Listening to dialogues
INTRODUCTION TO LISTENING PART 2
TASK
The focus of Listening Part 2 at the C1-C2 level is to listen to conversations to identify certain aspects.
One or more of the following aspects may be tested in each conversation:
context (where they are speaking)
gist, content (what they are speaking about)
purpose, function (why they are speaking)
attitude, opinion, feelings (what they are thinking and how they are feeling)
relationship (what the relationship between the speakers is)
possible outcome (what might happen next).
FORMAT
You will hear three conversations twice.
After each one, you answer two multiple-choice questions and select the correct answer – from A, B, C or D – for each one.
There will be three speakers in each conversation. The speakers will have distinct voices to help you identify who says what and there will be clear references to the different people involved.
PRACTICE
To practice for this part of the test you need to cover the following topics.
Context, relationships and gist
Identifying the relationships between the speakers, the context and the main gist of their conversations
Attitudes and opinions
Understanding how meaning can change based on the attitude and opinion of the speaker.
Feelings
What you say and how you say it! Understanding feelings and the situations that can give rise to them.
At this level, you need to be exposed to as wide as possible a range of authentic spoken language.
Films and TV programmes offer excellent opportunities for students to listen to multi-participant conversations and to identify the attitudes and opinions of the different speakers.
Listen as much as possible to conversations of this kind and try to find someone who speaks English at an advanced level to discuss and share your suggestions.
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