information from how something is said and the tone of voice that the speaker uses.
Listen to the intonation to help you understand the speakers' emotions and how they feel.
Do the speakers sound happy, sad, worried, frightened, annoyed, etc.?
Voices are often high to express strong emotion, e.g. when we are excited, happy, frightened or annoyed.
Voices are often low when we are bored or uninterested.
Understanding the emotions of the speakers will help you understand what they are saying.
Listening tests often ask questions about the speakers’ opinions. Listening for certain expressions will help you in this area.
Listen for language of opinions, e.g. In my view..., I believe..., I think..., I disagree that..., I can't stand..., I'm keen on...
Listen for reactions to help understand opinions, e.g. You're absolutely right! You're wrong! How awful! That's fantastic!, etc. They are often said with a high voice.
When the listening text has stopped you may think the exam is over, but there are still things you can do to get a few more points.
Read the questions again and check that your answers make sense.
Check the grammar, spelling and punctuation carefully.
Preparing for listening exams can be fun! Remember that the more you listen to English, the better you will be at listening tests and exams!
Listen to anything you can outside class in English. Songs, TV, films, video clips, the radio, podcasts... anything you are interested in.
Watch films in English with subtitles in English. If you listen and read English at the same time, this will help you hear the difference between the spelling of a word and its pronunciation.
Listen to songs and read the lyrics as you listen. Check out sites online where you can listen to songs and read the lyrics.
True or False?
Before you listen predict if the sentence is true or false. Listen to confirm.
Underline the keywords or information in the sentence.
Try changing the sentence into a question. It might help you listen for the right information. For example:
True or False: Cassie likes extreme sports. Change the sentence into a question: Does Cassie like extreme sports? Yes or No? Then listen for key information to confirm answers.
Key information is usually stressed.
Do you get negative points for wrong answers? If not, always answer all the questions, even if you guess. You have a 50% chance of being right!
Do you have to correct the false sentences? If so, make notes while you listen and write the correct sentence after you listen. Check the grammar, spelling and punctuation carefully after you listen, not while you listen.
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple choice answers is a popular type of task for listening exams. Multiple choice can be tricky, as there are often two possible answers that are quite similar.
Read all the options carefully before you listen and underline key words.
If the options have numbers or dates, say them to yourself to think about the way they sound before you listen.
Use your common sense to eliminate any options that are not possible.
If the A, B, C options are confusing, think about how you would answer the question in your own words. Then look again at the options. Which option is similar to your idea?
Listen for key information to confirm your answers. Key information is usually stressed.
Sometimes the speakers talk about all the options. Listen to all the audio before choosing the correct option. Don't choose the first option you hear.
Read the options again after you listen. Eliminate options you are certain are wrong.
Do you get negative points for wrong answers? If not, always answer all the questions, even if you guess.
Open Answer Questions
Open answer questions can be difficult, but these tips will help you.
Read the questions and underline the important information you need to listen for.
Write the numbers for the questions before you listen. Write notes next to the right number as you listen.
Just write down key words. Don't try and write complete, perfect sentences while you listen.
Write the key words quickly, even if they are incomplete.
Write abbreviations, not complete words, e.g. info (not information), Eng (not English), etc.
Don't worry about spelling while you listen. You can correct spelling later.
Listening time is to concentrate on what you can hear, not on your writing.
Complete the Sentence Task
Sometimes you may be asked to complete a set of notes in a listening exam. This is a type of gap-fill. These tips will help you to do your best in this type of exam.
Look at the notes before you listen. What information is missing? A noun? A verb? A number? A date? A name?
Predict what information you need and listen to confirm.
Just write down key words while you listen, not all words.
Just write notes while you listen, not complete, perfect sentences.
Write the key words quickly.
Write abbreviations, not complete words, e.g. info (not information), Eng (not English), etc.
Don't worry about spelling while you listen. You can correct spelling later.