Hello and welcome to module four.
Listing, how to prepare for it effectively and efficiently.
Congratulations you are past the mid part of this course.
Keep up the effort, it will pay off.
Hard work is what gets us where we need to go in this life.
So, in this module we're going to focus
on the listening part of the the English B2 exam.
If I can just highlight one thing
which I think is very important when undertaking listening,
it is to relax.
Face this part of the exam with a positive receptive attitude.
Once again don't worry, it is normal,
you might begin to feel nervous to begin with,
but we’re going to help you.
But the irony is that if you are worried
then it might actually interfere with your understanding
and you could underachieve.
So you need to be relaxed and be calm as much as possible, OK?
So how are we going to help you with this preparation?
In two ways, first of all,
help you by establishing some coping strategies with this processes,
and secondly,
by providing you with insight into the actual listing process.
Coping strategies.
OK, we're going to provide you with some tips,
some tactics and approaches for how to undertake a listening task.
Now, some examples are "gisting", if you like,
how to get an overall idea of what you are listening to,
to make good predictions and use your own world knowledge
to interpret what's actually being said to you,
what you are listening to.
What do you we mean by insights here?
What do we do when we are actually listening.
Well actually this is actually quite a complex process,
which we do without being aware
of it because we are doing it so quickly.
We decode meaning, which is identifying the sounds,
working out where words begin and end.
We understand, which is getting the meaning of the words,
the phrases, the sentences, if you like.
We interpret, which is perceiving the connotations
what is being said judging the speaker's intention,
emotional tone, etc.
OK, so how can you apply this understanding?
What you need to understand is that listening
is a little like skiing down a mountain.
When you going really fast
you haven't got time to think about oh,
do I need to weight on my right leg or on my left leg?
We just need to move forward.
But with time we practice and we get better.
So, the first thing you need to do, a general piece of advice for you
and anyone in wanting to improve their English, is listen in English.
These days with the amount of material that is available
on the Internet by streaming radio programs or different podcasts,
we really don't have an excuse.
OK, you not have access to Internet.
Well, buy yourself a cheap short wave radio
and listen to the World Service
this really is very valuable and specifically,
in the context of this course,
we are going to help you by enabling you to try the tool used
in a real English B1 level exam.
At UNED we different online tools to assess oral skills in different ways.
Our CUID, Centro Universitario de Idiomas Digital y a Distancia,
uses one called e-Oral.
We are going to provide you with a step-by-step guide
on how to use it
so you can really become accustomed to use this kind of tool.
The activities that you can do here are obviously to try this tool out
for yourself and then go to the forum to share your impressions
about the difficulties you have when listening,
and once again, the strategies you found effective and helpful
when you undertake listening activities.
Good luck! You're going to love it.
You are going to have a wonderful time, so tune in and enjoy it.
Remember, listing is fun!