Core language skills for PTE Academic Listening preparation courses| PTE listening skills

Identifying supporting points or examples

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             listening for signal words that indicate supporting details

•             listening for supporting details

•             identifying opinions and supporting arguments

•             recognizing definitions, examples, explanations, generalizations, clarification and emphasis

•             recognizing comparison and contrast, cause and effect

•             recognizing citations in lectures

•             identifying restatements

Understanding academic vocabulary

•              Speaking: Repeat sentence

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Speaking: Answer short question

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Fill in the blanks

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Select missing word

•              Listening: Highlight incorrect words

•              Listening: Write from dictation

•             recognizing the vocabulary used in different academic contexts

•             recognizing the vocabulary of different types of information (definition, explanation, generalization, example, clarification, restatement, opinion, citation)

•             confirming the meaning of content-area vocabulary as well as general academic words and phrases

•             confirming the meaning and sound of words pronounced in different English accents

Inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words

•              Speaking: Repeat sentence

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Speaking: Answer short question

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Select missing word

•             finding the meaning of words from context clues, in different academic topic areas

•             Inferring meaning from morphology (studying the parts of a word)

Identifying words and phrases appropriate to the context

•              Listening: Fill in the blanks

•              Listening: Select missing word

•             identifying the most commonly used words in academic contexts

•             learning words related to specific topics

•             identifying variations in word meaning by identifying the context

•             recognizing word forms

•             identifying synonyms

•             understanding idiomatic expressions

•             recognizing paraphrases

implicit information

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Fill in the blanks

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•              Listening: Select missing word

•             recognizing inferred information as compared to explicit information

•             drawing inferences from information given

•             inferring implied meaning through intonation

•             inferring the speaker’s point of view through vocabulary choices

•             understanding metaphorical language

•             separating fact from opinion

•             distinguishing between literal and figurative meanings

•             Listening: Summarize spoken text

•             Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•             Listening: Highlight correct summary

•             Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             Listening: Select missing word

•             recognizing abstract generalizations

•             distinguishing factual information from abstract discussion

•             recognizing the language of hypothetical argument

•             investigating multiple sides to an ethical issue

•             clarifying values

Classifying and categorizing information

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             thinking critically to categorize the information heard

•             organizing and synthesizing information

•             identifying connecting themes

•             recognizing generalizations, opinion, support, clarification and emphasis

•             recognizing cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution

•             understanding definitions

•             matching actions to consequences

•             recognizing citations

Following an oral sequencing of information

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Fill in the blanks

•              Listening: Highlight correct summary

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•              Listening: Select missing word

•              Listening: Highlight incorrect words

•              Listening:Write from dictation

•             noticing signal words that indicate how ideas are organized

•             recognizing key phrases that introduce important facts

•             identifying sequences of actions, activities and processes

•             following sequences of arguments, explanations, and opinions

•             recognizing transitions between ideas in lectures

•             identifying pronoun referencing used to sequence ideas

Critically evaluating information presented

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             using critical thinking skills to evaluate what is heard

•             classifying information

•             evaluating assumptions and generalizations

•             drawing conclusions

•             separating fact from opinion

Forming a conclusion from what a speaker says

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•              Listening: Select missing word

•             listening for main ideas

•             listening for specific information

•             identifying key words to understand details

•             drawing inferences and conclusions

•             predicting what a speaker will say next

Predicting how a speaker

may continue

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•              Listening: Select missing word

•             predicting the content of listening text

•             listening for organizing phrases and signal words

•             identifying sequences of actions and activities

•             recognizing transitions between ideas

•             making inferences about a speaker’s intentions

•             predicting what a speaker will say next

Identifying errors in a transcription

•              Listening: Highlight incorrect words

•             predicting content before listening to be aware of errors

•             understanding main ideas to predict vocabulary

•             recognizing how words sound in different English accents

•             recognizing words and phrases when spoken in sentences

•             recognizing pronunciation of final consonants and weak forms

Identifying a speaker’s purpose, tone and attitude

•              Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•              Listening: Summarize spoken text

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             predicting the content of listening text

•             using critical thinking to recognize a speaker’s attitude

•             making inferences about a speaker’s intention

•             inferring and recognizing a speaker’s attitudes and feelings

•             listening for opinions

•             identifying assumptions and generalizations

•             interpreting a speaker’s emotions from intonation and word choice

•             making inferences based on tone, pace, and vocabulary

•             identifying the purpose of a story or example

Identifying the framework used to convey information (e.g., generalization, conclusion, cause and effect)

•             Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•             Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             recognizing the language of definitions, generalizations, examples, explanations and conclusions

•             recognizing the language of cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution

•             identifying arguments for and against

•             evaluating advantages and disadvantages

•             recognizing citations

Inferring the context, purpose or tone

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose multiple answers

•              Listening: Multiple choice, choose single answer

•             recognizing the context of ideas in lectures

•             making inferences about attitudes from the words speakers use

•             inferring the purpose of examples given

•             recognizing the tone or character of an utterance from vocal and lexical cues

•             inferring preferences

•             identifying emphasis in speech

•             listening for contrastive stress

Comprehending variations in tone, speed, accent

•             Speaking: Repeat sentence

•             Speaking: Re-tell lecture

•             Listening: Summarize spoken text

•             Listening: Highlight correct summary

•             Listening: Select missing word

•             Listening: Highlight incorrect words

•             Listening: Write from dictation

•             recognizing how stress and intonation help express a speaker’s

intended meaning

•             recognizing the significance of changes of tone, stress and speed to signal important information

•             understanding the significance of contrastive stress and emphasis

•             comprehending the pronunciation of words in different accents