Increase vocabulary by listening to and reading English every day.
Listening for Basic Understanding
Focus on the content and flow of spoken material. Do not be distracted by the speaker's style and delivery.
Listening for Basic Understanding
Anticipate what a person is going to say as a way to stay focused.
Listening for Basic Understanding
Stay active by asking yourself questions (for example, what is the main idea that the professor is communicating?).
Listening for Basic Understanding
As an exercise NOT IN THE TEST: On sections of a piece of paper, make column headings labeled "Main Idea," "Major Points," and "Important Details." Listen carefully, and take notes while listening.
Listening for Basic Understanding
As an exercise NOT IN THE TEST: Listen carefully, and take notes while listening. Continue listening until all important points and details are written down, and then review them.
Listening for Basic Understanding
Listen to a portion of a lecture or talk and create an outline of important points. Use the outline to write a brief summary. Gradually increase the amount of the presentation you use to write the summary.
Listening for Basic Understanding
Think about what each speaker hopes to accomplish. What is the purpose of the speech or conversation? Is the speaker apologizing, complaining, or making suggestions?
Listening for Details
Notice each speaker's style. Is the language formal or casual? Is the speaker's voice calm or emotional?
Listening for Details
What does the speaker's tone of voice tell you?
Listening for Details
Notice the speaker's degree of certainty. How sure is the speaker about the information? Does the speaker's tone of voice indicate something about his or her degree of certainty?
Listening for Details
Watch a recorded TV or movie comedy. Pay careful attention to the way stress and intonation patterns are used to convey meaning.
Listening for Details
When listening to a lecture, think about how the information is organized. Listen for signal words that indicate the introduction, major steps or ideas, examples, and the conclusion or summary.
Listening for Details
Words and phrases such as "first," "for instance," "next," and "finally" indicate the progression of ideas in a lecture.
Listening for Details
Identify the relationships between ideas. Possible relationships include cause / effect, compare / contrast, and steps in a process.
Listening for Details
Words and phrases such as "however," "on the other hand," and "in addition" indicate the relationship between concepts.
Listening for Details
