Listening in

Formal/
Academic
Contexts

DIFFERENT PURPOSES IN
LISTENING
Listening for enjoyment-easiest of all
(music, TV, radio); requires little
mental involvement
Listening for information- requires
more concentration; expected to
retain info.
listening for information as well as
analyzing and evaluating it
listening with attention to details that
give you clues to the speakers

 Problems students often face when

listening to lectures:
decoding or recognising what has been
said;
comprehending, i.e. understanding the
main and subordinate points delivered;
taking notes or writing down quickly,
briefly and clearly, the main points
presented for future reference.
lecturing style of lecturer (reading style,
conversational style, rhetorical style)

Reading Style

Conversational Style
Lecturers
presentation or
lecturing styles

Rhetorical Style

memorisation

rote learning

read aloud
techniques

chalk and talk

Other lecturing
styles
give and talk

report and discuss

stress, intonation,
pauses

vocal

use of relative
clauses or other
supporting
clauses

logical
connectors,
underlining
Cues to indicate important ideas
number, and
other phrases

Use of macro and

micros markers

Cues to indicate
important ideas

Segmentati Tempora
on
l

Causal

Contrast

Emphasis

Well

At that
moment

So

Both

Of course

Ok

And

Then

But

You can
see

now

After this

Because

Only

You see

And

For the
moment

In view of
that

On the
other
hand

Actually

Right

Eventuall
y

Therefore

However

Obviously

All right

Then

As a result

Unbelievab
ly

consequentl
y

As you
know

Examples of Micros
What Im going to talk about today is
something that you probably already know ...
What [had] happened [then/after that] was
[that] ...
Well see that ...
That/This is why ...
To begin with ...
Another interesting development was that...
This/that was how...

LISTENING FOR
SEQUENCE IN IDEAS
listen to the opening part of a talk
listening to how the speaker links
her ideas together
listen for key words in the sequence
of ideas (firstly, in addition)
listen to the conclusion, which will
restate the main points in the same
way as the introduction

LISTENING FOR SPECIFIC LANGUAGE

CUES
TO UNDERSTAND FACTS AND
OPINIONS

There are cues such as words,

phrases which can help you
determine the difference
between facts and opinions.

Facts
Facts are objective (i.e., they can be
proven);
Facts include statistical data,
reports of observation and
examples of actual events and
happenings
Facts used phrases such as In fact,
according to, as a matter of fact

Opinions
opinions are subjective (i.e.,
they express a preference or
bias
Opinions used phrases such
as I believe, in my opinion,
in my view, I think

LISTENING FOR MEANING

FROM
INTONATION
Intonation refers to the use of
melody and the rise and fall of
the voice when speaking.
There are two types:
Falling intonation
Rising intonation

Falling Intonation
Usually used with
positive statements and
declarative sentences
Higher in pitch and slight fall
in intonation

used in answers
commands
certain types of questions
seeking information
seeking agreement
seeking between choices
Falling
Intonation

 I am playing football
You are standing up
They are running

 David plays the piano

I hope you can come
tomorrow
We've forgotten the milk

Rising Intonation
Accompanying statements
expressing doubts, or yes/no
questions
Rising tone indicate
politeness and uncertainty

Yes/No Questions

seeking for
assurance
or
information

request for
repetition

Rising
Rising
Intonation
Intonation

LISTENING TO TAKE NOTES

listening to lectures or
presentations requires one to
get the main ideas and
supporting details;
demands ones concentration
and the ability to take notes
over a lengthy period.

 Lectures are full of contain

incomplete sentences, pauses,
and verbal fillers, organisational
cues, rhetorical questions,
definitions, conclusions and
inferences made.

Verbal Fillers
sounds or words that are spoken
to fill up gaps in utterances
Uh...
You know...
Hmm...
I mean...
Its like...

Organisational Cues
Cues which are given to help the
listener understand the order,
sequence, or relationship of the
information in the lecture:
The topic is
First of all
Then,
In conclusion
To recap
To go back over

Rhetorical Questions
A question to which no answer is
expected, often used for rhetorical effect.
Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would
want to live in an institution?
If practice makes perfect, and no one's perfect,
then why practice?
What's the matter with you?