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Pre-Listening Activities: Prediction

Pre-listening activities are essential to improve your IELTS listening skills and to improve your score in the test.

This lesson is about predicting the answers in the IELTS listening test. This skill is an important one to learn as it helps you to get the correct answer.

In this lesson we will look at it in relation to a 'Note Completion' task, which you will often see in Section 1, the easiest part of the test.

Prediction though can be used for any type of question where you have to fill in a gap, so it can apply to other parts of the test.

Pre-Listening Activities Practice

Before each listening section, you have some time to look at the questions.

You should use this time to look through the questions and get an idea of what you are going to be listening for and when it is a gap filling exercise you should try to predict the types of thing you need to be listening for.

This will help with your listening ability.

Take a look at the notes on Library Membership, and try to predict the information that you may need.

Which questions may need:

a) a number?

b) a name (of a person)?

c) a place?

d) a date or day/month/year?

e) another word?

In order to prepare you for the listening, write a letter ( a, b, c, d, or e) in the box to indicate what type of information you think you will hear:

Library Membership

Minimum joining age: 18 years

For registration must take:

  • Two (1) and
  • Two forms of ID e.g. driving licence (2)

Cost to join per year (without current student card: (3)

Number of items allowed: (member of public) (4)

Loan Times: four weeks

Fines start at: (5) £

________________

Computers can be booked up to (6) hours in advance

Library holds most national papers, (7) , and magazines

Need (8) to use photocopier

Creative Writing Class

Tutor is John (9)

Held on (10) evenings

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Predicting Other Words

It is not just though about guessing whether it is a number, name etc. You should also try to predict what some of the 'other words' will be.

You may find you can guess some correctly without even listening (though of course you must listen to check you are right!).

For example, in question (1) you need two of something along with the ID for registration. What do you often need to take 'two of' to register for something? You should be able to guess.

Or for question (2) it will be another form of ID. What kind of things can you use for ID apart from a driving licence?

Again, you should be able to guess some possibilties without even listening.

Beware of Distractors!

Unfortunately it is never going to be made too simple for you as the aim is to separate those with weaker skills from those with stronger skills.

As was explained in another lesson, you need to always be aware of IELTS listening distractors. For most questions, you are likely to hear two or more possibilities for the answer.

For example, in question (3) you are looking for the cost without a current student card. That means you are very likely to hear the cost with one as well. So you need to listen carefully to get the right one.

Again, in question (4) you are asked about the number of items allowed for a member of the public. So there is probably a different number for a student. You need to get the right number.

This will be true of probably many of the questions - you will hear more than one choice but only one will be correct.

If you knew a number was coming up and there was just one number given, it would be too easy!

Practice 1

Now take a listen and try to answer the questions. Remember:

  • read the instructions carefully for the word/number limits for each question
  • write the words exactly as you hear them (don't change them)
  • make sure your spelling is correct

Questions 1-10

Complete the Notes Below

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

(Note: you would normally have some time to look at the questions but this is not included here because you have already had time to do this).

Library Membership



Minimum joining age: 18 years

For registration must take:

  • Two (1) and
  • Two forms of ID e.g. driving licence (2)

Cost to join per year (without current student card: (3)

Number of items allowed: (member of public) (4)

Loan Times: four weeks

Fines start at: (5) £

________________

Computers can be booked up to (6) hours in advance

Library holds most national papers, (7) and magazines

Need (8) to use photocopier

Creative Writing Class

Tutor is John (9)

Held on (10) evenings

Show / hide answers

 

Practice 2

Here is a chance to practice some more.

Following what you learned above, try this note completion. Remember:

  • read the instructions
  • use the time you are given at the beginning to look at the questions and predict what you are going to hear
  • beware of distractors
  • use the exact words you hear
  • use correct spelling

Questions 1-10

Complete the Notes Below

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Minton's Car Mart



Make: Lida

Engine size: (1)

Model: Max

Type of gears: (2)

Preferred colour: (3) blue

FINANCE

Customer wishes to arrange (4)

________________

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name: (5) Wendy

Title: (6)

Address: 20 Green Banks, (7) , Hampshire

Post Code: GU8 9EW

Contact Number: (8) (for only) 0798 257643

CURRENT CAR

Make: Conti

Model: Name (9) , Year: 1994

Mileage: Maximum 70,000

Colour: metalic grey

Condition (10)


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