Listening
I have always been aware that Listening is my weakness. Even in the paper-based TOEFL test where the questions are explicit, my Listening score was always the lowest compared to the two other sections. Unfortunately for me, the IELTS Listening section is more implicit. Oh, they are not all implicit; at the first and second parts, the questions are pretty explicit (as in you can actually hear the question stated). The problem lies in the third and last part, where paraphrases and changes in the sentence structure are everywhere.
When I was taking the course, I observed that most people start making mistakes in the last two parts. Of course, this is something that doesn't need to be observed--some of you must think "You don't say." Oddly enough, that was not the case for me. I made more or less the same amount of mistakes during the first two and the last two parts. Somehow I always missed that one bit where they stated the answer. It could be that I was too sleepy to concentrate, but if so, it was not something I can fix (except by getting enough sleep before the test). However, I'm not here to write about this.
If you are normal, unlike me, and are in the perfect condition to take the test, there are actually some things you can do to help your Listening section. The credit goes to my teachers, for sure, because I was not aware of this before they told me: the first thing you have to do is to make sure you understand what is asked by the task. What it asks for. When I was an English Studies student, it didn't matter how I write the answer as long as it is correct. On the contrary, in the IELTS test, it is important to follow the instruction precisely. This is basic know-how in life and at work, but this is so basic that sometimes we are careless about it. Or could it be that we just like to rebel because "rules are meant to be broken"?
Anyway, the second thing you have to do is to spot possible paraphrases and misguiding information. The one thing I like about the IELTS test is how the Listening section sounds natural, far more than the listening recordings I have listened to during my student days. As challenging as it is, I think it gives us an example of how real conversation takes place; how sometimes people do not straightforwardly say what we need to hear, or what information we need to get. Hence, the paraphrases and misguiding information.
Lastly, we have to pay attention to details. Again with the details! Details are extremely important in the IELTS test. That one -s/-es behind a plural noun can decide whether or not your answer is correct. You have to be so focused to avoid missing anything.
As I mentioned earlier, Listening section in any kind of test was always challenging for me. In the IELTS test, especially, I have to be able to think instead of 'wait' for the correct answer to be stated. It is three brain processes at once: actually listening to the recording, reading the questions, and spotting (desperately) the possible changes in the sentence structure/paraphrases. Still, I liked that the recordings resemble real talk. After all, we cannot expect to find people speaking in short, clear, and simple sentences abroad, amirite?
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| Taken from http://www.memegen.com/meme/pst8oo |
All in all, I believe you should remember to get enough sleep and be sharp on the day of the test. Those alone can be a big help for you. Aside from them, I also think that it is crucial for you to set the limit of the mistakes you can make. I know that we cannot know for sure whether or not our answers are correct, but at the very least, we can be sure of some answers. Once you make a certain amount of mistake (for me, it's five, although I hope I won't make that many mistakes on the real test), tell yourself that you must not make any more mistake. You can no longer afford to make mistakes. This kind of determination is what usually saves me. Somehow it makes me more focused.
My teacher shared some of the websites we can visit to improve our listening skills: TED, English Listening Lesson Library Online (ELLLO), English Central, and BBC Learning English. I haven't tried visiting BBC Learning English, but the other three are helpful. My favorite one so far is English Central because, on the video I opened, there were on-screen texts with difficult words on which we can click and whose definition we can read.
You may ask, can we just listen to English songs? The answer is no. People do not talk in musical notes all the time. Songs cannot help you in real conversation. However, I am sure songs help enriching our vocabulary (if we take the time to look up the meaning of the words). Anyway, instead of listening to songs, I believe watching movies and TV series without subtitles will help us more. Whereas the aforementioned websites help us with our academic lexical resource, movies and TV series help us with the daily vocabulary.
That is all I can write about the Listening section. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as it is helpful for you.
Till next time!
My teacher shared some of the websites we can visit to improve our listening skills: TED, English Listening Lesson Library Online (ELLLO), English Central, and BBC Learning English. I haven't tried visiting BBC Learning English, but the other three are helpful. My favorite one so far is English Central because, on the video I opened, there were on-screen texts with difficult words on which we can click and whose definition we can read.
You may ask, can we just listen to English songs? The answer is no. People do not talk in musical notes all the time. Songs cannot help you in real conversation. However, I am sure songs help enriching our vocabulary (if we take the time to look up the meaning of the words). Anyway, instead of listening to songs, I believe watching movies and TV series without subtitles will help us more. Whereas the aforementioned websites help us with our academic lexical resource, movies and TV series help us with the daily vocabulary.
That is all I can write about the Listening section. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as it is helpful for you.
Till next time!
