Listening

Listening for gist (global understanding)

This subskill means listening to get the main idea or overall meaning of a text, without worrying about every detail. Learners focus on the big picture.

Classroom activity: The teacher plays a 30-second clip of a conversation. Students answer the question: “What are they talking about?” (holiday, homework, food, etc.).

Example: When listening to a news bulletin, a learner may only need to understand that there was a flood in the city, not the exact number of people affected.

Listening for specific information

Here, the goal is to listen for key facts such as names, dates, times, or numbers. Learners do not need to understand everything, only the required details.

Classroom activity: Students listen to an airport announcement and write down the departure gate for a flight.

Example: Listening to a weather forecast and identifying tomorrow’s temperature or the time rain is expected.

Listening for detail

In this subskill, learners try to understand every important piece of information in the text. It requires careful and concentrated listening.

Classroom activity: Students listen to a recipe and write down all the ingredients and steps in the correct order.

Example: Listening carefully to exam instructions to make sure they know how many questions to answer and how much time they have.

Listening to infer attitude

This subskill means understanding the feelings, attitudes, or emotions behind what is said. Learners use tone of voice, stress, and intonation to catch meaning beyond words.

Classroom activity: Students listen to short dialogues and decide if the speakers are happy, bored, excited, or angry.

Example: If a student hears “Oh, great…” in a flat, annoyed tone, they understand that the speaker is not happy, even though the words sound positive.

Intensive listening

Intensive listening is short, focused listening practice. It is usually done in the classroom and often looks at language form—pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary. The aim is accuracy.

Classroom activity: The teacher plays minimal pairs such as “ship/sheep” or “bat/bet”, and students identify the correct word.

Example: Listening to a 2-minute recording to notice how speakers link sounds in connected speech (e.g., “Did you” → “Didja”).

Extensive listening

Extensive listening is longer, more relaxed listening, usually outside the classroom. The goal is to build fluency, enjoyment, and confidence. Learners focus on general understanding, not small details.

Classroom activity: Students choose a song, TV series, or short story in English and later share with the class what they enjoyed about it.

Example: Listening to an audiobook or podcast while travelling, without trying to understand every word.

Speed of delivery

Speakers do not all speak at the same pace. Some people talk quickly with very few pauses, while others speak more slowly and clearly. Fast speech can be difficult for learners because words often get connected, shortened, or dropped. For example, “What do you want to do?” may sound like “Whaddya wanna do?” in fast conversation. Learners need practice in listening to both slow, careful speech (often used by teachers or in recordings for learners) and faster, natural speech (used in real life).

Classroom strategy: Play the same recording at normal speed first for gist, then again for detail. This helps students get used to listening to natural pace without feeling discouraged.

Accents

English is spoken all over the world, and it comes with many different accents—regional (British, American, Australian), as well as global varieties from non-native speakers. Learners may find unfamiliar accents hard to understand at first because pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation can vary. For example, the word “water” might sound like /ˈwɔːtə/ in British English or /ˈwɑːtɚ/ in American English. Exposure to different accents helps learners build confidence for real-world communication.

Classroom strategy: Use recordings from different English varieties (radio, podcasts, interviews) so learners hear English in many forms.

Interaction patterns

Listening is affected by the type of communication taking place. A one-to-one conversation is often easier to follow because it has a clear exchange between two speakers. Group discussions can be harder because several people may talk at once, interrupt each other, or switch topics quickly. Monologues, such as lectures or speeches, place a heavy load on memory because the listener must follow one speaker for a long time without much interaction.

Classroom strategy: Give learners practice with all interaction patterns—short dialogues, group discussions, and longer monologues—so they can adapt to different listening demands.

Context and world knowledge

Listeners use what they already know about the world to help them understand messages. If a learner hears “Fasten your seatbelts, please” on an airplane, they understand the meaning even if they do not know every word, because they recognise the context. Context provides clues through setting, topic, body language, and cultural knowledge. Without context, listening becomes much harder.

Classroom strategy: Always set the scene before a listening task. For example, show a picture, ask a prediction question, or brainstorm what learners already know about the topic. This activates their background knowledge and makes listening easier.

Pre-listening

The pre-listening stage prepares students before they hear the text. Without preparation, many learners may feel lost or overwhelmed when they listen, especially if the recording is authentic or fast. Pre-listening activities reduce anxiety and give students the tools they need to succeed.

Main purposes of pre-listening:

• Activate world knowledge: Learners bring what they already know about the topic into the lesson. This makes it easier to predict content and fill in gaps when listening.
• Pre-teach blocking vocabulary: Teachers introduce a small number of key words or phrases that are essential for understanding. This is not about teaching every unknown word, but about removing the “roadblocks” that would stop comprehension.
• Set a purpose for listening: Learners need to know why they are listening and what they should focus on—whether it’s gist, detail, or specific information.

Examples of pre-listening activities:

• Brainstorming ideas on the topic (e.g., foods for a recipe, places for a holiday, methods of transport).
• Showing a picture or short video clip and asking prediction questions.
• Discussing personal experiences related to the topic.
• Matching a few key words to pictures before the listening.

Classroom example: Before playing a recipe video, the teacher asks learners to brainstorm kitchen vocabulary (e.g., knife, onion, fry, boil). Learners also predict what kind of dish might be prepared. This way, they are ready to understand the listening text.

While-listening

The while-listening stage is the core of the lesson. Here, learners listen to the text, usually more than once, with tasks that guide them to focus on different subskills.

