Study Skills: How to Predict?
When you listen to a person speaking your own language, in many situations you can be one step ahead of the speaker. You can very often predict what that person is going to say next¡ªperhaps not always the exact words, but at least the main ideas. Have you ever found yourself finishing other people's sentences for them? This is often something we do without even thinking about it.
The more you can predict, the easier it becomes to understand¡ªin a foreign language too. In fact, you will probably be surprised at how much you can predict in English. Train yourself to predict as much as possible. Do this consciously.
There are many things which can help you to predict while you are listening, for example:
(1) how much you know about:
the topic, the situation, the country in which the language is spoken
(2) intonation, for example:
When presenting a list, rising intonation signals that more items will follow and a falling intonation signals the end of the list: "I'd like to buy some eggs, cheese, tomatoes and a cake."
(3) signals such as:
"I'm afraid that ..." (signals something negative will follow) "There's one point I'd like to make ..." (signals an opinion will follow)
The phrases in group 3 are called semantic markers. They serve as signals for the meaning and structure of the lecture or text. They tell us how the ideas are organized. There are many other semantic markers in English, which are classified here according to their function.
(1) The markers used for listing, such as:
firstly, in the first place, secondly, thirdly, my next point is, last/finally
(2) Markers that show us the cause and effect relationship between one idea and another:
so, therefore, thus (we see), because, since
(3) Markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is going to illustrate his ideas by giving examples:
for instance, for example, let's take ..., an example/instance of this was ...
(4) Markers that introduce an idea which runs against what has been said, or is going to be said:
but, nevertheless, on the other hand, and yet, although
(5) Markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is about to sum up his message, or part of it:
to summarize, in other words, what I have been saying is this, it amounts to this, if I can just sum up
(6) Semantic markers used to express a time relationship:
then, next, after that, previously, while, when
(7) Markers used to indicate the relative importance of something:
it is worth noting, I would like to direct your attention to
(8) Markers used to rephrase what has already been said, or to introduce a definition:
in other words, let me put it this way, to put it another way, that is to say
(9) Markers that express a condition:
if, unless, assuming that
These are only a few examples of semantic markers. Train yourself to listen for these key words and phrases.
Exercises.
Task 1: Learning to Predict
Listen to the following sentences. When you hear "pause", stop your recorder and guess what the speaker is going to say next.
(1) Answer:
Reason:
(2) Hint: the first speaker is a guest complaining about the conditions of Room 43 which is a single room. The second speaker is a hotel clerk who suggests that the guest move to a double room.
Answer:
Reason:
(3) Answer:
Reason:
(4) Answer:
Reason:
(5) Answer:
Reason:
(6) Answer:
Reason:
(7) Answer:
Reason:
Study Skills: How to Predict?
When you listen to a person speaking your own language, in many situations you can be one step ahead of the speaker. You can very often predict what that person is going to say next¡ªperhaps not always the exact words, but at least the main ideas. Have you ever found yourself finishing other people's sentences for them? This is often something we do without even thinking about it.
The more you can predict, the easier it becomes to understand¡ªin a foreign language too. In fact, you will probably be surprised at how much you can predict in English. Train yourself to predict as much as possible. Do this consciously.
There are many things which can help you to predict while you are listening, for example:
(1) how much you know about:
the topic, the situation, the country in which the language is spoken
(2) intonation, for example:
When presenting a list, rising intonation signals that more items will follow and a falling intonation signals the end of the list: "I'd like to buy some eggs, cheese, tomatoes and a cake."
(3) signals such as:
"I'm afraid that ..." (signals something negative will follow) "There's one point I'd like to make ..." (signals an opinion will follow)
The phrases in group 3 are called semantic markers. They serve as signals for the meaning and structure of the lecture or text. They tell us how the ideas are organized. There are many other semantic markers in English, which are classified here according to their function.
(1) The markers used for listing, such as:
firstly, in the first place, secondly, thirdly, my next point is, last/finally
(2) Markers that show us the cause and effect relationship between one idea and another:
so, therefore, thus (we see), because, since
(3) Markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is going to illustrate his ideas by giving examples:
for instance, for example, let's take ..., an example/instance of this was ...
(4) Markers that introduce an idea which runs against what has been said, or is going to be said:
but, nevertheless, on the other hand, and yet, although
(5) Markers which indicate that the speaker or writer is about to sum up his message, or part of it:
to summarize, in other words, what I have been saying is this, it amounts to this, if I can just sum up
(6) Semantic markers used to express a time relationship:
then, next, after that, previously, while, when
(7) Markers used to indicate the relative importance of something:
it is worth noting, I would like to direct your attention to
(8) Markers used to rephrase what has already been said, or to introduce a definition:
in other words, let me put it this way, to put it another way, that is to say
(9) Markers that express a condition:
if, unless, assuming that
These are only a few examples of semantic markers. Train yourself to listen for these key words and phrases.
Exercises.
Task 1: Learning to Predict
Listen to the following sentences. When you hear "pause", stop your recorder and guess what the speaker is going to say next.
(1) Answer:
Reason:
(2) Hint: the first speaker is a guest complaining about the conditions of Room 43 which is a single room. The second speaker is a hotel clerk who suggests that the guest move to a double room.
Answer:
Reason:
(3) Answer:
Reason:
(4) Answer:
Reason:
(5) Answer:
Reason:
(6) Answer:
Reason:
(7) Answer:
Reason: