Listening for Specific Information
Scanning for targeted facts Topic: Services, Travel & Announcements👩🏫 Teacher notes
Teacher Notes
Aim: Students locate precise facts without being distracted by surrounding detail.
Strategy: Teach SCAN listening — read questions first, identify info type needed.
Audio 4A (Train): Simple announcement. Audio 4B (Directions): Instructions.
Audio 4C (Language Centre): Phone enquiry — good for form-completion exam practice.
Audio 4D (Open Day): Dense with facts; students benefit from a third listen.
Aim: Students locate precise facts without being distracted by surrounding detail.
Strategy: Teach SCAN listening — read questions first, identify info type needed.
Audio 4A (Train): Simple announcement. Audio 4B (Directions): Instructions.
Audio 4C (Language Centre): Phone enquiry — good for form-completion exam practice.
Audio 4D (Open Day): Dense with facts; students benefit from a third listen.
Learning Objectives
• Focus on particular details — not every word — in a listening text.
• Locate facts: places, times, names, numbers.
• Predict what type of information you will hear before you listen.
| Listening Strategy: Scanning While You Listen |
| STEP 1 — Before you listen: Read the questions carefully. |
| STEP 2 — Predict: What TYPE of information do you need? (a number? a place? a name?) |
| STEP 3 — While listening: Wait for the specific information. Don't panic if you miss something. |
| STEP 4 — After listening: Check your answers. Were your predictions correct? |
Key Vocabulary
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
| platform (n) | the area at a train station where you board the train |
| depart (v) | when a bus, train, or plane leaves |
| board (v) | to get on a train, bus, plane, or boat |
4A
Train Station Announcement
Speed:
Audio Script 4A
Good afternoon, passengers. This is a service announcement. The fourteen fifteen train to London is now ready for boarding. Please make your way to Platform Six. This train stops at Oxford and Reading. The journey time to London is approximately fifty minutes. Passengers travelling to Cambridge, please note: your train departs from Platform Three at fourteen thirty. All passengers must show a valid ticket before boarding. Thank you for travelling with Southern Rail.
Good afternoon, passengers. This is a service announcement. The fourteen fifteen train to London is now ready for boarding. Please make your way to Platform Six. This train stops at Oxford and Reading. The journey time to London is approximately fifty minutes. Passengers travelling to Cambridge, please note: your train departs from Platform Three at fourteen thirty. All passengers must show a valid ticket before boarding. Thank you for travelling with Southern Rail.
Listen and complete the information.
Listen and complete the information
1
Train to London departs at:
2
Platform number:
3
The train stops at: and
4
Journey time: minutes
5
Train to Cambridge departs from Platform:
Key Vocabulary
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
| intake (n) | a group of students who start a course at the same time |
| enrol (v) | to officially join a course or programme |
| conditional offer | an offer that depends on meeting certain requirements |
| scholarship (n) | money given to help a student pay for their studies |
| application (n) | a form you fill in to ask to join a course, job, or programme |
| submit (v) | to send or hand in something officially |
4B
Asking for Directions
Speed:
Audio Script 4B
TOURIST:
Excuse me! Can you help me? I'm looking for the Central Library.
LOCAL:
Of course! Go straight ahead for about two minutes. Then turn left at the traffic lights.
TOURIST:
Turn left at the traffic lights, OK.
LOCAL:
Yes. Walk past the supermarket on your right. The library is the big red building next to the park.
TOURIST:
How far is it from here?
LOCAL:
It's about a ten-minute walk.
TOURIST:
Thank you so much!
TOURIST:
Excuse me! Can you help me? I'm looking for the Central Library.
LOCAL:
Of course! Go straight ahead for about two minutes. Then turn left at the traffic lights.
TOURIST:
Turn left at the traffic lights, OK.
LOCAL:
Yes. Walk past the supermarket on your right. The library is the big red building next to the park.
TOURIST:
How far is it from here?
LOCAL:
It's about a ten-minute walk.
TOURIST:
Thank you so much!
Tick (✓) the correct information.
Tick (✓) the correct information
1
The tourist is looking for ___.
