Listening for details
In class we focus on listening to understand the general story, and listening for specific information.
Sometimes it helps to listen very carefully to every word and try to write down what you hear. So this is what you are going to do in these activities.
Activity A – First of all click here to listen to these sentences, and decide which you hear first – a or b. You may need to listen several times to check you have the correct answer.
1. a) She’s made it. b) She made it.
2. a) He’d started it. b) He started it.
3. a) You’re taught it. b) You taught it.
4. a) I’ve lost it. b) I lost it.
5. a) We’ll watch it. b) We watch it.
6. a) I won’t buy it. b) I want to buy it.
Activity B – Now click here to listen to some different sentences, and write down what you can hear. You will hear each sentence twice. However, you may need to listen several times to help you write down all the words.
If you think this helps your listening, why don’t you record some speaking from the TV or internet videos (news programs are good) and try to write down everything. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand every word because you can still guess the general meaning. It will also help you to learn new words.