Why is it right?

Aim:

To help students to distinguish relevant and irrelevant words and information

Target Audience:

Students

Relevance to ICFE Listening:

Parts 1 and 2 (Multiple-choice)

Organisation:

Pairs or small groups

Materials needed:

Worksheet A

Worksheet B
Part 2 Tapescript and recording (PDF)
  1. Discuss with students what kind of difficulties they have with answering multiple-choice questions. Explain that they are going to focus on identifying the correct answer, and discounting the distractors.

  2. Look at the rubric for the Listening Part Two. Check students know how many speakers there will be and what they will be talking about.

  3. Give each student a copy of Worksheet A. You could also photocopy the same onto an OHT.

  4. When the students have read the questions, play the tape and ask them to fill in their own answers on the worksheet.

  5. Ask the students to compare their answers in pairs or threes, and then discuss as a class, using an OHP if preferred.

  6. Give students Worksheet B and ask them to identify the options which most closely match their versions of the answers.

  7. Now ask students to discuss in pairs or groups why the other options were wrong. Play the extract again, as many times as necessary.

  8. Give the students copies of the tapescripts for them to mark the words and expressions giving the correct answers and the distracting information. An example could be displayed for the whole class on an OHP, and the rest done as a homework activity.

NB. Do this activity for as many of the questions as you feel it is useful to do. You do not have to cover all 5 questions.