Prediction – an important listening skill that everyone can apply
In the IELTS listening test, you are given time to read through the questions before you listen to the recording. You can make the listening task easier if you use this time to try to predict what you will hear.
In this post, I describe four ways to do this.
(1) You can use prediction to a limited degree in Section 1, which typically involves filling out a form.
Although you probably won’t be able to predict the exact words you will hear, you can often know what part of speech it will be, such as noun, verb, or adjective. And in the case of nouns, you can easily predict whether it will be a number, place name, personal name, and so on.
(2) Your prediction skills can also come in handy in fill-in-the-blank questions in later sections. Just use common sense.
Consider these underlined answers to questions 14 to 20 in Section 2 of Test 1 from the IELTS 10 book.
Joining the leisure club
13 New members should describe any health problems.
14 The safety rules will be explained to you before you use the equipment.
15 You will be given a six-week plan.
16 There is a compulsory £90 joining fee for members.
17. Gold members are given free entry to all the LP clubs.
18. Premier members are given priority during peak hours.
19. Premier members can bring some guests every month.
20. Members should always take their photo card with them.
Hypothetically, if you had enough time, I would argue that every one of these answers is quite guessable just by applying common sense and your general knowledge of gym membership.
In actual practice, you won't have enough time to guess all the answers, and even if you do here the words you predict, they may not be the right answers. As you should know by now, IELTS listening tests have a lot of red herrings*.
(3) Each section on the listening test contains 10 questions, and these are often divided into two groups with a opportunity to read the questions before each group. In the case of dialogues, since you already know who the speakers are, for the second group you can often predict whose speech will provide the answers that you need for fill-in-the-blank questions. Consider, for example, these questions for section 3 of Test 1 in IELTS 10.
26. John needs help preparing for his ........ 27. The professor advises John to make a ........of his design. 28. John’s main problem is getting good quality ........ 29. The professor suggests John apply for a ........ 30. The professor will check the ........ information in John’s written report.
You can predict that the answers to these questions will be provided respectively by: John, the professor, John, the professor, and the professor.
It would be helpful to think about this and write P or J next to each question.
(4) You should also know that, more often than not, the speakers use synonyms for words in the questions rather than the actual words themselves. So when you read the questions, you should try to think of synonyms for key words because there is a good chance that you’ll hear them.
Consider this example from Section 2 of Test 2 in the IELTS 10 book. The words on the left appear on the question paper, but the words following the arrow are the ones that the speaker says. They are all very predictable, aren’t they.
Ancient forts –> castles
Waterways –> rivers
Space travel –> rockets, space station
Jewels –> precious stones
Local animals –> native fauna
So my tip for today is, use your reading time wisely.
Don't re-read your answers to the section that you have just completed.
As you read, try to imagine what the answers might be or what synonyms you could expect to hear.
* a 'red herring' is an idiomatic expression that refers to information that is misleading.
