VCE Languages: Exam Skills (all VCE languages) (Year 12) · Listening, Reading and Writing · 11m read

Listening Skills — Understanding Spoken Texts Under Exam Conditions

Listening is often the most challenging section. The right strategies — and lots of regular practice — make a big difference.

Learning objective: Use prediction, note-taking and inference strategies to understand spoken texts and answer questions accurately.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can predict content from questions before listening.
• I can take efficient notes in either language.
• I can infer attitudes, purpose and tone from spoken texts.

Listening is fishing for key words. You don’t need every word — you need the ones that answer the question.

Before, during and after

BEFORE: read questions carefully during reading time; underline question words (who, when, why, how many); predict vocabulary.

DURING: on the first hearing, get the gist and note key words, numbers, names and times; on later hearings, fill in details and check inferences.

INFERENCE: tone of voice, emphasis and word choice reveal ATTITUDE (enthusiastic, hesitant, critical) and PURPOSE (inform, persuade, complain, advise).

AFTER: answer in the language required by the question; be specific and complete.

PRACTICE SOURCES: podcasts, news, songs, YouTube channels and past VCAA listening tracks.

Worked example (Medium)

A question asks: "Why does the speaker recommend the train rather than the bus? Give two reasons." How do you listen?

1. Predict. Expect comparisons: faster, cheaper, more comfortable, scenic.
2. Listen for. Connectives such as "because", "but", "while" in the language.
3. Answer. Give two specific reasons, not general ones.

Answer: Predict comparison vocabulary, listen for reason connectives, and give two specific reasons (e.g. "it takes half the time" and "you can see the coast").

Common mistakes

• Writing down the first familiar word you hear Distractors are common. Fix: Listen to the whole sentence before deciding.
• Vague answers ("it’s better") Marks need specific details. Fix: Include who, what, when and why.

Practice questions

1. What should you do during reading time in the listening section?

   1. Start translating the questions word for word
   2. Read the questions and predict vocabulary
   3. Rest
   4. Write your writing task

   (1 marks)

2. Name two clues that help you infer a speaker’s attitude.

   (2 marks)

Summary

• Read and predict before listening.
• Gist first, details second.
• Infer attitude and purpose from tone and word choice.
• Practise briefly every day.