Main purposes of while-listening:

• Develop listening subskills: Teachers design tasks that practise gist listening, listening for specific information, detail, or inference of attitude.
• Move from general to specific: The first listening should usually focus on general meaning (gist), and later listenings can focus on details. This builds confidence and encourages learners not to panic if they miss words.
• Encourage active listening: By giving learners a task (e.g., tick boxes, order pictures, answer questions), teachers help them stay engaged rather than passively hearing sounds.

Examples of while-listening activities:

• Listening once for gist and choosing the best title for the text.
• Listening again to complete a chart, table, or notes.
• Listening for specific numbers, times, or names.
• Identifying speakers’ attitudes (angry, happy, uncertain).

Classroom example: Learners listen to the recipe video for the first time to answer the question: “What dish is being cooked?” On the second listening, they note down the ingredients and the steps in the correct order.

Post-listening

The post-listening stage allows learners to go beyond comprehension and use the information or language they heard in a communicative way. This helps to connect the text to learners’ own lives and gives them practice in speaking or writing.

Main purposes of post-listening:

• Personalise the topic: Learners relate the text to their own experiences and opinions.
• Encourage language production: The text becomes a springboard for speaking or writing activities.
• Reinforce vocabulary and grammar: Learners reuse language from the text, which strengthens memory.

Examples of post-listening activities:

• Discussing opinions or experiences related to the topic.
• Retelling the story or information in their own words.
• Role-playing a similar situation.
• Writing a short paragraph about the topic.

Classroom example: After watching the recipe video, learners work in pairs to share their favourite dishes and compare how they are cooked in their families. They may even role-play giving each other instructions on how to prepare a meal.

TKT Unit 7:
Practice Task 1

Instructions:
For questions 1–7, match each listening task (1–7) with the correct listening subskill (A–G). Each option is used once only.

Listening Subskills

A. Listening for gist
B. Listening for specific information
C. Listening for detail
D. Listening to infer attitude
E. Listening extensively
F. Listening intensively
G. Listening to predict content

Listening Tasks

1. Students listen to a short dialogue and decide if the speakers are angry, excited, or bored.
2. Learners listen to a weather forecast to note down the temperature in different cities.
3. Students hear a news report and summarise it in one sentence.
4. Learners listen to exam instructions to find out the number of questions they must answer.
5. Students listen to an interview and describe the speaker’s feelings based on tone of voice.
6. Learners listen to a recipe and write down every ingredient and cooking step.
7. Students listen to a short story and identify whether the main theme is about friendship or family.

TKT Unit 7:
Practice Task 2

Instructions:
For questions 1–7, match each the text types (A–G) with the descriptions (1–7). Each option is used once only.

Descriptions

A. Usually short and focuses on giving clear factual information.
B. Often informal, may include hesitations and unfinished sentences.
C. Long and structured, often academic, with subject-specific vocabulary.
D. Persuasive, designed to influence people, often repeated or exaggerated.
E. Organised as a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
F. Step-by-step, usually using imperatives to explain how to do something.
G. Relaxed listening material chosen for enjoyment.

Text Types

1. A train station announcement.
2. A group of friends deciding what to do on the weekend.
3. A short advertisement for a new smartphone on television.
4. A science lecture explaining photosynthesis.
5. A teacher telling a story about their childhood.
6. A cooking recipe with step-by-step instructions.
7. A political campaign video.

TKT Unit 7:
Practice Task 3

Instructions:
For questions 1–7, match each situation (1–7) with the affecting factor (A–G). Each option is used once only.

Affecting Factors

A. Speed of delivery
B. Accents
C. Interaction patterns
D. Context and world knowledge
E. Background noise
F. Learner’s vocabulary knowledge
G. Listener’s level of motivation

Situations

1. A student cannot follow a lecture because the speaker continues for 20 minutes without pauses or interaction.
2. Learners understand “Fasten your seatbelts” on an airplane even if they miss some words.
3. A student struggles with an American recording because they are used to British English pronunciation.
4. Learners listen to a group discussion but get confused when several people speak at the same time.
5. A student cannot keep up because the speaker is talking very quickly and linking words together.
6. Learners easily follow their teacher’s instructions in class because they already know what to expect.
7. A student tries to listen to a podcast but gives up halfway because they lose interest.

Textbooks

1. How to Teach Listening by J. J. Wilson (Pearson Longman, How to Teach series)
   A practical guide for teachers with classroom techniques, lesson planning tips, and many examples of authentic vs graded listening tasks.
2. Teaching Listening and Speaking by Jack C. Richards (Cambridge)
   • Focuses on integrating listening with speaking activities, includes real-world examples, and highlights factors that affect listening.
3. Practical English Language Teaching: Listening by David Nunan (McGraw-Hill)
   • A classroom-focused text showing how to design effective listening activities and assessments.
4. Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill (Macmillan)
   While mainly about pronunciation, it helps teachers understand features of spoken language (connected speech, stress, intonation) which are central to listening.

Online Resources

1. BBC Learning English – Listen & Watch
   – Provides authentic videos, radio-style listening, and comprehension tasks at different levels. Excellent for exposure to different accents.
2. ESLPod
   – Features podcasts for English learners with clear speech, explanations, and useful vocabulary review.
3. Elllo Listening
   – Free audio and video lessons with transcripts, quizzes, and a wide variety of global English accents.
4. TED Talks (with subtitles and transcripts)
   – Great source of authentic listening material. Teachers can use talks for gist, detail, and inference tasks while giving students exposure to academic-style listening.