Active listening
helps not only to spend time, consuming
audial information but also – to notice and work on 4 pillars
of English that are tested on the IELTS Listening module.
They are vocabulary, grammar, the structure of ideas and
pronunciation.
Vocabulary
- Listen carefully and notice each new word (rewind back if you do not
catch the words from the first time)
- Stop and write down each unfamiliar
word to a separate notebook
- That notebook must contain one column on English words and a
respective column of translations to your native language. You may, of
course, try any other framework that suits your needs
- Do not forget to include in your notebook context usages of the new
words (where possible)
- Review every two days all the words in your notebook (learn them
while standing in a queue, in public transportation or doing other
routine activities)
Grammar
-
While listening, notice all the complex sentences that look difficult for
you in terms of grammar
- Try to think on your own – what kind of grammar rules have been
applied?
- Google or find in your grammar book explanation and rules to the
problematic sentences
- Write down to your grammar notebook rules with different possible
usages
- Review regularly to remember the structure and use in your own
speaking /
writing to solidify
Structure
- Listen to different kinds of audios: monologue, dialogue, lecture,
phone call, map description – they will help you to understand the
structure of speech, attributable to different kinds of audial information
- Notice how the author
locates ideas in the speech, what is
mentioned in introduction and conclusion, how the author ensures
understanding of the whole passage (this ensures you’re not lost when
listening to the tape), how the author uses signposting language
- Note cohesive devices (words
like in addition, moreover, nonetheless,
etc) that link ideas and thoughts together
- Identify qualifying words like ‘but’ and ‘however’, because they
change the meaning of a sentence drastically
- Locate topic
sentences in the speech
Pronunciation
- Listen to different kinds of recordings that feature a variety of
accents
- Get used to various types of pronunciation attributable to different
regions
- Stop and try to understand a word when you hear the unfamiliar
pronunciation
- Do not listen to the same source all the time, try podcasts with a
different pace, accents, ways of talking so that you get used to as
many as possible
- Consult with a transcript of the recording where possible to see
words
you cannot catch by ear