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BASIC LISTENING SKILL

PRACTICE EXERCISES
(Source: britishcouncil.org)

Name :
NIM :

Lectured by
Hartono, S.S., M.Hum.

English Literature Department


Faculty of Literature
2021
TOPICS

1. Introduction
2. Giving Personal Information

3. First day at school

4. Describing people

5. The First English Class


6. Understanding Number

7. Work

8. Weather Forecast
9. Study Tips

10. Using Colours to do homework


11. Ordering Food

12. Inviting someone to the cinema

13. Interview with a swimmer

14. Getting ID card


15. Band auditions

16. A good night’s sleep


Topic I

Introducing

Listen to the conversation and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Circle the best option for what people normally say when they first

meet.

1. Hi, it’s Pablo. / Hi, I’m Pablo.

2. Hi. Who are you? / Hi. How are you?

3. Where are you? / Where are you from?

4. You are nice. / Nice to meet you.

1. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with the correct name.

Greta Sumi Pablo

1. _______________ introduces Greta to Pablo.

2. _______________ is German.

3. _______________ is Argentinian.

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Write the words to fill the gaps.

Sumi: Hi, Pablo. How are you?

Pablo: Hi, Sumi. _______________, thanks.

Sumi: Pablo, this is Greta.

Pablo: Hi, Greta. _______________ Pablo.

Greta: Hi. How are you?

Pablo: I’m fine, thanks. _______________ from, Greta?

Greta: I’m from Germany. Where are you from?


Pablo: I’m from Argentina. _______________ meet you.

Greta: Nice to meet you too.

Discussion

What questions do you like to ask when you meet new people?

What do you say in greeting and parting?


TOPIC 2
Giving personal information

Listen to the conversation at the library and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening
skills.

Preparation
Do this exercise before you listen. Which the information you think the school library needs to give
someone a library card.
First name Surname Favourite song Pet
Class Favourite book Age Shoes size

1 . Check your understanding: multiple choice


Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the correct word to complete these sentences.
1. Lucy’s surname is More / Moor / Moore.
2. She’s in class 1C / 1B / 4B .
3. Lucy is 13 / 14 / 15 .
4. The librarian asks for Lucy’s address / photo / passport.

2. Check your understanding: gap fill


Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with a word from the box.

class photo spell surname old card

Lucy : Hello.
School librarian : Hello, what’s your name?
Lucy : My name’s Lucy.
School librarian : And what’s your _______________, Lucy?
Lucy : Moore.
School librarian : Can you _______________ that?
Lucy : M-O-O-R-E.
School librarian : Thank you. What _______________ are you in?
Lucy : Class 1B.
School librarian : Class 1B. And how _______________ are you, Lucy?
Lucy : I’m 13.
School librarian : Have you got a _______________?
Lucy : Yes, here you are.
School librarian : Thank you ... OK, thank you, Lucy. Here’s your school library
_______________.
Lucy : Thanks. Bye.
School librarian : Goodbye.
TOPIC 3
First day at school

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Write the words into the correct group.

Classroom family bedroom pets

dad homework class teacher


School Home

1. Check your understanding: true or false

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. Jing and Tania are in the same class. True False

2. Their teacher is a man. True False

3. Jing knows where the classroom is. True False

2. Check your understanding: ordering

Do this exercise while you listen. Write a number (1 -4) to put the conversation in order.

(… … … ….)
Tania : Nice to meet you, Jing. What class are you in?
Jing : I’m in class 1B. And you?

(… … … ….)
Tania : Me too. I’m in class 1B too.
Jing : Who’s our teacher?
Tania : Mr Smith.

(… … … ….)
Tania : Hi. I’m Tania. What’s your name?
Jing : Hello. My name’s Jing.

(… … … ….)
Jing : And where’s our classroom?
Tania : This way. Come with me.
Jing : OK. Great
TOPIC 4
Describing people

Listen to the conversation and do the exercises to improve your listening skills.

Preparation: matching

Match the person with the correct description and write a–d next to the numbers 1 –4.

1 … ….. a. She’s got straight, ginger hair.

2 … ….. b. He’s older and he’s wearing glasses.

3 … ….. c. She’s got black, curly hair.

4 … ….. d. He’s got short, brown hair.

1. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the best word to complete these sentences.

