In this kind of listenings you don’t need to write a full sentence to give the correct answer.
Normally there is a maximum of three words to complete notes, statements or questions.
In these exercises it is very helpful to:
And don’t forget to read the completed sentences to make sure the words fit grammatically 🙂
PRACTICE 1
In a Multiple Choice Listening you need a bit of attention. In this kind
of listening exercises there are always words and expressions which are designed to distract students from the correct answer. If you don’t know about these distractors, you are likely to be misled by them and choose the wrong answer.
The most important thing in this kind of listening exercises is to read the questions carefully. You are always given some time to read through questions and answers, use that time. Listen very carefully to the details and make sure the answer you choose really matches what the question has asked you. It’s important to concentrate on understanding in detail .
♥Let’s look at an example
How long has Liz been snowboarding?
a. One year b. five years c. every year since she was a child.
The underlined words in the transcript all appear in the possible answers a, b or c, but only one answer is correct. The other words are distractors.
♥Read the transcript, choose the right answer and say why the other are not correct
I first did it when I was on holiday with my parents- When I was younger I used to go skiing every year with them and then one year I tried snowboarding and I haven’t skied since then. That was 5 years ago.
These extracts have been taken from Listening Comprehensions. The distractors are in bold. Read them and then answer the questions
A. My brother was so scared he couldn’t watch the film whereas I didn’t find it at all frightening. ♥Is the speaker frightened by the film?
B. Although most critics agreed that the film was her best ever , I was rather disappointed by her performance. ♥ Did the speaker love the film?
C. Although snow is now unlikely, we can expect a certain amount of rain later on. ♥ Does the speaker think it will rain or snow?
D. My daughter wanted me to help her with her homework but I told her to ask her mother. ♥ Did the speaker help his daughter?
E. Whereas in most of her other film she plays the “baddie” in this one he’s definitely the good guy. ♥ Does the speaker say the actor is the villain or the hero in the film?
Answers: A. no B. no C. rain D.no E. the hero
Now, let’s do some practice.
You will hear people talking in 8 different situations. For each question, choose the best answer.
In class, my students do a lot of mock speaking exams.
Picture description is fairly easy for the student to control as he is on his own, with no interference from the teacher and he can, to a certain extent, know in advance how he is going to structure his description. No worries here!
(See some useful guidelines and techniques for Picture Description here)
The Interaction between the teacher and the student is the part of the exam that causes more stress and anxiety. The student doesn’t know what he’s going to be asked about and sometimes students find it difficult to get started and gather their thoughts. Some students are very clever and very quick at organising the answer in their minds; I would say it comes naturally to them, while other students need more time to think of a coherent argument. Unfortunately, most students fall into the second category and they need all the advice we can offer them.
There are some techniques you can use to give yourself some time to think about what you are going to say, but I would advise you to use them in a sensible way and make sure you don’t answer every question with a filler, as you will certainly run the risk of sounding very unnatural.
♥Use the typical filler sounds:
-ah, mm, um, uh,
♥Repeat the question:
-” Umm … What would be my ideal job??? Well…”
♥Pretend you haven’t understood the question:
-” Could you repeat the question, please?”
-“Sorry, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat the question?”
♥Express a lack of opinion:
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about it!”
-“It’s difficult to say!”
-“I have never really thought about it!”
-“Well, I don’t know, but I think /people say…”
Hope it helps you!! And remember USE WITH CAUTION!
If you are studying, yes, “studying ” for the oral test, you might be interested in this other post. Tips to Score High in the Oral Test
Picture Description is an important part of the Oral Exam and it needs to be practised. Two weeks ago, I published a post containing Some Useful Guidelines and Techniques for Picture Description that you might want to read.
One of the things that you need to take into account when describing a picture is that you cannot be 100% sure what is happening in the picture. Therefore, you need to use appropriate language to show you are guessing. You have to speculate about the pictures For example: He is likely to / she’ll probably find it quite tough… etc
Some structures you can use:
Some modal verbs you can use.
Words like : perhaps, maybe…
Let’s listen to an example now.
You’ll hear a girl called Magda practising this part of the Speaking test
Source: Complete First Certificate by Cambridge
For better or for worse the course is coming to an end and exams are just here. I can almost see them beckoning me and you. I am ready, the question is … are you?
In the oral exam you’ll have to demonstrate your speaking skills as well as your ability to communicate and for this, it is essential that you practise… a lot.
Here are some Guidelines and Techniques to help you score a high mark in the Picture Description Part of the exam. I hope they are helpful!!
♥Click here to download the pdf
♥Click here to see the Slideshare
♥Click here to see the presentation mode of the Infographic below
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