LISTENING Chapter 2

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Listen for directions and descriptions of places.

• Understand information based on direction and movement words.

• Follow the steps involved in an action or a process.

• Practise strategies for answering Map Labelling, Flow-chart Completion and Note Completion

questions.

Introduction

The second Listening recording you will hear is usually a monologue set in a real-life context, often involving directions, a description of a place, event, organisation or process.

It is likely that the speaker in the Listening recording will describe an event or process that you are already familiar with, such_ as starting at a new school or college.

The most common types of question formats in this section are Map or Diagram Labelling, Flow-chart

Completion and Note Completion Questions.

If you want to get an overall IELTS Band Score of 5.5 or above you, need to get all or most of the questions in this section correct.

MAP LABELLING QUESTIONS

Strategies

•• Check if it's a fill-in map (numbered blanks in the map) or a matching map (letters in the map).

• Look for any information on the map that will help you to find your way.

• Keep an eye on the list of labels - they will be listed in the order you will hear them in the

recording.

• Use the features on the map to help you to find your way.

Improve Your Score - Direction and Movement Words
Directions can be difficult if you are looking at a map of an area you don't know. Because of

this, it is important to look carefully at all of the information on the map: does it include main

roads or landmarks such as important buildings, stations or parks? These can be very useful

when you are following the directions given in the listening.

1. Look at the map of New Town. Ten important places are missing from the map.

Read the ten directions below to identify where they are.

1. To get to the courthouse from the train station, you leave the train station

and go down King Avenue. Take the second left along Spruce Street. The

courthouse is on your left.

2. I'm at the city hall, and I need to go to the pharmacy. I take Hill Street and

then turn right into Victoria Avenue. The pharmacy is on the corner with Bay

Street.

3. To get to Maison Blanche from Retro Records, turn right from Spruce Street

into Victoria Avenue and go straight past Hill Street to the far end of Victoria

Avenue. You will find Maison Blanche on the corner with Bay Street.

4. From the Post Office, you can get to Canoe Coffee by going all the way down

York Avenue to Spruce Street and turn right. Canoe Coffee is on the corner of

Spruce Street and King Avenue, beside Mia's Pizza.

5. The hospital is quite close to the high school. It is a block away at the

junction of King Avenue and Bay Street.

6. How do I get to the fitness centre from the city hall? It's also on York Avenue,

on the other side of Bay Street from the Post Office.

7. To get to the department store from the zoo, you can take either King Avenue

or Victoria Avenue. Go past Hill Street, and the department store is on Spruce

Street, between the two avenues.

8. Where do I park my car if I'm going to the train station? Oh, that's easy, the

public parking is adjacent to the station.

9. The dance studio is in the same block as the pub, but it is across the street

from the police station

10. I've got tickets for the cinema and I'm arriving by train, so I need to take King

Avenue and then take the second left into Spruce Street. The cinema is on

the other side of Victoria Avenue, next to Retro Records.

2. Now, underline all of the key 'direction words and phrases.'

Being able to understand the meaning of all these expressions is a key skill for Map

Labelling Questions, so you should make sure that you know them all.

Getting Ready to Listen

Before listening to the recording, look over questions 1-5 below and take 30 seconds to

answer the questions a-d. Then, take a moment to review the answers for a-d at the back

of the book before listening to the recording.

a. How many numbers can you write for any answer?

b. Is there a train station on the map?

c. What is different about the blank for question 3?

d. What are the most important places a new student needs to know about?

Listen

Now listen to the recording and fill in the answers to questions 1-5 in the map below.

Remember that in the IELTS test, you can make notes on the map before you write your

answers on the answer sheet.

Track 5 (Shipsbury)

Questions 1-5

Label the map below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Check your answers for questions 1-5. How did you do? Hopefully you were able to anticipate

which part of the map to look at before the answers for the next question were given in the

recording. This is a skill you must practise, and it is an essential use of the 30 seconds to

review each new map in the test paper.

Improve Your Score

When you encounter a set of Map Labelling questions, it is important to ask yourself during

the 30 second thinking time: 'Where on the map will the recording start?'

Look at the map above again and identify the two clues that indicate where the recording

will start.

Practice

Getting Ready to Listen

Before listening to the second part of the recording, look over questions 6-10 below and

take 30 seconds to answer the questions a-c. Then, take a moment to review the answers

for a-c at the back of the book before listening to the recording.

a. How is this map different from the one above?

b. What are some of the challenges of answering the questions here?

c. What must you remember about the numbering of the questions?

Listen

Track 6 (Shipsbury)

Questions 6-1 O

Practice

6. town hall ............. .

7. supermarket ............. .

8. post office ............. .

9. primary school ............. .

10. Wok 'n' Roll ............. .

Listening for Detail

1. Listen again and for each answer (6-10), note down the key phrase and underline

the direction and movement words that you hear in the recording.

