English II (TMP 542)

UMY

#2-3 Guide to Listening

Part 1

Tutik Sriani, S.T., M.Eng, PhD

Universitas
Muhammadiyah
Yogyakarta
www.umy.ac.id

1995

Tactics for Listening

Take notes. Record as much information as possible.
Time management. Remember that the conversation is played
only once with several questions.
Do not spend too much time on any one question.
If you are not sure of an answer, try to eliminate unlikely
choices. Of you have no idea which answer is correct, guess
and then go on to the next question.
Concentration is very important in this part of the test. Once you
have answered a question, don't think about it anymore--start
thinking about the next question. Focus your attention on the
voices you hear.
1995

Standard Multiple Choice Listening Questions

1. Main-topic questions. These ask you what subject the
conversation or lecture is generally about. 1-2
questions/conversation
Ex:
What is the main topic of this conversation?
What is the primary topic of this lecture?
2. Main-purpose questions. These ask you why, in general, the
speakers are having the conversation or why the lecture is being
given. 1-2 questions/conversation
Ex:
Why is the man/woman talking to the professor?
1995

Standard Multiple Choice Listening Questions

3. Factual questions. These ask you about supporting ideas or details
mentioned in the conversation or lecture.
Ex:
What does the speaker say about ..... ?
According to the professor, where does .....?
According to the lecture, why does .....?
4. Negative factual questions. These ask which of the answer choices is
not true, according to information given in the conversation/lecture, or
what information is NOT mentioned in the passage.
Ex:
According to the lecture, which of the following is NOT true?
1995

Standard Multiple Choice Listening Questions

5. Inference questions. These ask you to draw conclusions based
on information given in the conversations/lectures.
Ex:
What does the man/woman imply about .....?
What can be inferred about .... from the lecture?
6. Purpose questions. These ask you why a speaker mentions
some point in the conversation/lecture.
Ex:
Why does the professor mention ....?
1995

Standard Multiple Choice Listening Questions

7. Method questions. These ask you to explain how the speakers
explains/accomplishes something in the passage.
Ex:
How does the speaker explain the concept of ....?
How does the professor introduce the idea of ..... ?
8. Attitude questions. These ask you how the speaker feels/thinks
about a certain issue, idea, or person.
Ex:
What does the speaker say about ..... ?
What is the professor's opinion of ....?
1995

Listening Sample
Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.

1995

1. What is this conversation mainly about?

a) The student's grade in her geology class
b) The topic of a research paper that the student must write
c) A class assignment that the student did not hand in
d) The reason the student did not attend the class
2. What can be inferred about the student?
a) She has never attended the professor's class
b) She is not sure what course the professor teaches
c) She is not sure that the professor knows who she is
d) She is not certain that the professor's name is Dixon
3. What assumption does the professor make about the student?
a) That she got up too late to attend his class yesterday
b) That she missed class because she had to go to the airport
c) That she is coming to his office to apologize for missing class
d) That she is unhappy about the research paper assignment

1995

4. How did the student first get information about the topic she
wants to write about?
a) From a magazine article
b) From the internet
c) From the professor
d) From a television show

5. What is the professor's attitude towards the topic that the

student wants to write about?
a) He does not think it is a proper topic for research paper
b) He thinks it might be a good topic if the student researches
it carefully
c) He thinks it is much too narrow a topic for her research
1995
paper