Handout · Day 4

Following a Lecture · Signposting & Contrasts

Duration: 90 minutes Module: Listening Focus: Main ideas, summaries, signposting, comparing & contrasting, table/notes completion

Objectives

0:00 – 0:10

Warm-Up: What Slows You Down in Lectures?

Quick discussion: when you listen to a lecture in English (in person or on YouTube), what's harder than reading a textbook? Common answers:

Test tip

The questions only test the main points. If the speaker mentions a piece of information that doesn't appear anywhere in your questions, it's probably a side comment — let it go.

0:10 – 0:30

Identifying Main Ideas

You'll listen to part of a talk by Paul, an Australian palaeontologist. The talk includes both main points and side comments — your job is to spot the difference.

Audio — Paul's talk

Order the phrases

Listen and put these phrases in the order Paul says them.

  1. The very first field trip I went on
  2. It's an ancestor of the modern Australian wombat
  3. I found a funny-looking piece of rock
  4. An old professor studying dried-up dinosaur bones
  5. I immediately changed courses
  6. I had to do a compulsory unit on extinction

What's the main topic?

Choose one.

  1. Important lectures Paul has given
  2. Describing the process that led to Paul's current role
  3. Explaining how ancient Australian animals became extinct

Your choice:

b — the talk is the story of how Paul ended up in palaeontology. The compulsory unit, the rock find, the field trip, the wombat ancestor — these are all steps in the process. (Side comments about extinction and old professors are mentioned in passing but aren't the topic.)

0:30 – 0:45

Completing a Summary

Summary completion looks intimidating but it's actually friendlier than it looks: the summary follows the speaker's order, and you're usually filling in one word only.

Summary (ONE WORD ONLY)

Listen to the talk again and complete the summary below.

Paul was interested in the 1. so took an ecology course at university. The course included a section on 2. and an interesting lecture caused him to quickly change his degree.

Paul says working in palaeontology can be difficult and he describes the conditions as 3. . However, the discovery of a 4. from an ancient animal made him realise he had made the right choice.

Before you listen

For each gap, ask: what type of word goes here? Noun? Adjective? The grammar of the surrounding sentence narrows it down dramatically.

0:45 – 1:00

Understanding Explanations

Audio — mice & pigeons

Multiple choice

Listen and choose A, B, or C.

  1. What did the researchers find in their experiments on mice?
    A — A lack of exercise made them appear older.
    B — Their cells remained the same as they aged.
    C — Their cells were unaffected by changes in diet.
    Your answer:
  2. What new discovery have scientists made about pigeons?
    A — They use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate.
    B — Their beak plays an important role when flying.
    C — A part of their ear helps them find their way.
    Your answer:
Don't be scared of technical terms

If you see a word like magnetoreception in the question, the speaker will almost always explain it before asking you to use it. Listen for "this is when…" or "what this means is…".

1:00 – 1:15

Signposting Words

Signposts tell you where the speaker is in the talk. Use them to know when to move to the next question on your paper.

Audio — signpost extracts

Signpost types

Listen to six extracts. For each, identify the signpost phrase you hear, and decide whether it's used to: A start off a topic · B change to a new topic · C finish off a topic.

  1. "OK, _______ the late 19th century…" Phrase: Use:
  2. "Now, _______, I wanted to give you some background." Phrase: Use:
  3. "So, _______ some possible reasons for this." Phrase: Use:
  4. "_______, I'd like to talk about some future projects." Phrase: Use:
  5. "So, _______ did we reach?" Phrase: Use:
  6. "I'll _______ what this machine can do." Phrase: Use:

Likely categories:

  • A — Start off a topic: "I'd like to talk about", "let's begin with", "starting with"
  • B — Change to a new topic: "now, let's move on to", "before I forget", "next", "turning to"
  • C — Finish off a topic: "so, what conclusion did we reach?", "to summarise", "in short", "I'll wrap up"

Academic word synonyms

Match each word to its synonym.

WordSynonym (A–H)
1. results   A. background
2. definition   B. benefits
3. challenges   C. solutions
4. history   D. findings
5. advantages   E. conclude
6. disadvantages   F. meaning
7. answers   G. drawbacks
8. summarise   H. problems

1 D (results → findings) · 2 F (definition → meaning) · 3 H (challenges → problems) · 4 A (history → background) · 5 B (advantages → benefits) · 6 G (disadvantages → drawbacks) · 7 C (answers → solutions) · 8 E (summarise → conclude)

1:15 – 1:25

Table & Notes Completion

Tables and notes use headings to guide you. Read all the headings first — they tell you what type of information goes in each gap (a country? a year? a verb?).

Audio — Plants that changed the world (table)

Plants that changed the world (ONE WORD ONLY)

Listen and complete the table.

PlantOriginsPositivesNegatives
potatoes Central & South America; brought to 1. by the Spaniards in 16th century changes in 2. ; people moving to find new 3. In Ireland the 4. became dependent on potatoes; disease led to mass 5.
tobacco The Americas Important role in US history; first 6. crop in the US Led to slavery; became a cause for 7.
8. China Helped bring about independence in the US The 9. imposed on it became a key event in the American Revolution
White Mulberry China Started 10. between East and West Led to spread of disease
1:25 – 1:30

Wrap-Up & Homework

Tonight's homework

Watch a 10-minute TED Talk and note signposts + main ideas. Then prepare yourself for tomorrow's full mock test. About 40 minutes.

Open homework →

Practice online (free)

A little extra self-study for this skill — each link opens in a new tab. These are free resources; some may ask you to create a free account.