2. What do you notice about the position of the direction and movement words

within each sentence?

Improve Your Score

It is important to learn which direction words to use when places are on the same side or

different sides of the street.

Mark the following phrases 'S' for the same side and 'D' for different sides

a. next to

b. between

c. opposite

d. just beside

e. straight across

f. on the other side

A clever TIP

Look carefully at the map and identify the key reference points. If there

are numbers on the map, find the reference point nearest to the first

question to locate the 'start point'.

Getting Ready to Listen

Before listening to the recording, look over questions 1-8 below and take 30 seconds to

answer the questions a-f. Then, take a moment to review the answers for a-f at the back

of the book before listening to the recording.

a. Can you write a number for any answer?

b. Can you write three words for any answer?

c. How many stages are there to the process?

d. Which three of the questions have verbs or verb forms as answers?

e. Which one of the questions has an adjective as an answer?

f. Predict what you think the answer to question 1 will be. What information did you

use to help with your prediction?

Listen

Now listen to the recording and fill in the answers to questions 1-8 in the flow-chart.

Track 7 (In the Kitchen)

Questions 1-8

Complete the flow-chart below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

Take a moment to check the answers in the back of the book. Was your prediction for

question 1 correct?

Did you spell all the answers correctly?

Improve Your Score - Spelling Verbs

In both the listening and the reading tests you only get a point if you spell the answer correctly.

So if you wrote 'stiring' for question 4, although you got the idea correct, because the spelling

was wrong you would not get the point.

It is useful to know when we double the final consonant at the end of the verb.

1. Complete the following rules with either double or do not double:

1. If a verb ends in a single consonant and the stress falls on the final syllable you ______ the final consonant.

2. If a verb ends in a single consonant and the stress does not fall on the final syllable you ______ the final consonant.

3. If a verb is one syllable and ends in a single consonant with a single vowel before it, you _____ the final consonant.

4. If a verb ends in a single consonant with two vowels before it, usually you would ________ the final consonant.

2. Now practice by writing the -ing form of the following verbs:

1. admit 5. refer

2. hit 6. visit

3. tour 7. heal

4. cater 8. stop

It is useful to know when we double the final consonant at the end of the verb.

Improve Your Score - Compound Nouns

A compound noun is when two or more words are written together to form a third, different,

noun. For example, in your language, you may say 'the leg of the table'. However in English

we say 'table leg'. There are a lot of compound nouns in English and we use them frequentJy.

They are especially important in Academic Writing tasks, as they enable you to include a lot of

information in a few words.

Being able to recognise and use compound nouns in your IELTS exam will help you improve

your band score.

1. Look back at the answers to the listening. Which two answers are compound

nouns?

There are three ways we can write compound nouns:

1. As one word: saucepan

2. As two or more words joined by a hyphen: sister-in-law

3. As two words separately: table leg

2. Write these compound nouns in their correct forms

A break down

B check in

C word processing

D middle class

E T shirt

F work out

G some where

H post office

It is important to be aware of common compound nouns and to know how they are written. This could make a difference in some Listening questions

A clever TIP

Being able to recognise compound nouns is an essential skill for both the Listening and Reading tests. Additionally, being able to use compound nouns effectively both in your writing and your speaking tests will help you improve your score. IELTS Writing examiners and speaking interviewers will look out for compound nouns as a sign of your English level. As such, it is worth spending some time reviewing compound nouns.

NOTE COMPLETION QUESTIONS

Strategies

• Check how many words or numbers you can include in each answer.

• Predict what sort of information you will need for each blank.

• Look for clues that will tell you what to listen for, and when to move on to the next part

of the notes.

Practice

Listen

Now that you have had some practice of the different type of questions it's time to do a

complete IELTS listening set of 10 questions. In this exercise, you will complete a full

listening recording and answer all 10 questions just as you would on Test Day. Thus, there are

no questions to answer before you begin the recording.

Track 8 (Village fete)

Questions 1-5

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Questions 6-1 O

Label the plan below.

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

6 Raffle ............. .

7 Face painting .•............

8 Band stand ............. .

9 Kids' games ............. .

10 Egg and spoon race ............. .

Now check your answers. How did you do?

1. Did you write the answers to questions 1 and 4 as words or numbers? Which do you think is best and why?

2. Why did you have to include the£ sign?

3. In the second part, did you write on the map what F and B are? What are they?

4. Why is it a good idea to write on the map all the places you can identify, even if they are not one of the questions?

Takeaway

In this section we've looked at Map labelling, flow chart and note completion questions.

Which parts of this section did you find most useful?

What have you learned that you will be able to use on Test Day?

A clever TIP

If you are not confident with reading maps you can practise by looking at online maps. Start by looking at maps of areas you know well so that you can relate the map to the real streets.

Practise giving directions to places as if a visitor was asking you. Then when you are comfortable with that you can start looking at maps of places you don't know

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse