Listening Skill: Taking NotesTaking notes as you listen helps you organize and remember important ideas and information.
Tips for effective note-taking:
1. You need to listen, think and take notes at the same time.
2. Focus on what the lecturer/speaker is saying and not on the delivery.
3. Do not write in complete sentences and remember to use abbreviations.
4. Develop the habit of distinguishing between essential and nonessential information.
5. Paraphrase what you are hearing so that you will take notes faster and remember more of what you hear.
Vocabulary buildingA collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound “right” to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound “wrong”. For example, we take the fast train; we don’t take the quick train. We speak a language; we don't say a language.
Some of the most common types are:
● adverb + adjective: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)
● noun + noun: a surge of anger (NOT a rush of anger)
● noun + verb: lions roar (NOT lions shout)
● verb + noun: commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)
● verb + expression with preposition: burst into tears (NOT blow up in tears)
Read the vocabulary skill. Read the conversations and choose the correct words to complete the sentences. Then practice the conversations.
Conversation 1
A: Hi! What do you do in your leisure time?
B: I (do/play) basketball and (listen to/hear) music. How about you?
A: I (watch/see) movies and (do/go) shopping.
Conversation 2
A: What other dialects do you (say/speak)?
B: I speak Cantonese.
Conversation 3
A: Do you (go/play) a sport?
B: Yes. I (play/do) volleyball. How about you?
A: I don’t like sports, but I like to (ride/go) bicycles and (do/go) hiking.