1. Aurelia is asking about Hannah’s boyfriend / brother / friend .

2. Hannah’s brother, Jem, has long, brown hair / a girlfriend / a twin sister .

3. Hannah has one brother / two brothers / a brother and a sister .

4. Alex and Jem look different / look the same / have the same hair but different eyes .

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with the correct word.

1. That? Er, that’s my ____________________________, Jem.

2. And that’s his girlfriend, Lucy. The _______________ girl with the _________________________,

____________________________ hair.

3. Alex and Jem are __________________________. They’re both __________________________.

4. They’re exactly the same! They’re both _____________________ and _____________________.

5. They’ve both got _________________, _________________ hair, _________________ eyes and


_________________ ears!

6. They’re not big. I think they’re _________________________!

7. And, has Alex got a __________________________?

Discussion

What do you look like?

What kind of hair have you got?

What colour eyes have you got?

Are you happy with your appearance? Why? Why not?


TOPIC 5

The First English class

Before listening, Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation task Write a number to put the words in each list in the correct order.

Days of the week Cardinal Numbers 1-12 Ordinal numbers 1-12 Months of The Year

Tasks

Task 1

Are the sentences true or false?

1. This is an English course. 2. There are three classes every week. 3. The class begins in May. 4. There

is a book for the course. 5. The students need the teacher’s book. 6. Photocopies of the book are not

allowed. 7. The first class is next Monday. 8. The next class is on Tuesday.
Task 2 Circle the best answer.

1. What is the teacher’s name? a. Lindsay Black b. Lindsey Black c. Linsey Black

2. What room is the class in? a. Room 13 b. Room 30 c. Room 33

3. What days is the class? a. Monday and Tuesday b. Monday and Wednesday c. Monday and

Thursday

4. How long is the class? a. One hour b. One hour and a half c. Two and a half hours

5. When is the teacher’s office hour? a. On Monday and Wednesday b. Room 7B c. Friday at

18.00

6. What date does the course begin? a. Monday 13 March b. Monday 30 March c. Monday 13

May

Discussion Do you have an English class? When is it? Where is it?


TOPIC 6
Understanding numbers

Listen to the numbers and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the numbers with the way we say them. Write a–f next to the

number 1 –6.

1…….. 3rd April a. one thousand, three hundred and sixty-five

2…….. 1968 b. two million

3…….. 1,365 c. the third of April

4…….. 2,000,000 d. one metre fourteen

5…….. 9th September e. nineteen sixty-eight

6…….. 1.14 m f. the ninth of September

1. Check your understanding: ordering

Do this exercise while you listen. Write a number (1 -10) to put these numbers in the order you hear

them.

…………. 1.27 m …………. 671

…………. 0208 542 8976 …………. 103

…………. 1985 …………. 68

…………. 5,325 …………. 8,000,000

…………. 14 …………. 25th June


2. Check your understanding: grouping

Do this exercise while you listen.

Write the numbers in the correct group.

5,325 14 8,000,000 25th June

21 st June 525 1.27 m 8,000

1985 671 0208 542 8976 1995

01442 9977 40 103 68

Numbers you hear Numbers you don’t hear

Discussion

Do you like numbers? Are you good at math?


TOPIC 7
Work

a) Listen to five different people talking about their jobs and do the exercises to practise and

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. What do you know about the vocabularies below?

Lecturer driver dentist cleaner Farmer carpenter

tour guide doctor pilot nurse Student fireman

1. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with a word from the box.

pilot dentist shop assistant

tour guide nurse

1. Speaker A works as a _______________.

2. Speaker B works as a _______________.

3. Speaker C works as a _______________.

4. Speaker D works as a _______________.

5. Speaker E works as a _______________.

2. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the best answer for these questions.

1. Does speaker A enjoy his job?

Yes.

Sometimes.

No.

2. When does speaker A work?

When he is at university.

Weekends.

Summer holidays.

3. When does speaker B work?


Weekdays.

Weekends and holidays.

Summer holidays.

4. What does speaker B say tourists love doing?

Visiting universities.

Taking a boat trip.

Swimming in the river.

5. Does speaker C like his job?

Yes.

Sometimes.

No.

6. What does speaker D say is difficult about being a pilot?

Travelling to many countries.

Learning many languages.

Flying planes in bad weather.

7. What does speaker D say is the best thing about his job?

Visiting different places.

Meeting different people.

The different weather.

8. What does speaker E not like about her job?

The doctors.

The sick people.

The uniform.
TOPIC 8
Weather forecast
Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Describe the situational weather below!

rainy windy thunderstorm

sunny dry cloudy

1. Check your understanding: matching

Do this exercise while you listen. Match the two halves of the sentence and write a – d next to the

number 1 – 4.

1 … ….. The weather in the north is mostly a. rainy.

2 … ….. The weather in the east is mostly b. cloudy and sunny.

3 … ….. The weather in the west is mostly c. dry and cloudy.

4 … ….. The weather in the south is mostly d. windy.

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Write the word to fill the gap.

1. Welcome to the weather forecast. Now, let’s see what the weather is _______________ today.

2. In the north of the country it’s very windy and cold. There is a ___________ of some rain,

too.

3. The temperature is around 10 _______________ centigrade.

4. In the east it’s rainy all day today, I’m afraid. There may be a thunderstorm in the afternoon. The

_______________ is a bit higher, at around 13 degrees.

5. In the west and middle of the country the weather is dry _______________ cloudy.

6. The south of the country has the _______________ weather today. It’s cloudy most of the time but

sunny this afternoon.

What is the weather usually like in your city or town?

It’s usually … (hot/ cold/ windy etc.)

It usually … (rains/ snows etc.)


TOPIC 9
Study tips

Listen to the conversation and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

Preparation: matching

Match the opposite adjectives and write a–f next to the numbers 1 –6.

1 … ….. good a. unlucky

2 … ….. lucky b. untidy

3 … ….. always c. noisy

4 … ….. quiet d. bad

5 … ….. clear e. unimportant

6 … ….. important f. never

1 . Check your understanding: multiple choice

Circle the best answer to these questions.

1. Ben …

a. doesn’t study b. studies and does well. c. studies and doesn’t do well.

2. Ben usually studies …

a. in the library. b. at home. c. in his friend’s house.

3. On Ben’s desk there are …

a. papers, books and pens. b. pencils, books and pens.. c. a pencil case and pens.

4. Katy …

a. has a break for thirty minutes. b. exercises for thirty minutes. c. studies for thirty minutes.

5. When Ben studies …

a. he doesn’t take breaks. b. he has a break for two or three hours. c. he has two or three

breaks each hour.


2. Check your understanding: grouping

Write the ideas in the correct group.

a. Study for two or three hours without a break

b. Get up and move your body

c. Stay in your chair when you take a break

d. Have lots of papers and books on your desk

e. Play loud music while

f. Study in a quiet place you study

g. Take lots of breaks

g. Have a clear desk

Good ideas Bad ideas

3. Check your vocabulary: gap fill

Complete the sentences with a word from the box.

good body quiet three legs marks

1. You always get good _______________ at school!

2. I always do _______________ things. Do you want to know them?

3. I usually study in my bedroom. It’s very _______________.

4. I move my arms and _______________ and drink some water.


5. It’s important to get up and move your_______________.

6. Next time I think I can get _______________ marks!


TOPIC 10
Using colours to do homework

Listen to the presentation about using colours to organise homework and do the exercises to practise

and improve your listening skills.

Preparation: matching

Match the two parts of the sentences and write a–f next to the numbers 1 –6.

1 … ….. You can use colour a. from a library.

2 … ….. A stationery shop b. to remember important things.

3 … ….. You can write on sticky notes c. days, weeks and months of a year.

4 … ….. We borrow books d. is red, white and blue.

5 … ….. The flag of Britain e. coding to organise homework.

6 … ….. A calendar shows the f. sells pens and paper.

1. Check your understanding: true or false

Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. You need to buy some stationery to organise your homework like this. True False

2. The things you need are not cheap. True False

3. The colour you choose should mean something to you. True False

4. PE is yellow because she doesn’t like yellow. True False

5. She keeps all her notes in the same folder. True False

6. She uses red for geography notes. True False

7. She uses flags to mark pages she has to read. True False

8. When she thinks of French, she thinks of her favourite animal. True False

2. Check your understanding: matching

Match the subjects with the colours and write a–e next to the numbers 1 –5.

