3.1. Predict Before You Listen
Turn a blank pause into a plan, so you listen for something specific.
The short version
You predict the kind of answer, never the answer itself.
The words around a gap tell you what can fit.
This is what the preview pause is for.
Listening for one thing beats following every word.
Why prediction works
You cannot follow every word of a recording you hear once. You can listen for a price. Deciding in advance what each gap needs turns an impossible job into a series of small ones.
The words around the gap do the work
A gap after £ wants a figure. A gap after on wants a day or a place. A gap after a wants a singular noun. None of this requires you to have heard anything yet.
Step by step, in the pause
- 1Read the whole group of questions
Not one at a time. You want the shape of the next two or three minutes.
- 2Decide what each gap needs
Name the kind of answer to yourself: number, name, day, place, plural noun.
- 3Spot the words that will be said aloud
Any word already on screen near the gap is a signpost. When you hear it, the answer is seconds away.
Quiz time3 questions
Three gaps from a Part 1 booking form. Decide what kind of answer fits, not what the answer is.
A gap after a symbol
You see this on the form before the recording starts.
Course fee: £______ What kind of answer is this?
A gap after a preposition
You see this on the form before the recording starts.
The class meets in the ______ What kind of answer is this?
A gap that needs a plural
You see this on the form before the recording starts.
Bring your own ______ and a notebook. What kind of answer is this?
Tips
- Never predict the actual word
Deciding the word in advance makes you deaf to the one the speaker actually says. Predict the category, then listen.
- Check the word limit while you preview
The limit is shown above the group. Knowing it is one word stops you writing three when the moment comes.
Recap
Predict the kind of answer, never the answer.
The words shown around a gap tell you what can fit.
Do this in the preview pause, before the recording starts.
Next: how to stay with a recording that will not wait for you.