Unit 8

Listening • Gist-Content Questions and Gist-Purpose Questions

Unit Focus
1. Write the following on the board (or on a handout) for students to read.
A. Gist questions are in the category of “basic comprehension” questions.
B. There are three different types of gist questions in the TOEFL Test.
C. Gist-content questions test if you can recognize the main idea of a talk.
D. Gist-purpose questions often ask why two speakers are conversing.
E. Gist questions are often the last question after a lecture or conversation.
2. Have students close their textbooks. Read aloud the information in the first paragraph of the Unit
Focus section while students listen and make notes. Then give students a little time to decide
whether statements A to E are true or false before taking up and explaining the answers.
Answers: A – true | B – false | C – true | D – true | E – false
3. Have students rewrite the two false statements (B and E) so that they are true. Do this as a
group activity on the board.
Answers: B – There are two different types of gist questions in the TOEFL Test. | E – Gist
questions are often the first question after a lecture or conversation.
4. Draw students’ attention to the vocabulary focus of the unit. Ask any students who have
previously studied biology to share their information with the class.

A Warm-up
Exercise A1
1. As a group, elicit from students what topics a student might discuss with a professor and write
their ideas on the board. Then have students work with a partner to make similar lists for the
other people listed in question 1.
2. As a group, elicit from students some reasons why a student might visit a tutor’s office and write
their ideas on the board. Then have students work with a different partner to make similar lists
for the other places listed in question 2.
3. Have students share their lists with other pairs as outlined in the book. Then elicit from students
which are the five most likely topics of conversation with each person listed in question 1 and five
most likely reasons for visiting each place listed in question 2.
4. Explain the value of the task – conversations in the TOEFL Test are almost always about a
familiar topic or for a typical reason. Predicting likely topics of conversation and reasons for
visiting places, therefore, can help students understand the most likely conversations they will
hear in the TOEFL Test.
Answers (suggested): 1. Professor – assignments, classes, future plans / Librarian – library
policies, advice about using the library, book locations / Sports coach – practice times, advice
about getting better, how to join the team / Study counselor – advice about how and where to
study, strategies for studying more effectively | 2. Tutor’s office – to get help with an assignment,
 to clarify some information, to ask for an extension / University cafeteria – to have a meal, to
meet friends, to make a complaint / Bookstore – to purchase something, to return an item, to
apply for a job / Computer lab – to work on an assignment, to print something out, to use a
particular software application

B Campus Vocabulary
Exercise B1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Make sure students know to choose two
answers for both questions 1 and 3. Then take up the answers.
Answers: 1. assignment / term paper | 2. due date | 3. extension / incomplete | 4. grade point
average | 5. office hours | 6. research

Teaching Note
Depending on which country they come from, students may have little if any idea about university life
in North America. These Campus Vocabulary sections are designed not just to teach useful phrases
that students might hear (or see) in the TOEFL Test, but also to give students some insights into life
at college in North America. As a result, when you go through these Campus Vocabulary exercises,
focus on helping students to understand the cultural aspect of each vocabulary item as well as its
meaning.

Extension Activity
This extension activity is designed to help students understand some important cultural aspects of the
vocabulary items in exercise B1.
1. Write the following on the board (or on a handout) for students to read.
A. How often do college students have to write assignments? Discuss with a partner. Then
search the Internet to find an answer to the question. Compare your answers with another
pair of students.
B. What is the maximum GPA that a student can have? What is considered a good GPA? What is
considered a low GPA? Compare ideas with a partner. Then search the Internet to find
answers to the questions. Compare your answers with another pair of students.
C. What are some common reasons why college students fail to hand in term papers and
assignments by the due date?
D. Students sometimes ask for an extension on an assignment. In your opinion, what reasons or
excuses for requiring an extension would be good ones? Discuss your ideas with a partner.
Then share your ideas with another pair of students.

C Analyzing Gist-content and Gist-purpose Questions

1. Have students read the information about Gist-content and Gist-purpose questions and ask you if
they have any questions.
2. Emphasize that although the two types of gist questions ask about different things, listening for
the same information and using the same skills can help students answer them correctly.

Exercise C1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. B | 2. “Could I check two things about the assignment for Biology 208?” / “The
paper should be 1,000 words and you need it next Friday, right?”

Exercise C2
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. C | 2. D | 3. A
2. Explain the value of the exercise: the wrong answers to gist questions are often wrong for similar
reasons to those explained in exercise C2. If students can recognize typical reasons why wrong
answers are wrong, they will probably do better in the TOEFL Test.

Test Tactic – page 105

1. Read the information in the Test Tactic aloud while students follow and ask questions if there is
something they do not understand.

Test Note
As the Test Tactic mentions, students will often hear speakers discussing problems in TOEFL
conversations (including the conversations for Speaking Task 3 and Speaking Task 5). There are two
things that students might need to know about these problems. First, as the Test Tactic explains, they
will only be minor problems that are easily solved. Second, they will never be problems that might be
considered controversial. So, for example, students will not hear about problems related to romantic
relationships, religion, or alcohol or drug use.

