3.2. Follow the Recording
Stay with a speaker who will not repeat, and recover fast when you miss one.
The short version
Questions always follow the order of the recording.
Waiting for a missed answer costs you the next one too.
Speakers signal a change before they make it.
A correction usually comes after the wrong answer.
The recording sets the pace
If you are still waiting for question 5 while the speaker is on question 6, you have now lost both. The moment you realise you missed one, let it go and move to the next.
Speakers tell you a change is coming
Real speech signposts itself: actually, we used to, but now, sorry, did I say. Each one warns you that what comes next replaces what came before.
Side by side
The class was on Tuesdays. The first thing you hear is very often not the answer.
From next month it moves to Thursdays. The correction is the answer, and it arrives seconds later.
Quiz time3 questions
Three questions on keeping up.
You missed one
Choose the best response.
You miss question 5 and the speaker moves on. What should you do?
A speaker changes their mind
The speaker says: The class was on Tuesdays. From next month it moves to Thursdays.
Which day goes in the box?
Where the next answer is
Choose the true statement about Listening questions.
In what order do the answers come?
Tips
- Keep your cursor on the next question
Knowing where you are on the screen is what lets you rejoin after a missed answer.
- Listen past the first plausible word
A speaker who offers two options usually settles on the second. Wait for the sentence to finish.
Recap
Answers come in recording order, always.
Miss one, leave it, and rejoin at the next question.
A correction after the first answer is usually the real one.
Next: the numbers, names and spellings that decide the easiest marks in the paper.