2
Turn ___ at the traffic lights.
3
The library is ___.
4
The walk takes about ___.
4C
A Phone Enquiry
Speed:
Audio Script
RECEPTIONIST:
Hello, Parkside Language Centre. How can I help?
CALLER:
Hi, I'd like some information about your English courses, please.
RECEPTIONIST:
Of course! We offer General English, Academic English, and IELTS preparation.
CALLER:
I need Academic English. When does the next course start?
RECEPTIONIST:
The next intake is the third of September.
CALLER:
How long is the course?
RECEPTIONIST:
It's ten weeks, Monday to Friday, from nine until one o'clock.
CALLER:
And the price?
RECEPTIONIST:
The course fee is eight hundred and fifty pounds. We have a ten percent early-bird discount if you register before the fifteenth of August.
CALLER:
Is there a placement test?
RECEPTIONIST:
Yes. You'll need to take a short online test before you enrol. It takes about twenty minutes.
CALLER:
Great. Can I register on your website?
RECEPTIONIST:
Yes, just go to parkside-lc dot co dot uk.
RECEPTIONIST:
Hello, Parkside Language Centre. How can I help?
CALLER:
Hi, I'd like some information about your English courses, please.
RECEPTIONIST:
Of course! We offer General English, Academic English, and IELTS preparation.
CALLER:
I need Academic English. When does the next course start?
RECEPTIONIST:
The next intake is the third of September.
CALLER:
How long is the course?
RECEPTIONIST:
It's ten weeks, Monday to Friday, from nine until one o'clock.
CALLER:
And the price?
RECEPTIONIST:
The course fee is eight hundred and fifty pounds. We have a ten percent early-bird discount if you register before the fifteenth of August.
CALLER:
Is there a placement test?
RECEPTIONIST:
Yes. You'll need to take a short online test before you enrol. It takes about twenty minutes.
CALLER:
Great. Can I register on your website?
RECEPTIONIST:
Yes, just go to parkside-lc dot co dot uk.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER
| PARKSIDE LANGUAGE CENTRE — ENQUIRY RECORD |
| Course requested: English Course start date: Duration: weeks Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9am– Course fee: £ Early-bird discount: % (before 15 Aug) Placement test duration: approximately minutes |
4D
A University Open Day Talk
Speed:
Audio Script 4D
SPEAKER: Welcome to Greenfield University Open Day. The Foundation Year is a one-year academic programme designed for international students who want to progress to undergraduate study. We accept students from all countries, but you must be at least seventeen years old and have completed secondary school. In terms of English level, we require a minimum of B1 on the CEFR, or an IELTS score of five point five. However, if your English is at A2 level, you can join our pre-Foundation English course first — that's a six-month programme. The Foundation Year costs twelve thousand pounds for international students. EU students pay eight thousand. We offer three merit scholarships of three thousand pounds each year. To apply, submit your application by the thirty-first of January for September entry. Interviews are held in February and March. If you are successful, you'll receive a conditional offer by April.
SPEAKER: Welcome to Greenfield University Open Day. The Foundation Year is a one-year academic programme designed for international students who want to progress to undergraduate study. We accept students from all countries, but you must be at least seventeen years old and have completed secondary school. In terms of English level, we require a minimum of B1 on the CEFR, or an IELTS score of five point five. However, if your English is at A2 level, you can join our pre-Foundation English course first — that's a six-month programme. The Foundation Year costs twelve thousand pounds for international students. EU students pay eight thousand. We offer three merit scholarships of three thousand pounds each year. To apply, submit your application by the thirty-first of January for September entry. Interviews are held in February and March. If you are successful, you'll receive a conditional offer by April.
Exercise 1
Exercise 1. Choose the correct answer A, B, or C.
1
The Foundation Year is designed for ___.
2
The minimum age for the programme is ___.
3
The minimum English requirement is ___.
4
Students at A2 level can apply for ___.
5
The application deadline for September entry is ___.
Exercise 2
Exercise 2. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER.
1
How much does the Foundation Year cost for international students?
2
How long is the pre-Foundation English course?
3
How many scholarships are offered each year?
4
When are interviews held?