D Mastering Gist-content and Gist-purpose Questions – Recognizing Topic

Markers
Exercise D1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up the answers.
Answers: Topic marker A – excerpt 4 | Topic marker B – excerpt 1 | Topic marker C – excerpt 5 |
Topic marker D – excerpt 6 | Topic marker E – excerpt 2 | Topic marker F – excerpt 3

Exercise D2
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up the answers.
Answers: 1. A | 2. A | 3. B | 4. A | 5. B | 6. A

Test Tactic – page 106

1. Call on a student to read the information in the Test Tactic aloud while other students follow and
ask questions if there is something they do not understand.
2. The final sentence of the Test Tactic should be emphasized: students should use more than one
listening strategy when answering gist questions. This is good advice in general: all of the
strategies given in the book are designed to help students, but most of the strategies are more
useful when used in combination.

E Mastering Gist-content and Gist-purpose Questions – Listening for Repeated

Information
Exercise E1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Emphasize that students will not get both
a Gist-content question and a Gist-purpose question about the same conversation or lecture in
the TOEFL Test. This exercise includes both question types only to give students additional
practice. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. C | 2. A

Teaching Note
It will probably be obvious to students, but make sure they understand that “listening for repeated
information” does not usually include listening for the repetition of individual words, especially
function words (that is, words that express grammatical relationships with other words in the
sentence). Instead, it means focusing on the repetition of key ideas. Students should also know that
these key ideas may be repeated using exactly the same words, but often a key idea will be
paraphrased the second or third time it is mentioned by a speaker. Finally, students should remember
that ideas may be repeated by more than one speaker.

Exercise E2
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answer: 1. An assignment that the professor gave – multiple times / the due date of the
assignment – multiple times / a recommended article – twice / an extension of the assignment’s
deadline – multiple times / a failing grade for the assignment – once / a visit to the Study Skills
Center – once | 2. C

F Mastering Gist-content and Gist-purpose Questions – Recognizing Unlikely

Answers
Exercise F1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up the answers.
Answers: 1. A – unlikely / B – likely / C – likely / D – unlikely | 2. A – likely / B – unlikely / C –
unlikely / D – likely

Exercise F2
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up the answers.
Answers: Answer A from question 1 in exercise F1 matches reason 2 | Answer D from question 1
matches reason 1 | Answer B from question 2 matches reason 3 | Answer C from question 2
matches reason 4

Test Tactic – page 108

1. Call on a student to read the information in the Test Tactic aloud while other students follow and
ask questions if there is something they do not understand.

G Mastering Gist-content and Gist-purpose Questions – Analyzing the Answer

Choices
Exercise G1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. D | 2. B

Exercise G2
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. F | 2. B | 3. E | 4. A | 5. C | 6. D

Exercise G3
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. B | 2. A

H Academic Vocabulary
Exercise H1
1. Do the first one or two questions in this exercise as a group so that students understand what
they need to do. Then have them finish the exercise as outlined in the book. Finally, take up and
explain the answers.
Answers: 1. molecule | 2. organs | 3. cells | 4. element | 5. nucleus | 6. genetic | 7. reproduction
| 8. offspring

Test Tactic – page 110

1. Call on a student to read the information in the Test Tactic aloud while other students follow and
ask questions if there is something they do not understand.
2. Emphasize that students should keep this Test Tactic in mind when they analyze the answer
choices while answering the Test Challenge questions.

I Test Challenge
Exercise I1
1. Have students do the exercise as outlined in the book. Then take up and explain the answers.
Answers: 1. B | 2. C | 3. D | 4. C | 5. A | 6. D

Teaching Note
There are a few things you can do to make the listening Test Challenge sections as authentic as
possible.
First, make sure that students close their books (or cover the questions) when they are listening – in
the TOEFL Test, they will not be able to see the questions before or while they are listening.
Second, encourage students to take notes when they listen. (In the TOEFL Test, they will be making
notes with a pencil on a piece of blank paper, if you want to be truly authentic.)
Third, pause the audio after the narrator has spoken each question and allow students as much time
as they need (within limits) to answer each question.
Fourth, do not allow students to go back and change their answers to a previous question after the
narrator has spoken the next question.

Extension Activity
This extension activity is designed to get students to reflect on their performance and think about how
they can improve in the future. This kind of self-criticism is often helpful in giving students insights
into what they can do better.
1. Write the following questions on the board (or prepare them on a handout). Ask students to think
about each question and then discuss their ideas with one or two partners.
A. Listen again to the conversations and lectures (or look at the audio script). Why is each
wrong answer wrong? Use the information about incorrect answers in section C of this unit to
help you decide.
B. Can you hear (or see) any information that could have helped you answer the questions that
you did not hear the first time you listened? Why do you think you did not hear this
information the first time?
C. How many times did your notes help you answer a question correctly? How could you make
better notes in the future?
D. In addition to making better notes, what else could you do to become better at answering
gist questions accurately?

Next Steps
1. Call on two or three students to read the information in the Next Steps section aloud while other
students follow and ask questions if there are any words or phrases that they do not understand.
2. For the information about learning more about biology, have students do the first step of the
activity in class and share some interesting-sounding topics that they found. Then have each
student select two topics for further study.
3. For the key skills for Gist-content and Gist-purpose questions, do the suggested activity in class
using an Internet video that you have previously chosen. Doing the activity as a group will help
students see the benefit and how to do it.
4. Assign both of the activities in the Next Steps section for homework. Encourage students either to
bring you their homework for checking or to keep a homework diary that you can review
regularly.