1 … ….. green a. French

2 … ….. yellow b. geography

3 … ….. blue c. PE
4 … ….. black d. history

5 … ….. pink e. maths

3. Check your vocabulary: gap fill

Complete the sentences with a word from the box.

calendar notes folders

colour pages subject

1. The speaker uses _______________ coding to organise her homework.

2. She suggests buying coloured pens, _______________ and other stationery.

3. She chooses a colour for each _______________.

4. History is blue so her folder is blue and her history _______________ are on blue sticky notes.

5. Then she uses blue flags to mark the _______________ she needs to read for history homework.

6. She uses coloured stars on a _______________ to organise each subject’s homework.

Discussion

Do you agree with the method used above? Why?

How about your own method?


TOPIC 11
Ordering food in a café

Listen to the conversation in a café and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Write the words in the correct group.

Banana cake Cola Ice cream Water

Apple tart Apple juice Four cheeses pizza Cheese burger

Chicken curry and rice Orange juice Chocolate cake Seafood salad with bread

Main courses Desserts Drinks

1. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the best answer to complete these sentences.

1. For his main course, Andi chooses a normal cheese burger / a double cheese burger / a burger

with chips.

2. For dessert, Andi chooses ice cream / chocolate cake / banana cake.

3. To drink, Andi chooses apple juice / fizzy water / still water.

2. Check your understanding: ordering

Write a number (1 -5) to put the questions in the order you hear them.

… … … …. Anything else?

… … … …. A cheese burger or double cheese burger?

… … … …. What would you like?


… … … …. Would you like a drink?

… … … …. What’s your table number?

Discussion

Do you like fast food? Why or why not?

What’s your favourite restaurant? What food and drink do you like to have there?

Vocabulary Box Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.
TOPIC 12
Inviting someone to the cinema

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Which one do you like among the Film genre below?

historical drama cartoon romantic comedy

science fiction horror action

1. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the best answer to complete these sentences.

1. Ismael is OK, but a bit ill / OK, but has a lot of homework / OK, but a bit bored .

2. ‘Light and dark’ is a horror film / a science fiction film / a romantic comedy .

3. The comedy film is about a family / shop / school .

4. Jack hates horror films / romantic films / science fiction films .

5. They decide to see a romcom / horror film / science fiction film .

6. They decide to meet at 7 o’clock / half past seven / 8 o’clock .

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with a word or phrase.

1. Jack: Hi, Ismael. How are you?

Ismael: Hi, Jack. I’m OK but I’ve got loads of _______________.

2. Jack: We don’t know. We can’t decide. There’s that new _______________ film, ‘Light and

dark’.

3. Jack: OK, well there’s a _______________ about a school.

4. Ismael: Oh, no more school, please! What about a _______________?

5. Jack: What? Really? No, I hate romantic films. I like _______________.

6. Ismael: Well, there’s a new science fiction film, ‘Alien attacks’.

Jack: OK, I like _______________. Let’s see that.

7. Ismael: At 8 o’clock. Let’s meet at 7.30 _______________ the cinema.

8. Jack : OK. _______________ you _______________.


Ismael: Bye.

What kind of films do you like?

I like …

I don’t really like …


TOPIC 13
Interview with a swimmer

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Write a number (1 -5) to put these activities in the normal order in

the day.

… … … …. Get dressed and have breakfast.

… … … …. Have classes and lunch.

… … … …. Have dinner and watch TV.

… … … …. Wake up and have a shower.

… … … …. Go to bed.

1. Check your understanding: true or false

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. Dan gets up early. True False

2. He has a small breakfast. True False

3. He’s a student. True False

4. Dan has lunch at home. True False

5. He goes swimming after classes. True False

6. Dan watches TV and goes on the internet before bed. True False

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Fill the gaps with an activity from the box to complete Dan’s diary.

get up! go to university meet friends have lunch

have breakfast have dinner go swimming

1. 5 a.m. _____________________________________________

2. 6 a.m. _____________________________________________

3. 8 a.m. _____________________________________________

4. 11 a.m. _____________________________________________
5. 2 p.m. _____________________________________________

6. 5 p.m. _____________________________________________

7. 7 p.m. _____________________________________________

Discussion

What’s your daily routine like?

What time do you get up?

What time do you start and finish school?

Do you do any activities after school? What do you do?

What time do you go to bed?


TOPIC 14
Getting an ID card

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a – f next

to the number 1 – 6.

1 … ….. ID card a. A paper document with spaces for information.

2 … ….. Form b. A group of numbers and letters used as part of your address.

(British English)

3 … ….. Surname c. Your second name or family name.

4 … ….. Postcode d. For example British, Japanese, Mexican, Albanian …

5 … ….. Nationality e. A school for students aged 11 -18.

6 … ….. Secondary school f. An identity card with a photo to say who you are.

1. Check your understanding: ordering

Do this exercise while you listen. Write a number (1 -8) to put the questions in the order you hear

them.

… … … …. What’s your school?

… … … …. Have you got a photo?

… … … …. What’s your postcode?

… … … …. And what’s your date of birth?

… … … …. What’s your address?

… … … …. Can you spell that, please?

… … … …. And what’s your nationality?

…………. Have you got the form?

2. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle the correct option to complete these sentences.

1. The student’s name is Abdul Surinami / Ahmed Saeed / Ashraf Suri .


2. He’s 14 / 15 / 16 .

3. His address is 14 Spring Avenue, Leicester / 40 Spring Avenue, Lester / 30 Spring

Avenue, Lemster .

4. He’s Chinese / Russian / British .

5.

He goes to Newtown Secondary School / Newtown Secondary College / Newton

Secondary School .

6. His date of birth is 2nd July 1997 / 2nd June 1998 / 22nd June 1998 .

Discussion

Do you have an ID card?

When do use you it?

I use it when I go to …

I use it when I need to …


TOPIC 15

Band auditions

Preparation

Do this exercise before you listen. Match the vocabulary with the definition and write a – c next to the

number 1 – 3.

1 … ….. band a. An object like a piano, guitar or drum that you use to play music.

2 … ….. instrument b. A time when a band asks new people to sing or play to decide if

they can be in the band.

3 … ….. audition c. A group of people who play music.

1. Check your understanding: true or false

Do this exercise while you listen. Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. The boy wants to be in the band. True False

2. He doesn’t like singing. True False

3. He can’t remember the song on the guitar. True False

4. The boy is good at the drums. True False

5. The girl says she will call him the next day. True False

2. Check your understanding: gap fill

Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with a phrase from the box.

band audition I love music I love singing

I can’t remember Yes, I can I can play the guitar

Boy: Ah, band auditions. Great! I’d love to be in a band! … Hi. Is this the

____________________________________________________?

Girl: Hello. Yes. So you’d like to be in our band?

Boy: Yes, ____________________________________________________.

Girl: Well, we need a singer, a guitarist and a drummer.


Boy: Oh, _____________________________________________________!

Girl: OK, so you can sing. Let’s sing the beginning of this song … Right, OK, mmm, maybe not. Can

you play an instrument?

Boy: Er, well, ____________________________________________________ a little.

Girl: OK, let’s hear you. What can you play? … That’s it?

Boy: Er, yeah. ____________________________________________________ any more.

Girl: Erm, can you play the drums?

Boy: Yeah, sure.

Girl: OK! OK! STOP! That’s enough. Erm, what about the maracas? Can you play the maracas?

Boy: ____________________________________________________.

Girl: Great, great! Hmm … thanks for coming. I’ll call you next week.
TOPIC 16

Listening skills practice: A good night’s sleep

Preparation: matching

Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a–h next to the numbers 1 –8.

1 … ….. an exam a. useful information or advice

2 … ….. bedtime b. a test to show what a person knows or can do

3 … ….. a listener c. the time you go to bed

4 … ….. low d. the most difficult

5 … ….. a tip e. quiet

6 … ….. the hardest f. a person who listens

7 … ….. busy g. making a lot of noise

8 … ….. loud h. doing something

1. Check your understanding: true or false

Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. The guest in the studio is a teacher. True False

2. Some people can sleep well with a television on. True False

3. It is bad to think a lot before going to bed. True False

4. It is good to play video games before bed. True False

5. It is good to turn your mobile off when you go to sleep. True False

6. It is bad to play loud music while you sleep. True False


2. Check your vocabulary: gap fill

Complete the sentences with a word from the box.

earlier in the evening Welcome Turn off

useful advice great to be here down low

1. _______________ to the show, Doctor Baker.

2. Thank you. It’s _______________. Let’s start with tip one.

3. Do your hardest homework _______________.

4. _______________ your mobile when you go to bed.

5. Play music if you like. But turn the sound _______________.

6. That is very _______________ for our young listeners.

Discussion

Do you sleep well?

How many hours do you sleep a night?

Vocabulary Box Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.

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