1. Listening Strategies
Lic. Cristina Morocho

2. Pre-listening
• Stop all non-relevant activities beforehand
to orient yourself
to the topic.
• Avoid distractions (a window, a talkative
neighbor, noise, etc.)
• Review mentally what you already know
about the subject.

3. Pre-listening
• Look at the title, photos, maps, charts,
outlines, etc. and think of specific questions
you think might be answered in the listening.
– consider the major question words (who, what,
when, where, why, how)

4. Identifying main ideas
• Discourse markers→ certain phrases that tell
you a main idea is coming. For example:
– “The point I want to make/cover here is…”; “The
main point is…”; “The important thing here is…”
• Repetitions. If something is repeated several
times, it suggests importance.

5. Identifying main ideas
• Speed of speech → main ideas, are usually
spoken more slowly and clearly.
• Visual aids (outlines, lists or drawings) often
provide obvious clues to a speaker’s main
points.

6. • Use a piece of paper in order to write the
information your are looking for.
• Take the best notes you can → efficient,
detailed note taking is a key predictor of
academic success.
• For details pay attention to specific
information such as facts, statistics,
examples or quotations.

7. Making inferences
• Inference → interpretation or a conclusion
based on the information that we hear.
– not all important information is clearly or explicitly
stated
– understanding all the words in a listening segment
≠ complete comprehension
• Inferences are largely based on background
knowledge.

8. Thank you!