Academic English: Listening For Meaning

Summary

In this educational video, Ai-Lin teaches the art of listening for meaning, guiding viewers through predicting content, understanding listening purposes, and identifying key information. She explains how to use titles and pictures to anticipate vocabulary, activate relevant grammar, and focus on necessary details for comprehension exercises or information gathering. Signposts, intonation, and repeated terms are highlighted as crucial for grasping the speaker's message. A train announcement example illustrates the process, encouraging practice for improved listening skills.

Takeaways

• 🔍 **Predictive Listening**: Before listening, predict what you might hear by looking at titles or pictures and activating related vocabulary and grammar.
• 🎯 **Purpose of Listening**: Understand the purpose of listening to know what information to focus on, whether it's for information gathering or for an assessment.
• 📚 **Familiarize with Question Types**: For comprehension exercises, know the types of questions like short answers, fill in the blanks, true/false/not given, and multiple choice.
• 🕒 **Time-Related Information**: When questions start with 'when', listen for specific times, dates, or durations.
• 🔑 **Verb Identification**: In fill in the blank questions, identify parts of speech, such as verbs, that complete the sentence.
• 🗣️ **Sentence Structure Awareness**: Recognize sentence structures to understand what makes a statement true or false.
• ❌ **Elimination Strategy**: For multiple choice questions, eliminate obviously incorrect answers to narrow down the options.
• 🚂 **Real-World Listening**: Apply listening skills to real-world scenarios, such as catching a train, by focusing on specific information.
• 🗣️ **Speaker Signposts**: Pay attention to signposts in speech, such as greetings, which indicate the beginning of a conversation.
• 📢 **Intonation and Emphasis**: Infer meaning from a speaker's intonation, volume, and repetition, which can highlight important information.
• ⏸ **Repeated Terms and Pauses**: Notice repeated terms and pauses as they may signal key points in the conversation.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is teaching how to listen for specific information, known as listening for meaning.

What is the first step in preparing to listen for meaning?

The first step is to look at the title or any pictures provided and start thinking of what vocabulary you are likely to hear.

How can you predict the grammar that will be used in a listening exercise?

You can predict the grammar by considering the context of the listening material; for example, a weather forecast will most likely use the future tense.

What are the two main purposes of listening mentioned in the script?

The two main purposes of listening are to get certain information or to do a listening comprehension exercise or assessment.

What types of comprehension questions are mentioned in the script?

The types of comprehension questions mentioned are short answers, fill in the blanks, true/false/not given, and multiple choice.

How can you use sentence structures to your advantage in a fill in the blank question?

Knowing sentence structures and parts of sentences is important to identify what type of word you need to listen for, such as a verb in the provided example.

What is the significance of 'signpost words' in the context of listening for meaning?

Signpost words are used by speakers to indicate where they are in their dialogue, helping listeners to follow along and understand the flow of the conversation.

How can you infer meaning from the intonation of a speaker's voice?

You can guess the meaning of words from the intonation by paying attention to louder words, which usually carry the most important information.

What are some cues for key points in a conversation or explanation?

Cues for key points include repeated terms and pauses, which can indicate the speaker wants to emphasize a particular point.

What is the purpose of listening to the train announcement example given in the script?

The purpose of listening to the train announcement is to find out when the train is departing and where to go to catch it.

What advice does the script give for improving listening skills?

The script advises to practice, practice, practice, and to expose oneself to different listening activities to improve listening skills.