way2go! 7. Coursebook, Schulbuch

169 Listening to announcements or recordings Listening When you listen to loudspeaker announcements or films/videos , communication is one-sided – you can’t ask questions about anything you don’t understand. Therefore, again, think about what you’re going to hear . This will make understanding easier, especially in a noisy environment. At airports, train or bus stations, most announcements are supported by visual information (flight or train departures), which will help you follow them. In case of unexpected announcements (e.g. a change in platform or gate), don’t hesitate to ask other passengers or the facility’s staff. With films or video , you can again rely on visual clues to help you understand the main points. If it’s a recording, you can watch it multiple times. Most TV stations today also offer this possibility on their websites, as do most radio stations. Listening to people If you talk to a person, you can always ask about the meaning of words you didn’t get. Don’t hesitate to do so because misunderstandings just lead to complications. Being a good listener also means showing that you understand through your body language , and through keeping eye contact and being attentive to your partner. Don’t interrupt unless it is for clarifying meaning, but hear your partner out and ask questions to make sure you’ve understood correctly. If you listen to a lecture or a talk , you can’t ask for repetition, so it might be useful to record it if the details are important. If not, focus on the main message , and use the title to activate prior knowledge to make predictions about the content. Taking notes will also help. Some general tips Don’t stop for every word you don’t know but focus on the overall meaning of the passage. Very often words you don’t know aren’t essential for understanding the text. If you’re interested, you can come back and look up these words after you’ve done everything else required. Identify keywords – if you don’t understand these, you have to look them up. Underline the keywords, and mark and interact with the text. For example, mark passages you aren’t sure about with a question mark (?), passages you find interesting with an exclamation mark (!), and passages you want more information on with an arrow ( ). Learning from reading Look for new grammar patterns – or grammar patterns you aren’t sure about. Note how they are being used and write down examples. Work with keywords – develop their word families and use a dictionary to look for synonyms and opposites. Write a summary of the text using some of the keywords. Write a tweet about the content. Write a letter to the author/one of the characters/the next reader, etc. Keep a reading journal and note down your responses to what you’ve read (this works best with fiction but can also be useful with factual texts). Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv