Collins '

EAP

ectures .

Learn listening and

note-taking skills
Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson

Academic Skills Series

Collins
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About the authors

Fiona Aish has taught, designed and managed English for Academic
Purposes courses at several universities and language schools in the UK.
Nowadays she works with postgraduate students on developing their
academic skills and dissertation writing.

Jo Tomlinson has worked at a number of universities and language

schools in the UK, teaching both general and academic English. She
currently delivers workshops and tutorials for postgraduate students on
academic skills and dissertation development.

Jo and Fiona are now directors of Target English Ltd, a company

specialising in teaching English for Academic Purposes and English for
exams. They have co-authored three books in the Collins English for
Exams Series: Listening for IELTS, Grammar for IELTS and Get Ready
for IELTS: Writing.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all our students and fellow teachers, in particular
Kate, Elisha, Inghar, Omar and Diego, who have been a great source of
information for the material in this book. Also, our thanks go to the team
at Collins ELT for their support and guidance.

We would like to dedicate the book to Andy Heywood and Margaret

Carvell.

HarperCollins and the authors would like to thank the following

contributors for kindly allowing us to record and use their lectures to
provide authentic listening practice: Dr Suzanne Hagan & Dr Uma
Shahani, Glasgow Caledonian University; Professor Bruce D. Malamud,
King's College London; Dr Joanna Royle, The University of Glasgow;
Professor Ammon Salter, Imperial College Business School; Jenny Siklos,
Madison English as a Second Language School.

~llcaledol1ial1
University
~
~
University
ifGlasgow
Imperial College
London
MESLS
i:':::'l::,t.::'.:.:.,
Contents
Introduction 6

Chapter 1 The purpose of lectures 8

• different types of listening
• what a lecture is
• what is expected from students
• the rhythm of English
• formal and informal language
Chapter 2 Preparing for lectures 20
• using course structure to prepare for lectures
• reading before a lecture
• understanding key vocabulary
• pausing and 'chunking' in speaking
• signposting
A
Authentic lecture 1: Bill Gates and philanthrocapitalism 30
C
Chapter 3 The structure of lectures 34
• understanding the structure of lectures
• differing lecture structures
• time expressions
• introductions and conclusions
Chapter 4 Features of speech 46
C
• noticing lecturers' accents and styles
• natural spoken language
• connected speech
• dealing with unknown words
• recording vocabulary
A
Authentic lecture 2: A brief overview of tsunamis 58
Lt
Chapter 5 Understanding points 62
• content of lecture notes GI
• lecturers' voice
• understanding fact and opinion AI
• reference words
AI
Chapter 6 Thinking critically 74
• analysing the lecturer's perspective
 Contents

• evaluating arguments and views in a lecture

• applying critical thinking
• connected speech and the 'schwa'
• rhetorical questions
Authentic lecture 3: The pursuit of innovation 88

Chapter 7 Strategies for note taking 92

• different note-taking systems
• taking notes quickly
• relative clauses
• rising and falling intonation

Chapter 8 Understanding your notes 104

• the importance of notes for assessments
• rewriting notes
• organizing paper and electronic notes
• keeping notes accurate
• using context to help with understanding

Authentic lecture 4: The history of universities in Western Europe 116

)

Chapter 9 Other types of academic listening 120

~
• listening in tutorials
• listening in seminars
• different university systems
• pronunciation revision
• polite language
j
Chapter 10 Moving forward 130
• know your strengths and weaknesses
• making an improvement plan
• speaker 'mistakes'
• pronunciation review
Authentic lecture 5: Learner autonomy 140
B
Learner resources 144
2
Glossary @ POWERED BY COBUILD 146

Audio scripts 148

Answer key 173

4
Introduction
Collins Academic Skills Series: Lectures will give you the skills you need to listen to and
understand lectures.

Designed to be used on a self-study basis to support English for Academic Purposes or study
skills courses, it is intended for students on pre-sessional or Foundation courses as well as
for first year undergraduate students. It will also be useful for more experienced students
who want to improve their library-based research skills.

The book has ten chapters covering the key skills for listening to lectures and taking notes.
There are also five authentic lectures to give you realistic practice. You will learn how to:
• prepare for a lecture
• recognise different lecture structures
• follow the key points of a lecture
• understand lecturers' accents and speaking styles
• take notes and use them for assessments
• evaluate your listening ability
At the back of the book there is:
• a glossary of key terms
• a comprehensive answer key

Chapter structure
Each chapter includes:
• Aims - These set out the skills covered in the chapter.
• A self-evaluation quiz - By doing this you are able identify what you already know on
the subject of the chapter and what you need to learn.
• Information on academic expectations and guidelines on how to develop academic •
skills - These sections will help you understand university practices and expectations so
you know what is required . •
• Practical exercises - These help you to develop the skills to succeed at university. You can
check your answers at the back of the book.
• Tips - Key points are highlighted for easy reference and provide useful revision •
summaries for the busy student.
• Glossary - Difficult words are glossed in boxes next to where the text appears in the c
chapter. There is also a comprehensive glossary at the back of the book.
• Remember sections - This is a summary of key points for revision and easy reference.
a
 Introduction

Authentic lectures
The book uses examples of authentic lectures in different academic subjects in the authentic
lectures chapters. The authentic lectures together with the accompanying exercises provide
supported practice of the academic listening skills needed to understand lectures at
university.

Glossary boxes @ POWERED BY COBUILD

Where we feel that a word or phrase is difficult to understand, we have glossed this word/
phrase. All definitions provided in the glossary boxes have been taken from the COBUILD
Advanced Dictionary. At the end of the book there is a full alphabetical list of the most
difficult words from the book for your reference.

Using Lectures

You can either work through the chapters from Chapter 1 to Chapter 10 or you can choose
the chapters and topics that are most useful to you. The Contents page will help in your
selection.

Study tips
• Each chapter will take between three and four hours depending on how many times
you listen to the audio scripts. Take regular breaks and do not try to study for too long.
Thirty to sixty minutes is a sensible study period.
• Regular study is better than occasional intensive study.
• Read the chapter through first to get an overview without doing any exercises. This will
help you see what you want to focus on.
• Try the exercises before checking the Answer key. Be an active learner.
• After doing the listening exercises in the book, you may want to do them again to try to
understand more of the content.
• All university departments are different. Use the information in the book as a guide to
investigating your own university department.
• Write questions you can ask to find out how your department delivers lectures, seminars
and tutorials.
• There is no one correct way of listening to lectures and taking notes. Use your experience
of doing the exercises to learn what works best for you. Adapt the suggestions in this
n
book to suit your learning style and context.
• Learning to listen to lectures and take notes is an on-going process, which means you
need to practise the same skills many times. Revise regularly.

Other titles

Also available in the Collins Academic Skills Series: Writing, Research, Numbers, Presenting,
and Group Work.

7
1 The purpose of lectures I
Aims ./ recognize different types of listening ./ recognize possible problems in lectures
./ understand what a lecture is ./ understand the importance of attending
./ know what is expected from you lectures

a
G
t:

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle the answers that are true for you.
:.... .. ........... ....... ........ .. ....... .. .... .. ...... .... ......................................................... ..... .......... ..... ... :....... .... ........ ...................... .. ..... ..................... :
,

: 1 I know who speaks in a lecture. . agree I disagree I not sure :

1· ......................................................................................,............ ".................................. .....;.....................................................................~
: 2 I know how long a lecture usually is. . agree I disagree I not sure ~
j.............. ........ ............... ........ ................................. .......... ,............... ........ ...... ...... .... ........ .,.. ;....................... ............. .................. ....... .. .... ..;

I. ..~. . . ~. ~~.~~.~~~. ~t.~~.~~.~~.~.~..~~.. ~.e.c.~~.~.e.~.......................................................... :......~.~ ~~~ ...~ ...~i.~.~.~~~~... ~ ...~~.~..~.~~~.......:

: 4 I know what students are supposed to do in a lecture. : agree I disagree I not sure
: ................ ............ .. ......... ... .. .......... .. ........ ........ .. ........ .... ...... ......... .. ...................... . ............ :.... ........ .. ......... ...... .... ......... .... ...... .. ............... :
, ,

What types of listening do you do at university?

At university there are many situations where you will listen to different
speakers. Some of these situations will be academic, where you will listen
to your lecturers and tutors, some will be to find information about
university life, for example, from the university's accommodation staff
and some will be social, such as talking to other students in a cafe.

In some situations you will listen to one person speaking and in other Th
situations you will listen to a group of people speaking or discussing
something. You will also listen for different lengths of time and for
different reasons. 11
DveI
_-\n (
Ti P ./ The tertiary education institution you go to after high school can be called different
ofa
names. In the USA, it is university, school and college. In the UK, it is university, or
1 a
' uni' and college. In South Africa, it is university, 'varsity', technikon, technical training
und(
college or just institutes of further education and training. In Australia it is university
desc
or 'uni' and TAFE (Technical And Further Education).
as a
 1 The purpose of lectures

The different reasons for listening at university can be summarized as

follows:
intensive
Intensive General listening: informal conversations, listening for specific
activity involves
information in social situations, listening for advice from non-academic
concentrating a
lot of effort or university staff.
people on one
particular task in Academic listening: intensive listening for long periods of time to develop
order to try and your understanding of a topic, listening to explanations of assignments,
achieve a great listening to topics being discussed in seminars, listening to your lecturers
deal in a short
time.
in tutorials.

o., ,.
CJ
01
Exercise 1
Listen to the four extracts and write the order in which you hear the following
situations:
A An informal conversation between students C A student asking staff for information
B A lecture D A talk for students

What is a lecture?
A lecture is a talk given by a subject expert on a particular topic. The
subject expert is usually called a lecturer. A lecture often takes place in a
large room or lecture hall/theatre and is attended by a large number of
1 students, sometimes hundreds. The lecturer will talk about a particular
topic to all the students who will take notes. A lecture normally lasts
around 45 minutes to an hour.

The purpose of lectures

Lectures are talks which give students a general overview of a topic. For
example, a lecture on the anatomy of the brain will give you general
overview information about the parts which make up the brain. Similarly, a talk on
An overview
marketing ethics will give you general information on what 'marketing
of a situation
is a general ethics' means along with information on current ideas on the topic. A
understanding or lecture is meant to be an overview. It is up to you to research the topic in
description of it detail both before and after the lecture. The lecture is intended to give you
as a whole.
a starting point for further study.

I 9
Lectures

Tips A lecture will give you:

./ Current, general academic opinions on a topic .
./ Key definitions, names, dates, theories and facts .
./ Ideas for further research and reading .
./ A starting point for your own thoughts.

How is a lecture different from other forms of speaking?

A lecture is a specific type of speaking and differs from other types of
speaking such as a conversation or a discussion. Below are some of the
real time
features of a lecture.
If something
is done in real 1 The lecturer has prepared what s/he is going to say in advance.
time, there is
no noticeable The lecturer brings notes and usually has some form of visual
delay between
the action and material (for example, a Power Point presentation) or handouts for
its effect or students. This means that the lecture will follow a structure and has
consequence. a more recognized order than a general conversation. The lecturer
concentrate knows what s/he wants to say and has thought about how to explain
If you it clearly. This is different from a conversation, where speakers think ~
concentrate on
and speak in 'real time'. \
something you
give all your
attention to it. 2 The lecturer speaks for a long time.

In a lecture the lecturer usually speaks for an hour, sometimes longer.

This means that the listeners have to concentrate hard on one speaker
for a long period of time. This is not like conversations or discussions
where the speakers share the talking and listening time.

3 The students do not usually ask questions.

In conversation or discussion the speakers can interrupt each other

to ask questions, explain words, or give their own point of view.
In a lecture it is different; the students do not usually have the
opportunity to ask questions during the lecture except at the end.
Occasionally the lecturer will invite questions during the lecture, but
this is not always the case.
 1 The purpose of lectures

o
()
'1 I'
02
Exercise 2
Listen to two lecturers speaking about lecturing, and complete the dialogue.

'Well, I've been 1 lecturing for about 40 years now, and it's changed a lot. I remember my
first lecture; it was me, the 2 and about 100 students. It was a bit of a scary
experience. I've seen lots of changes since then, mainly when 3 were introduced.
4
We started with , where I would project slides so that the students could see

them, to PowerPoint presentations which everyone uses, and now finally to 5_ _ _ _ _ _ •

I'm a professor in philosophy, but sometimes I feel like a professor of technology!'

'I lecture in pharmacy at the local university. The 6 has room for about 60
students. It's got a 7 at the front, but I don't like to use it. I always try to make
the lecture interesting. I bring in 8 to help students make 9 • There

isn't time for 10 in the lectures. Lectures are more like ll , but
students can always bring questions to their 12 instead.'

III

k
0 Exercise 3
Choose a word from your answers and match the word to its definition.

1 discussion when people talk about something, often in order to reach a decision
-_.
2 a large flat, thin, rectangular piece of wood used for writing on
er
IS 3 a paper containing a summary of a lecture
4 a regular meeting between a member of the teaching staff and one or
several students for discussion of a subject that is being studied
5 a large touch-sensitive screen connected to a computer and a digital
projector, used for teaching in the classroom
6 a high sloping desk for notes when giving a lecture
7 a flat vertical surface on which pictures or words are shown
8 a machine that has a light inside it and makes the writing or pictures
LIt
on a sheet or piece of plastic appear on a screen or wall
9 a room in a university or college where lectures are given
10 something you write down to remind yourself of something
11 a formal talk to show and explain an idea to an audience

11
Lectures

What is expected from you?

Your lecturers will expect you to do the following things.

ensure Before the lecture:

To ensure
something, or
• Do some preparatory reading. This will give you some background p
to ensure that on the topic and make it easier to understand the lecture.
something • Find out what the lecture is about and look up some key words.
happens, means
to make certain For more on preparing for lectures see Chapter 2. rI
that something
.-\
happens.
During the lecture:
preparatory 01
Preparatory • Take notes while the lecturer is speaking. ;n
actions are done
before doing • Do not talk to other students. Try to concentrate during the lecture.
something else
as a form of After the lecture:
preparation or as
• Do any follow up reading suggested by your lecturer.
introduction.
• Organize your notes and any handouts you are given. This will help
with essay writing and revision in the future.

Exercise 4
Imagine you are going to a lecture called 'The Future of Social Networking'. Look
at A-I below and decide if you should do them before, during or after the lecture.

A Look up any unknown words from the lecture, or ask a friend .

S Try to sit near the front and make notes. Don't expect to understand everything.
C Try to listen to radio programmes on the subject.
o Look up words on the topic of social networking and check their translations. If possible,
try to listen to the words so when you hear them you will be able to identify them.
E Check through your notes and make sure you understand them.
F Speak to other students about the topic before you go to the lecture, to familiarize yourself
with the subject.
G Compare your notes with someone else who was at the lecture.
H Write down any important words that you don't understand.
Try to write down only the key points. Don't try to write everything down!

: : : ~~~~:~.:~~?::t~:::: . : : : : : ·: : : : :r~~r:l~~:t~~: l:e:c.:~r~:: : ": : : : : : :·: : : : : :i: ~~t~::t~~?::t~:::: : :.: : : : : :· . : : : :J

 1 The purpose of lectures

Ti p ./ You may be able to record lectures, but you must ask the lecturer's permission to do this.

Pronunciation: the rhythm of English

Standard English is a stress-timed language, which means that the content
words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are usually spoken with more
rhythm
emphasis or 'stress' by the speaker. In general the speaker does not stress
A rhythm is a
regu lar series the other 'grammar' words. Below are some examples of unstressed
of sounds or grammar words.
movements .

For example:

Modal verbs: may, might, can, could, will, would, must, should ...

Auxiliary verbs: is, are, was, were, have, had

J
Prepositions: in, at, to, for, etc.

Articles: a, the

Pronouns: I, he, she, it, they, etc.

< Quantifiers: some, all, none, etc.

These two English sentences take approximately the same amount of time
to say.

1 Please wait here and the manager will see you in 5 minutes.

2 li you just wait here, the manager will be able to see you in
5 minutes .

The stressed words are in bold and the unstressed words are underlined.

13

1
Lectures

o03
Now listen to the examples.

Using stressed and unstressed words is very common with native speakers
of English but less common in people who use English as a second or 11
o
other language. These speakers tend to make less difference between
stressed and unstressed words compared to native speakers of English.

oo 04
Exercise 5
Listen to the following sentences and mark the stressed and unstressed words
used by the speaker. Pc
1 'Last week I went to a really interesting lecture on space but I didn't understand that
much of it because I hadn't prepared enough.'
2 'One of the most important aspects of university study which is totally different from
school is being able to manage the workload.'
3 'What I don't like about studying biology is having to write up the lab reports after
doing the experiments.'
4 'So, if you look at this slide, you'll notice how the concepts of philosophy as described by
the Enlightenment interact with our everyday lives, even in the 21 century.'
Sf

Tip ./ Remember that the rhythm of different speakers is unique so the rules of stress
in English are general. Stress patterns might differ according to the accent and
background of the lecturer.

For more on word stress and speaker intonation see Chapter 5.

The difficulty of lectures

When English is not your first language, lectures can seem very
challenging, but you can develop techniques or strategies to help you
attention span focus your listening. Firstly, you will need to be prepared to listen to the
Your attention
span is the
lecturer talking for a long time, so you need to develop a good attention
amount of time span. Secondly, your lecturers will have different accents and some will
that you can speak quickly, some slowly. Some of your lecturers will be easier to
concentrate on a
understand than others. Remember that not every lecturer will be a good
particular task,
activity, or subject speaker, some may repeat themselves, or speak too quietly, or be unclear.
without becoming
distracted .
 1 The purpose of lectures

Also the terminology used in lectures will sometimes be unfamiliar. Often

very subject specific vocabulary is used and this means that some sections
:rs terminology
may be easier to understand than others. Finally, it can be easy to lose the
The terminology
of a subject is path of the lecture and not understand how one part links to another. All
the set of special of these problems can be solved with careful planning.
words and
expressions used For more on accents see Chapter 4.
in connection
with it.

Possible solutions to the difficulties of lectures

Cl Exercise 6
Look at the solutions in the table and match them to the problems (A-D).

A Problems with subject specific vocabulary. C Problems with losing the path of the lecture.
B Problems with general understanding. D Problems understanding sections of the lecture .
................................................................................................................................................................................................................
............ :..S.?l~~i().~~ .............................................................................................................................................. :..~r.??~~~~............ :
1 : Record the lecture. : :
~ Swap notes with another student to check understanding .

~~~~.~~~~.~~l~.~~ ~.t~.~~~.~~.~~ ~~.~~~~.~ t~.~.~.e.r..~~.i~t.~ ~~.t.~~ l.~c.~~~.e.: ............................... :............................... :

............ :.. .. .. .. .. ..
2 : Listen to long stretches of speech like the radio or online talks. : .
: Make sure you reposition yourself to keep focusing .
............!..s.~~. ~P .~~.r.~.~~~~:.................................................................................................................................... :...............................:
3 : Highlight in your notes where you have got lost or not understood, then : :
: complete these later with help. :
............:..~~~~~?~.r ..t~.~~..Y.?ll.??I1?~..I1~~?t.? .~r.~t.~..~?~.I1 ..~.~~:.Y..~.?~?:........................................... !............................... :
4 : Find out the lecture topic beforehand. : '
: Find and translate the key terms. .
............!. ~~a.?a..r?~?~..t~~.t.?pi~.?f..~~.~.. ~~~~~~~..?~~?r.~.y..?':.~().: ...........................................................:...............................!
e
n

)d
Lr.

15

1
 Lectures

Formal and informal language in lectures

The type of language you hear in your lectures will vary depending on
subject and speaker, but there are some common features in the language
of lectures. Some features are associated with academic English (formal
r.o
features) and some features are more related to spoken English (informal
features). In your lectures, be prepared for a mix of both formal and
informal language features when listening to lectures.

Tips .I Reading and writing in academic English tends to be formal.

.I Even in a formal lecture, language may be more informal because it is spoken.

Exercise 7
Read the definitions of language features in lectures and divide them into three
groups: 'formal', 'informal' and 'both'.

c:::::r~~~~~~i.~:::::::::::.:::::·::.::r:~~~i~i~~~?:::::::::: . :::::::·::::::.::::::::·:::::::::::r~~~~p'i~:.:::::::·::::::·:.::::::::::::::::r~~?~p:::::::::J
[1 : Signposting : Words used to give indications of : firstly : '

~~~~.e ~~~.~~.e.e.c.~ .~.s ~~.i.~~

:......... :........................................... :.. .. .. .................. :.. .. ~~ ?~h.~:.. u:.?~.4.s...................... ...:...... ....................:
: 2 : Noun phrases : A group of nouns used together : the issue of stem cell : :
:......... :...........................................:..~?~~~.~..~. I.?~.~ .?~s.c.~~pt.i~~ ..I1?~~:....:..~.~~~~.~~~..:.::................................:.......................... :
:3 : Idioms [ An expression which is familiar : To go out on a limb : .
[ to a group of people, but not :( h' [
: 'I'd '£1 bl f h d : to support somet mg :
: easl Y I ent! a e rom t e war s : h h. . h
: within it. : even t oug It mlg t put :
:......... :........................................... :..................................................................... :.X?~. I]! ..a.. ?I~~C.~!.t .P?SI.~~?.~) .. :.......................... :
:4 : Phrasal verbs : A two part verb that is made up [ find out (to discover) [ :
: [ of a verb + preposition or verb + : .
:......... :........................................... :..a.?~e.:.?: ..................................................... :............................................ ,.......... :..........................:
: 5 : Passive : A structure which focuses on the [ The evidence was tested : :
: constructions : object of an action and not the : in four countries.
:.........:.................................... ....... :. ~.~?J.~.c.~:................................. ....................:................. ...................................... :..... .....................:
:6 : Hedging [ Words which make a statement : There may be several : .
[ less direct for example, modal : possible reasons for the :
:.........:........................................... :..::~:.? ~? ~.~ ~.~.r!?~.'..~?j.~c.t.iv.~?~.~t.c............:..~·~~t:!.~~s:........................................:.......................... :
: 7 : Reporting verbs : Verbs which report the words of : A group of academics at : :
: [ : people. : Exeter University assert [ :
: ' [ that the results need .
.,........ :...........................................:..................................................................... :.!u.~!?~.r..~,:.a.~y'~~~: ...................... :.......................... :

16
 1 The purpose of lectures

ge
l
o
0.
05
Exercise 8
Listen to the lecture on negotiation techniques and complete the examples of
features mentioned in Exercise 7.

al 1 F of a
2 It c be s
3 E up
4 The k to great negotiation

5 The r w in negotiation
6 At -w street
7 Thei choices the other p is making
8 Asw as
9 Let's I to
10 B up

o Exercise 9
Now label the phrases in Exercise 8 with the features in Exercise 7.

For example: 1 First of all = signposting

Ti ps .I Reading and writing in academic English tends to be formal.

.I Even in a formal lecture, language may be more informal because it is spoken. Things
like phrasal verbs and idiomatic language are often used in spoken English, even in
lectures .

117
Lectures

o Exercise 10
Look at the following lecture extracts and decide which lecturer uses more
formal language and which uses more informal language.
f

A We shall begin with an overview of traditional reporting tools used by French newspapers
today, and assess whether these tools could be adapted for other countries. Then we will
consider how globalization has affected all such reporting methods.
B We will start with looking at traditional reporting tools used by French newspapers at the
moment, and assess whether these tools would work out in other markets. Then we'll look
at how globalization has had a knock-on effect on all these kinds of reporting methods.

Why attend lectures?

There are many reasons to attend lectures at university. Going to lectures
will help you learn new information about your subject area, get ideas
for writing assignments, or just give you the opportunity to meet up with
other students on your course. However, the main reasons for going to
lectures can be divided into two main areas.

o Exercise 11
Look at the list of reasons for going to lectures. Decide which relate to understanding
your course content and which relate to personal study and assessment.

1 You may get some ideas to help you with your essays, exams and presentations.
2 You can find out about how the topic of the lecture relates to the other topics or
modules on your course.
3 You will see how the topic is currently understood by academics in your university and
other universities around the world.
4 Your lecturer will focus on the important areas of the topic so you don't waste your time
researching unimportant aspects afterwards.
5 You learn about how the topic has developed over time through academic research.
6 Your lecturer may give you suggestions for reading to help you develop your
understanding of the lecture topic .
..... ... .. ......................... .. .. ............. ......... ...... .... .. ............. .......... : .. ..... ...... .......... ........... .............. ..... .... .. ... ...... ........... ................. :
Understanding your course content : Helping with your assignments and
................................................................................................ :..~~.s.e.~~~~~~~........................................................................ ,

... ... .. .............................. ............. ... ..... .... ......... .. .. .. ................. .:............. ..... ... ..... .... ....... .. ....... .. ......... .. ................... ... ............... :
 1 The purpose of lectures

Remember
A lecture is a specific form of listening; you need to listen, take notes,
./ and keep focused. You cannot usually ask questions.

The lecturer may use a mix of formal and informal language .

./
You may hear many different lecturers. They may use different
./ intonation to what you are used to. Try to become familiar with this.

You will be expected to have done some preparatory work, keep

./ good notes and do some follow-up reading.

You may be able to record your lectures, but make sure you have
./ permlSSlOn.

res

ith

19

19
1
 2 Preparing for lectures t-

I
Ai ms ./ learn to use the course structure to ./ identify'chunking'
1
prepare for lectures ./ recognize sign posting language
n
./ read before a lecture
p
./ identify key vocabulary
it
SI

JC
:\
m
Quiz d!
sp
Self-evaluation
Read the statements about preparing for a lecture below and circle the answers
that are true for you.
r"'~""" ~~~~'~" ;~~" ~~" ~~'~~~'~'~ ~~~'~~'~" ~~;;~'·~~~~·~~··~~l~~"~~·~~~··l~~~~~~·.·················:··· ~~.~~~; . . .;. .~~~. ~~~~~;... .":
i····2······i;;~~·~~~··~h;~··;~·~··k~~·:··~b·~~~··~h~··~~·;i~·~;~h··~;h·~·~··~·~~·d·~~;~··~·~··;~·~~······:·····~~~~~;···;···~ ~~··~~~~~·l ·······:
course.
i""~"""~~·~~~~·~~·~ ·~·;~~·~";~~~~·~~~"~·i· ;;"~~;;~·~~"~~.~.~;~~;~~";~"~.~ ~";~~~~.~~. "."""""j"".~. ~.~.~~;".;".~~~"~~~~~;"."".~
l· .,........................................................................................................................................................... j................................................... ~
~ 4 Read about the topic on the internet. : useful I not useful :
: :
:····5·····R~~d · ~··ii·~;i~··~b·~~~··~h~··~~·;i·~ ·~~·~·h ··~~·~·~··i~~;~·d~~~·~ ~;··~h·~ ;·~ ~~··i·~··~········ ··· ··: · ·· · ·~~~~~;···, ·· ~~t··~~~~~;·······l
textbook. : :
:.... .... ............ .. ............................................................................... .................. ......... .............................. : ....... ....... ...... ......... ... .. .. ......... ..... .

: 6 Write a list of things you know about the topic and wh at you want
to learn in the lecture.
useful I not useful
: .............................. ............ .... ......... ..... .. ......... .................................. .. .... .... .. .................... ......... ....... ..... : ..... .............................................. :

oo 06
Exercise 1
Listen to an interview with Sarah, a Sociology student, about preparing for
lectures and compare her ideas with your answers to the Self-evaluation task.

20
 2 Preparing for lectures

How does my course structure relate to my lectures?

The structure of your course is the order that you do the modules,
lectures and assignments. When you start a university course you will be
relate given a 'handbook' which is a document containing all the information
If something
relates to a
about what you will study, the assessments you will do, lists of books and
particular subject, journal articles to read and all the rules and regulations of the university.
it concerns that It can be a useful place to start your preparation for lectures. It will
subject.
usually give you a list of lecture topics and the books or articles you
journal
should read, which means you can start preparing straight away.
A journal is a
magazine that
deals with a
specialist subject.

Tips The reading list for your course may be long. It is usually divided into two sections; core
and supplementary reading .
./ Start with the core reading as this gives a solid foundation to the course or module .
./ Look at the supplementary reading when you have a better idea of the topic.

~ Exercise 2
Look at this section of a contents page from an undergraduate Sociology degree
handbook and answer the questions.
1 Which modules will be a general overview of a topic? How do you know?
2 Which modules do you think a first year Sociology student would need to
do more preparation for? Why?

"'fJj
:-,e First Year Sociology Modules Page
-'(i
~ 1 Introduction to Sociology 10
,~
-,fIfI; 2 Theories in Sociology 11
.~

,~

4j
3 Modern community structures 12
~
4 Introduction to social welfare 13
~
5 The principles of social welfare 14
w;t
6 Social welfare in practice 15
~

Ti P ./ Modules based on principles may be more complicated so you may need to prepare
more to get the most out of the lecture.

121
Lectures

o Exercise 3
Imagine that you are a Sociology degree student. Look at the reading list from
the course handbook. Decide which book or article you should read before each
of the lectures in the handbook. You will need to use two of the books/articles
more than once.

Reading list BA Business Studies - First year modules

Brown, S. and Cross, J. (2008) Understanding the reality of social welfare. Oxford: Oxford
Publishing. CHAPTER 1
Fredrickson, U. (2002) Social welfare; origins, theorizing and applicability. Richmond House
Publishing: New York. CHAPTERS 1 and 6
Thomas, F. (2010) Introduction to theories and ideas in Sociology, London: McGraw Hill
Education. UNITS 1-3
Waiters, G. (1999) How new communities work in the 21 st century. Journal of Globalisation
Vol l (5)p. 234-240

Moc\uLe:L: lv\'t voc\uctLov\' to SOGLoLo0tj

1Soolz(s)1 c1YhcLe: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Moc\uLe 2 : lt1eovLes LV\, socLoLo0tj

1Soolz(s)1 clYhcLe: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

1Soolz(s)1 ilvhcLe: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __

Moc\uLe 4 : Iv\'t voc\ uctLov\' to SOCLilL weLfilvt

1Soolz(s)1 r1rtLcLe: _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Moc\uLe 5: lt1e -pvLVl,CL-pLes of socLc:lL weLfc:lve

1Soolz(s)1 c:lrtLcLe: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

1Soolz(s)1 c:lrtLcLe: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __

Reading as a way to prepare for lectures

Reading is a good way to prepare for lectures because it means you can
develop a general understanding of the information your lecturer will talk
about. When you read about a topic you should:

• Re-read as many times as you need to.

• Look up unknown words in a dictionary.

 2 Preparing for lectures

• Listen to these words using an online dictionary.

• Ask another student to help you understand the text.

h • Make notes on points you do and do not understand.

• Become familiar with key vocabulary and ideas before the lecture.

o Exercise 4
Look at the list above and answer the following questions.

1 Which of the activities do you do already?

2 Which ones might you find useful?
3 Why could they be useful?

What should I read before each lecture?

Knowing what to read before a lecture can be easy if your lecturers
give you particular books or articles before each lecture. However, if no
reading list is provided, you will need to make one yourself.

~ Exercise 5
Imagine you are going to a politics lecture called 'The impact of print, online
and visual media on election results in EU countries post 2000'. Read the
description of the lecture. Write a list of six things you could do or read before
the lecture.

This lecture will look at how the three types of media have affected election results in the
countries of the EU . It will examine countries where the media has influenced results
considerably and countries where the media has had less impact. The lecture will only focus on
results post 2000 and will focus particularly on comparing the effect of online media with the
m more traditional types of print and visual media.
talk
1 look up definitions and examples of each type of media

23
1
 Lectures

Cl
0.
Exercise 6
Now listen to James, a politics lecturer, giving some advice on preparing for this
lecture. Tick the things he suggests. Can you think of any more ideas to add to
07 this list?
.... ... .......... ... .............. .. ... .. ..... .......... ..... ...... ............ .... ..... ..... ....... ... .. .......... ........ .... ........... .. ....... ... ........ ....... ............ .. ...... ... ........ .............

!.~~0.~~. . .. ... . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . .. .. . . . .... . .. . .. . . . . . ... .. .. . . .. . .... . . . . .. . ... . !..v'..~(!~."!.~~.~~~s..i.~.~:..a..~??.~. ~4.~a...!

i::::;::~::;;:::::::'~::;:;:;';:::'ri
! · ·Ch·~·~·k· ~h·~··~·~~~·i~~ ·~f·~~~··~~·~·d~·~·~··;h;~~·~·~· ·;~··~ · d;~~i~~~;;: ··· · · ·· ·· ····· ··· · · !·· · · · ·· ·· · · . ........... ................... ................. . .....!
.
: ·"R~~d ·~ ; ;~~d· ·~h~·· ~~ ~·i~:········· · · ··· ·· ·· ·· · ······ ....... .................... . ................... . ... ............
.
!... . ...... ........... . ....... .......,
. ................ . ..........!
. . .

, ~~"";t y~;tt;~d,~~t~ O~t~,=O,h,;:,,, Of;~~~krJ

iT~t~=~:k O".ttht ,~OOt,,,OOht=tt,,thttOP,,'~t~, ~tl,i

Cl
(
Exercise 7
James describes a three-step technique to prepare for lectures. Now listen to
0. 08
Sarah from Exercise 1 describing her technique and put the stages below in the
correct order. Write 1-5 next to the stages.

A Reserve books on the library database.

B Asking other students what they know about the lecture topic.
• 2.1
C Re-read my lecture notes from the week before looking for any connections.
o Check the reading list for any relevant books/articles. - ~ ...

E Read the library books for two hours before the lecture.

Identifying and understanding key vocabulary

Understanding key vocabulary is important in helping you prepare for
lectures. Make sure you read any information which describes the lecture
content beforehand and check the meaning of specific vocabulary. If you

24 1
 2 Preparing for lectures

find it difficult to understand dictionary definitions, make sure you ask

other students or your lecturers.
IS
....... tVie tVi[V\,gs ov\,
For example: .......
..... ...
wvi [cvi [t [s bIAsed

Lecture 2.1 - Foundations"of Psychology reLlAhvog to tVie VVteV\,tlA Lprocess

I [V\,voLved [ V\, RV\,OW[V\,g, Lwvv\'~ v\'g,
This lecture will cover the following: lAv\'d uV\,derstlAV\,dLvog tViLV\,gs

• core areas of research such as cogn{ti~e,

.... processes lAv\'d stlAtes tVilAt
developmental, social and biological sociology.
....... ............ ......
.......... Ioccur LV\, tVie bodLes lA v\'d celLs
of LLvLV\,g tViLV\,gs
• an overview of the conceptual foundations and
historical development of psy~·hd~gy:····················· .............,........... 1 reLlAted to Ldws lAv\'d coV\,ce-pts
fo rVVted LV\, tVie VVtLV\,d

The student here has written definitions next to any difficult words.
Think of other things from the previous exercises that could help
the student prepare.

o Core module
Exercise 8
Complete the table with the correct word from the box.

Core textbook Course outline Elective

Handbook Journal Optional module Reading list
...... .... ... .... ............ .......... ................ ......... ................ ............... .. ... .. ........ .. .... .... .......................... .. .. .. ............. ...................... ....... ..............

j..F.~~~.t~?~ ....................................................... j..~?~? j..F.~~~~~?.~ ....................................................... 1..~?~?

...... ........ ..............
~
: a book containing all information : 1 handbook : a short description of the content : 5
:..a.~.?~.~ ..~..~.~!?~.r.~!.o/...~.?~.:.~~.......................:............................. :..?~.~ ..~.?~.:.~~...................................................:.......................... .
: a course which all students must :2 : a list of books for a course or :6

[. s~~.~:...................................... ................. . ......I. . . ... . . . .... . . . .J.~.~~.~~.~..... . . . . . . . ... .. . . . . . .. . .. .... .1 . . . . . .. . . . . . .

: an academic magazine containing : 3 : a course on a degree which :7
: a variety of articles on the same: : students can choose to study :
:. su. ~j.~~t........................................................... :............................. :.......................................................................... :..........................
: a course unrelated to a degree :4 : a book which all students must :8

1.. \\,~i~~..~.~~~~~~.~..~.~~..~.~~~.~~ ..~~..~.~~.~:....1.............. ............. ..I..r~.~.~..~~.~..~.~~~~~~ ....... ................................1.... ........ ............. .

Ti p ./ Universities, faculties or departments may use slightly different terminology so make

r sure you check the meanings used for your course.

:ure
ou
25
Lectures

Why do lecturers pause when speaking? w

All speakers pause and this includes university lecturers. Lectures may
pause for several reasons such as:
complex
Something 1 To allow students more time to write notes.
that has many
different parts 2 To give students time to think about and/or understand complex
and is therefore
often difficult to
information.
understand.
3 To check their own notes.

4 To consider how best to explain something.

5 To give students time to look at visual information.

6 To check students have understood something.

7 To ask a question in an interactive lecture.

These pauses usually occur at the end of a sentence, section or piece of

information and help students to follow what the lecturer is saying.

Ti p ./ Sometimes the lecturer will change the direction of their talk because something
distracts them or they have a new idea. This can happen mid-sentence and usually the
lecturer will need to start their sentence again.

o0.
09
Exercise 9
Read the transcript from a politics lecture and mark where you think the
speaker will pause.

So, can everyone see the systems on this slide clearly? Is that better now?lokay, great. Now
what I want to talk about here is how this first one is used by the government to predict the
popularity levels of their policies in online surveys. This is a key issue for political parties and
something that political analysts and bureaucrats have been struggling with for years . You
see there is a trade-off between asking the questions and putting ideas into people's heads.
What do you think this might be? Exactly, the positive results of one set of survey data may
cause negative results in another set as each survey is sent to a specific target group. Surveys
require specialist researchers to compile and analyse them which costs money; badly formed
surveys usually produce data which is of little use to governments, right? So we are going to
look at the construction of these surveys using this system and assess some previous results
in terms of accuracy and reliability.

Now listen and check your answers. What is the reason for each pause?
 2 Preparing for lectures

What is chunking and how can it help my -

listening?
--

When people speak they use small pauses which are connected to the
grammar and word stress of the language. Speakers naturally group
words together into phrases and these phrases are separated by small
pauses. These small pauses help the listener work out how the words
relate to each other and therefore understand the speaker's meaning.

~ Exercise 10
Listen to two speakers read the same sentence and decide who is easier to
0.
10
understand, Speaker 1 or Speaker 2. The sentence is divided into three sections
or 'chunks' to help the listener.
As a result of studying urban communities in large cities / we are now just beginning to
understand / the effects of new building schemes on creating harmony.

o
0.
11
Exercise 11
Read the sentences below aloud and mark the 'chunks'. Then listen to check
your answers.

1 So what we have here is an example of a policing policy which could be responsible

for an area's crime statistics, however it is difficult to say for sure because this is a new
approach which may require time to provide a clear picture.

2 It's important to remember that demographics are dynamic, by that I mean that people
and places are constantly in a state of change, so don't rely on data that is more than
5 years old if you are focusing on urban areas or towns which have received a recent
influx of inhabitants.

Signposting
Signposting is an important tool that all lecturers use. Signposts in
lectures are certain words that tell you the order or importance of
information, or introduce a contrast or addition.

For example, you might hear a lecturer saying 'So after we've looked at
the history of the subject, we'll move on to present thought.' This tells you
that the order you will hear the information is, first the history and then
today's ideas.
27
Lectures

Exercise 12
Below are eight functions for signposting. Read the 16 extracts and match each
one to a signposting function in the box.

Functions
~ ....................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................
~ ~

!.......................................................................................................
~
A Clarifying !;........................................................................................................
1 'So, now we've looked at x.' ! ~

! B Finishing a point ! 2 'In particular, we'll see .. .' !

[~:::.·.?~i~~i~~:~i.fi.~:~~:~~:~~:·: :.: : .: :·: : : :·: : : : .: :.: .: : . :·: .: : :::r:x: ·<·:: ~;'·t~l~': ~ : ~~~~.::.: : : :. : .: ..:.: .: ..:.. . : : . :.:.:::.:::.J
I.. ~ ~~.~~~.~~.c.~~~..~~.~~.~.~.~~ .................................................... ......~....:~~~.~~.~~.~~.~.~~~~..~:..~~.~~..l.~~~..~~..~,..~~~~.::.: ~..........
... .. . 1

I. ~. .....~~.~~.~~~. ~~~.~~~.a.~~~..........................................................~....:~.~~.i.~~ ~~.~~ :~ . . :. . . . . . ... ........ . . . . . . . . ... . .. . .

!
.
I··~·······~~~·r.~~~.~.~ ~~~.~.~.i~t.....................................................i. . .~... ::.·.:. ~.~.~~~. ~~~~~.~~~~.~~.~.~~~.:.: . :. . . . . . . . .......... .i
I· ·~·······~~·~~~~~·~·i.~~ . . . . ...... . . . .. . .... ... . . .. . . ...... .....:. . ....' :. :. . . . . . ..:. . . . ...... . . .
~ ~.~ ~~~ ~.~.~.~.~~.~ ~:. ~~.~~.~~~ ~~.:. : 1

:'; H~iV<ng'~a"'p]"!::~~:I::;:;~;~I~~~~;~:1 E
~ ........................................................................................................ ~

I. ~.~. . :~~.~~.e..~.~.~~.~..~~.~~~~.~~.~~.~~~.~.~....:.:::......................... 1

. . . . . . . ... . i
!. ~.~ ....::~.t~~ ~~~~~.~~~~.~~.~.~ ~~.~.~~ ~~:. ~~~~.~~::
I··~·~· ··:~~·~~~~·~·~~··~~·r.~::. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .... 1

I··~·~····:: . ·:···~~·~·~~~r..~.~~~.s~..~~.is..~~~~~..:... ::.......................... 1

~~....:~~..~.~~..~.e.~..~~~~.~.l.l~.~~~.~~~.~.~.~.... :... :............................. :

:..

... ~.~ ....:~~.~.r.~t.~:.~.~~:~~.. ~~.~~.~~.~.~ .~.~~..~~~~.~.~~.~.~:: ........ 1

:. . .... . ... . . . ... ...... . . . . . .... . ... .... ...... ....... .. . . ... .i.~.~.. ~~~~.~~~~~.t~.~~..~~.~~~.~l.~~.:.~. ~.~~.~~.~.~. :. :. . . . ... .i
 2 Preparing for lectures

o
n
'. ..
12
Exercise 13
Listen to three lecturers speaking. Choose the function(s) above that are they
fulfilling, and write what words they use to do it?
.. ... ........... .. .. .. ................ .. ..... ....................... .... .... .. .. ................................. ............. .... ... .......... ...... .... ........... .. .. .. ....................... ...............

!. ... . . ...... . . ... . ......... . ........!. ~~~~~~().~............. . .............. ... . . ... . ... ... . ... . . ...!. ~?~?~........................ ...........................................
~ Lecture l ' I
: ... .......... ... ............................ ................ .......... .. ............ ........................................ : ............... ......................... ...... ...... .. ..... ... ................. .
~ Lecture 2 :

~. 'L~~~~';~"i " " " """""""'" .;................................................................................. ................................................ . ...............................

~ ~

: ............. ...................... ....... .. :............ .... .. ................ ... ....... ..................................... :.... ......... ............ ................ .. ...................................... :

Remember
The course handbook can help you prepare for lectures .
./
Make sure you read around the subject to prepare for the lecture .
./
Try to listen for signposting language to help you understand the
./ direction of the lecture.

Before you go to the lecture try to understand what function it is

./ trying to fulfil (for example, is it an introduction?).

29
 LECTURE
Bill Gates and
philanthrocapitalism

Preparation 1
You are going to listen to a lecture entitled 'Bill Gates and Philanthrocapitalism'.
Which of the following steps do you think will be useful to prepare for the
lecture? Tick the steps you think might be useful.

1 Read some business magazines. 0

2 Find a definition of philanthrocapitalism. 0
3 Read some biographical information about Bill Gates. 0
4 Find some background information on philanthrocapitalism. 0
5 Read a book about Bill Gates and Microsoft. 0
6 Try to find out and look up some key vocabulary on the areas of 0
Bill Gates and philanthrocapitalism.

Now do the things that you ticked in order to prepare yourself.

Preparation 2
Look at the words and decide which you might hear in the lecture. Circle these.

bilingual billionaire business

capitalism distinction entrepreneur
philanthropy philantrocapitalism pledge

Now look up the meaning of any of the words that you have circled in your
dictionary.

30
 Lecture 1

o Preparation 3
When writing notes, students often use abbreviations. There are some standard
abbreviations that can be used when taking notes in any lecture. These are
worth learning so that you can use these when you take notes. The following
standard abbreviations are used in the notes on page 33. Look at the
n'.
abbreviations and match them to their full meanings.

1 def: a because
2 um b university
3 w. C Chief Executive Officer
4 cos d with
5 q e born
6 b f education
7 CEO g question
8 ed. h definition

:e.
o Preparation 4
In addition to the standard abbreviations that students use when taking notes, it
is sometimes useful to devise some lecture-specific abbreviations as well so that
if while you are listening to a lecture, you hear certain words/phrases repeated
over and over again, you can use shorthand. The following abbreviations

J
have been devised by a student and are partcular to this lecture. Look at the
abbreviations and match them to their full meanings.

1 PhilCap a computers
2 BG b Warren Buffett
3 MSoft c Microsoft
4 WB d Bill and Melinda
5 comps e Philanthroca pitalism
6 B+M f Bill Gates

31
 Lectures

o Preparation 5
Look at the notes on the opposite page that the student took on the lecture.
Notice how the student has used the standard and the lecture-specific
abbreviations.

Authentic Lecture

~~v
Lecture: Bill Gates and philanthrocapitalism
Lecturer: Jenny Siklos
MESLS Institution: Madison English as a Second Language School
Accent: American

o 13
Look at the notes on the opposite page. These were taken by the student
and most of the notes are complete, but the student missed a few points.
You are going to listen to an extract from the lecture that the student
missed. Complete the notes as you listen. The notes that you need to
complete are highlighted in grey. If you need to listen again, you can, but
try to listen only once.

Reflection
./ Are full sentences used? Why/why not?

./ Why is the last sentence underlined?

./ Are there mistakes in the notes? What kind?

./ What can you do if you can't spell a word?

./ Did you find you could write enough in the time?

To listen to the complete lecture and read the full transcript of the lecture, visit www.collinselt.com/academicskills

32
 Lecture 1

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pViLlCCI]' r;C;: vClccLvces ovce of \:Jest LvevestVVltvets lve gLVlvcg . (\:Jest returve + \:Jest cViClvcce of
SClV~vcg lLves) this lS e.g. of- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FovV1lceDi b(j r;c; ClvcDi WClYVtV\. r;uffett 201.0

WViClt~~? __________________________________________
h'O c.ovetClct but ],ubLl() ver1JCll c.oVVlVVlltVVleV\.t
peo-pLe who [lgveeulLvccl MClYiz zw:hev\)evg (Fbooiz)
lvefo DV\. webslte
c;ot 1.00 IA.SA t:JilllovcOLves, V\.ow focusLvcg ovc ________________

w-g, hClS l'leDigeDi

r;+('/\ FouveDi[ltlove WClvet to lves]'lve l'eDl'le to give bClGiz. sver(j ovce sVioulDi DiD tViis.

Q. for VVlt : WDulDi I Dio tVils wVieve sutGessful?

RtClDi ch . T ove pViLlccrp ClveDi Civeswer gs.

33
 3 The structure of lectures
Aims .I understand the structure of lectures .I notice unstressed words
.I recognize different lecture structures
.I identify structures of introductions and
conclusions

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle True or False.
····l'·····Aii··i~~~~~~~··;~··~· ~;~~ifi~··~~b·; ~~~· (·B·~ ~i~~~~: · E~~i~~~;i·~~·;· f~·ii~:··~h~·~~·~·~······ · ··:· · ;~~.~ .. . .;. .~.~;~~. . ......:
structure.
,.... ....... ............... .......... ........ ....... ... .. .............. ................ ...... ..... ..... ... ...... .. .......... ..... .. ................. .. ... .... ....... ... ~· ,·· · · · · ········ · ······· ·· ··· · ··· ··· ··· · ·l
2 Lecturers usually give an introduction and summarize the information : Tr ue I False
at the end .
.............................................. ......................................................................................................................... .........................................
~ ~

3 All use PowerPoint slides or visual information to help students follow

: True I False
the lecture .
...................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................
~ ~

4 Lecturers need to prepare their lectures and think about the structure. True I False
.... ~...... ~.~~~ ..;~~~~~~ ..~;.~;.~.~ ..~~~.~~;~.;.~~ .~~'~'~;'~~" ~~~ ' ~~~'~~~~';~'." """" "" " """ " '" .................... ..... ;~~.~ .. ... ~.~;~~ .......... : ; :
.... .. , ........ ....... ........... .................. .... .... .... ............ ..... .......... ... .. .... ........... ... ..... ............. ... ........ ........... .. ............ :.. ... ......... ... ........... ............. :

Why is it important to -understand the- structure

--- - ~- ---
of lectures?
- --- - - - - ------- -- --- -- -

When people are giving lectures, they are aiming to communicate an

idea, argument, process or description. Lecturers have prepared this
process information before and therefore the information will follow a logical
A process is a
series of actions
order, usually the simplest way to communicate this information. When o
carried out in people write essays they also follow a logical order.
order to achieve
a particular Knowing the likely structure of a lecture will help you to know what is
result. going to come next and the direction that an argument is likely to take.
This can help you keep your place and follow the lecture more easily.

34
 3 The structure of lectures

o Exercise 1
Look at the titles of the two different lectures. Use the phrases below to
complete the logical order of the lectures.

WindIWater energy The past situation The future of global warming Oil energy
What is alternative energy? Why is alternative energy good? Predictions

Lecture 1: The Development of Global Warming

The history of
global • The pr~sent • ~
warming situation ~

Lecture 2: Alternative Energies: What and Why?

For example: 1 Solar energy

t
3 For example: 2

The need for

alternative t
energy
For example: 3 Bio fuel

t
For example: 4 Hydrogen

./

What other ways could this information be presented?

~n Do all lectures follow the same structure?

Lectures do not always follow the same structure. The structure usually
IS depends on the type of information in, or function of, the lecture. When
e. you find out the title of your lecture, it is a good idea to try and think
about the type of information you are likely to hear.

35

1
Lectures

Lectures normally follow one of these structures.

A Cause and Effect B HistoricaVDevelopmental Outline
C Argument/Modern Thought 0 Process
E Case Study F Situation, Problem, Solutions (Evaluation)
G Description H Applying theory to practice

Exercise 2
Match these descriptions with the structures above.

1 The lecture presents different views on a topic and discusses how they are similar and/or
different. The views are often in opposition or controversial.
For example: Arguments for and against Stem Cell Research.
2 The lecture explains a specific situation (a case) and analyses what happened over a
limited period of time. The aim is to analyse something in considerable detail.
For example: The Development of NASA in the 1980s.
3 The lecture describes the relationship between 2 things by explaining how one affects the
other and discussed the results or impact.
For example: Climate Change and its Impacts on Early Warning Systems.
4 The lecture identifies a topic, explains why it is a problem and then presents various
solutions which are usually discussed and evaluated.
For example: Diagnosing Diseases in Children - the Difficulties, Complexities and
Solutions.
5 The lecture shows how theoretical principles or academic ideas can be used to solve a
practical problem in real life.
For example: Using Mathematical Theory to Solve Traffic Congestion Issues.
6 The lecture shows how something has changed or developed over time. It usually
analyses the past and present situations to give background information or make a point.
For example: Conducting Ecological Projects - Lessons from the Past.
7 The lecture gives a thorough explanation of a topic with details to clarify all parts.
For example: Exploring and Demystifying Saturn's Rings.
8 The lecture demonstrates a series of actions or steps from the beginning of something to
a specific end.
For example: Designing Robots: from Initial Ideas to Finished Product
 3 The structure of lectures

1)
o Exercise 3
Read the lecture titles and descriptions. Then match the lecture titles with the
structures above.

1 Title: The Life Stages of a Star

Description: This lecture explains the beginning, middle and end of a star's life.
2 Title: Mathematical Breakthroughs in the 20th Century
Description: The lecture describes the events that happened during this time in the order
they happened. This is so that students can understand key historical moments regarding
the topic.
3 Title: The Sections of the Heart
Description: The lecture explains the names of all the parts that make up a heart and
gives details on their functions.
4 Title: An Investigation of the Challenger Space Shuttle
Description: This lecture explains and analyses the events that happened in this specific
situation.
5 Title: Tackling Ethical Issues in Biological Research
Description: The lecture explains why this topic is an issue. It explains what the
important points are and analyses how they can be tackled in different ways.
6 Title: Applying Pragmatism in 21st Century Medical Development
Description: This lecture takes a principle and shows how it works in real life.
7 Title: The Origins of the Earth: Conflicting theories
Description: The lecture presents different views on this topic and compares and
contrasts them.
8 Title: Deep Sea Exploration: Effects on delicate ecosystems
Description: This lecture looks at how the first topic affects the second topic.

Time and tense

When you are listening to a lecture, the lecturer will often refer to the
parts of the lecture, or the programme of lectures, that is the lectures that
have happened, been talked about, or will later be talked about. This
helps students know what information has already been given, and what
information will be given later. It is useful to become familiar with the
expressions and phrases that lecturers use to do this, so you know the
order of information being delivered.

37

1
Lectures

o0. 14
Exercise 4
Listen to the phrases 1-10 from a lecture on deforestation. Put the numbers in
the correct box in the table.
I 1

: ..................................................................... : ..................................................................... : ..................................................................... :

I.. l!.~~. ~.~.~.~.~~~~~~. ~~.?~.t..... .................. I..~~~.l.?~.~.~.l~.e.~.~.~?~~.~.~.~~ ................. I..~~~.l.?~..~.~~~.~.~.~.~~~~.l.a.~~~ ................. 1

~ : :1 At some point, we'll :
look at the effects of
deforestation

r····················································· ..................................................................................... 1" •• ••• •• • • • • • •• •• • •• • •• ··············································1

: ..................................................................... : .....................................................................: ..................................................................... :

Look at the audio scripts for Track 14 on page 152. Listen again and write out the
phrases in the correct boxes.

. ~
 3 The structure of lectures

I ntroductions to lectures
Lecturers sometimes give a few introductory sentences which outline
what they are going to talk about in the lecture.

For example: Today, we're going to focus on the causes of weather

phenomena and some of the effects of these, looking
firstly at cases of unusual storms and moving on to
rain phenomena.

From this sentence it is possible to tell that the lecture structure will
probably be as follows:

Unusual storms

causes

effects

Rain phenomena

causes

effects

Ti P ,/ If the lecturer gives an overview of the lecture structure, write it down, so you can
follow more easily and ensure your notes cover all key parts of the lecture.

~ Exercise 5
Look back at Exercise 2, then listen to two different lecture introductions and
o
"5
decide which structure it follows.

1
2

For more on signposting in lectures see Chapter 2.

39

1
 Lectures

Situation and result c

Both cause and effect and situation, problem and solution lectures will
tell you about a situation and a result or solution. Sometimes the lecturer
may look at the result or effect first and then the reasons for it, however,
it is more common to begin with the cause or problem and then move on
to effects/solutions.

Exercise 6
Look at these slides from a lecture about bee decline (death of bees). Write the
correct order of the slides, based on the structure of situation/result lectures.

CHANGING BEE ENVIRONMENTS FUTURE MEASURES

Pesticide use Personal
Fewer rural areas Buy organic
Mites and viruses Keep bees!
Develop bee friend ly gardens

- -
c
RESULTS OF DECLINE FUTURE ACTION
Loss of pollination Societal/Political
Mass famine Ban insecticides
Possible eradication of Creation of Nature Reserves
populations?

f
THE DECLINE OFTHE BEE Thank you.
POPULATION
A fo llow-up reading list
by Jan De Boek is available on the
University of Gordonton course homepage.

Slide order is _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _

40
 3 The structure of lectures

Chronological or time order

--
tll Some lectures will follow time order. This applies to historical and
urer developmental outlines and processes. This means that the earliest event
chronological
ver, If rhings are will be described first and the latest event will be described last. This is
e on described called 'chronological order'.
or , hown in
.:hronological
order, they are
described or
shown in the
:>rder in which
:hey happened.
e

o Exercise 7
Look at the slides below. Write the correct order of the slides, based on the
structure of chronological lectures.
a.F. . . . . . . . . .~. . b ",.
Uranus Pre 17th Century
Herschel (1781) 6 planets identified
Georgium Sidus The Sun , originally
Comet-like planet considered a planet
(until 1400s)

jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij
c~"""""~~
Galileo and Cassini
d
Discovery of Neptune and Pluto
Identification of other planetary Galle and Le Verrier (1846)
satellites (161 Os) Discovery Dispute
Phases of Venus Planet - Dwarf Planet
Satellites of Jupiter Tombaugh (1930)

e " .. ->_ f
PLANETARY DISCOVERY: Modern Developments
AN OVERVIEW
Planets outside the solar
Si B Pace system
University of Brigderoon Mars Rover
Planetary Classification

Slide order is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

141
 Lectures

Describing an object or visual information COl

In many subject areas lecturers will describe objects or visual information.

This may be a diagram or image on a slide or a real three-dimensional
object. It is important that you orient yourself (give your attention) to :;x>se
- yo
the diagram or object quickly and follow the order in which the lecturer
describes the object or diagram.

Ti pS .I The lecturer will often follow a pattern around the object, or they might point to the
areas they are talking a bout .
.I Patterns for description include, clockwise, (moving clockwise in the same direction as
the hands of a clock), left to right, top to bottom, centre to outside. They may structure
this around the images or the labels on the images.

oo 16,17
Exercise 8
Look at the image of the eye below and listen to the pronunciation of the labels.

Now listen to the lecturer's description and mark on the diagram the order she
talks about the labels. Number the labels 1-6. Tracks 16 and 17 are from an
authentic lecture and the lecturer has an accent from the Northwest of England.

o Anterior surface

o Constricted pupil

o Pupillary ruff

o Contraction furrows

o Collarette

o Crypts of Fuchs

Permission to the use the lecture on The Anatomy of the Eye (Track 17) has been given by Dr Suzanne Hagan and Dr Uma Shahani of
Glasgow Caledonian University.
42 1
 3 The structure of lectures

Conclusions
tion. In lectures, the concluding section of the lecture (the end of the lecture)
can fulfil a variety of functions. The conclusion can summarize the main
pose questions points, give recommended areas for further study, pose questions to the
'er If you pose a students for further thought, and sometimes even be the place for giving
q uestion, you ask
a question.
information about assignments. These are all important areas.

Summarizing - The lecturer may give a quick overview of what they have
said during the lecture.

re
For example: So, we've looked at the three main areas of research that
really impact upon research funding ... . First, the relevance the research
may have .... Then, ifs political need .. .

Recommending further study - The lecturer may recommend theories,

journals, books, etc. which can help you to study the area further.
s.
For example: ... and that's all for biometrics. If you want to know
about advances then please look to Fuller who has recently written
about these. And for an overview refer to Chapter 5 in Wolfenden ...
I.
Posing questions - The lecturer may give you some questions to think
about in relation to the subject.

For example: ... So, despite a slow start, the field of virtual reality
has really come on leaps and bounds ... could you imagine what
the future can bring? How would you feel about meeting people
virtually? Could you cope in a life without human contact? These are
the questions we need, as inventors, to think about ...

Giving assignment information - The lecturer may refer to an assignment

or essay that you need to do and link how the lecture could help with it.

For example: Today's lecture might be quite useful for your end
of term assignments, especially if you've picked the second one on
'Biochemical Engineering', so make sure you pick up a handout if
that's the case. Assignments due April 23 rd I think ...

)f

43

1
 Lectures

~ Exercise 9
~ Listen to the three conclusions below and decide the function of each one. You
0.
18
may select more than one function above for each conclusion.

Conclusion 1: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ __ __ _
Conclusion 2: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __
Conclusion 3: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

The three conclusions you have heard are taken from three different lectures in
this chapter. Can you identify which lecture they are from?

Pronunciation: unstressed words

Although most of the content of lectures is not made up of unstressed
words, meaning can be changed by different grammatical unstressed
words. Remember that academic English is specific so you will need to
train your ears to listen out for unstressed words in the speech of your
lecturers. If you think you hear a different unstressed word from what
your lecturer actually said, it is possible that you could misunderstand
the point.

Exercise 10
Listen to the following sentence and pay attention to the grammar of the
0.
19
unstressed words .

It i§ claimed that geologists have clearly mapped all of the fault lines causing earthquakes in
California.
1 Which of the unstressed words in the sentence above could be changed to another
grammatical form?
2 How would a different unstressed word change the meaning of the sentence?
3 What could they be changed to? Write some sentences changing the unstressed words
and explain how this would change the meaning. Use the example to help you.
For example: It was claimed that geologists had clearly mapped some ill the fault lines
causing earthquakes in California.

44
 3 The structure of lectures

IU
o
0.
20
Exercise 11
Now listen and write the unstressed words you hear in the spaces below.

1 It claimed that geologists clearly mapped of

the fault lines in California.
2 It claimed that geologists clearly mapped all of the fault
lines in California.
3 It claimed that geologists clearly mapped of
the fault lines in California .
.n
4 It claimed that geologists clearly mapped of
the fault lines in California.

Now look at the answer key. Notice how the meaning of these sentences depends on the grammatical forms which
are unstressed in fluent spoken English.

Ti P ,/ When you are in a lecture try to focus on aspects represented by unstressed words such
as positive I negative forms, time - past, present, future and quantity.
J
r

Remember
The structure of lectures can help you understand the content and
./ follow what the lecturer is saying.

There are different types of lecture structure - make sure you know
./ their format.

Introductions and conclusions are useful to help you understand what

./ the lecturer is going to say and what s/he has said.

Unstressed words can change the speaker's meaning so practise

./ listening to them.

45

1
 4 Features of speech

Aims .I understand natural spoken language .I identify different lecturing styles

.I notice lecturers' accents .I deal with and record unknown words
.I understand connected speech

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle the answers that are true for you .
............................................................................................................................................ .....................................................................
~ ~

1 I find it easy to understand people when they speak English. agree I disagree I not sure
.. .. ... ......... .. ... ...... .. ....... .. .. ................. ... .. .... .. ........ .. ...... ........... ........ ............ ....... ............ ...... : ... ..... ..... ............... .... ....... .... .... ........ ............ ..:

2 I find some English accents really difficult to understand. agree I disagree I not sure
· · · ·3··· · · · I · ~~·~··~~d·~·~·~~~~d··~~~h · ~~;~ · ~h·~·~· ·;~~~·i~ · ~;~~k · E~~ii~·h · · ····· ·· · · ··j · ·· · · · ····· · · ·· ·· ·· · . ... . . ..... ... . ... . .... ........... . . .... j
agree I disagree I not sure
more slowly.
... ... ....... .. ... . ......... ... .......... ... ........ .. .. ................... ................... ....... ... ................... ... ....... ....... ; ..... ... ....... ........ . ... ........ .. .... .. ........ ... .. ........ ··· .. 1

4 I try to listen to people speaking English in my spare time. agree I disagree I not sure
... ........ ..... ... ..... ... ......... ... ... ........ ........... ... ............... ... ......................... .. ....... ............ ... .. .. .... .: ........... ...... ........... .... .. ........ .. .. .. ........ .. .. ... .. ... .:

~ ~.~~.~ .~~..~~.~~~~..~.~ ..l~~~.~~~~.~~.~i~~.~~..~~~.c.~.i.~.~..~.~..l~~~.e.~i.~~..~.~.i.~~~:.... i. . .~.~~~~. .'. . ~i.~.~.~~~~...!...~~~. ~.~~~.......l

.... ......

oo
21
Exercise 1
Now listen to speakers 1-4 and answer the following questions.

A Is speaker 1 British or American?

B Is speaker 2 a native speaker of English?
C Is speaker 3 Australian?
o Does speaker 4 have a soft or strong Scottish accent?

46
 4 Features of speech

Why is my lecturer harder to understand than my English

teacher?
An English language teacher is usually trained to speak slightly slower to make
it easier for students who are studying English language to understand. So, it
is digress can be more difficult when you go to university because the lecturers do not
- you digress
TO U move away
normally do this. Here are some of the areas in which the university lecturers'
;Tom the subject style of speaking may be different from the English language teachers':
··ou are talking
or writing about • Whereas an English teacher might separate their words clearly, a
and talk or write lecturer will usually speak fluently connecting words together and
.3bout something
~fferent for a
s/he may speak more quickly than an English language teacher.
·bile.
• An English teacher often uses language which is appropriate to the
tonation
:our intonation
language level of their students. Lecturers pay less attention to this and
-; the way your use culturally specific phrases and idioms which may be difficult for
nice rises and you to understand.
;;;ills as you
;xak. • Whereas in writing, order and focus is kept, your lecturers may go off
the topic (digress) and come back to it. They may also hesitate, make
mistakes and correct themselves. You need to be aware of when this
happens.

• You might have been taught intonation in your English classes, but
intonation changes from region to region and from person to person.
Some native English speakers do not have clear intonation which can
make them harder to understand.

Exercise 2
You will hear examples of the four features mentioned above. Listen and match
0.
:'2
extracts 1-4 with the features a-d.

1 a Fast, connected speech

2 b Idiomatic language
3 C Digression/hesitation
4 d Lack of intonation

147
Lectures

How lecturers speak

Remember that there is no 'normal' way of speaking. Your lecturers will
come from different places, and will speak with different accents. Some of
your lecturers may speak very quickly, or very quietly. Some lecturers will
use words which are less common, idiomatic or culturally specific. Some
will speak very well and others may be nervous and hesitate when they
speak. Also, not all your lecturers will be native English speakers. In fact,
non-native speakers are usually easier to understand because they use
more international English with fewer idioms and less culturally specific
language. Prepare yourself to hear lots of different ways of speaking when
you go to university.

How can I understand my lecturers' accents?

You will hear many different accents at university; some people will have
regional accents and some will have accents from different countries.
subtitles Understanding different accents will take a lot of practice. Here are some
Subtitles are
a printed possible ways to help you improve your listening skills before you start
translation of university and during your study:
the words of a
fore ign film that • Listen to a variety of English accents to try to get used to hearing
are shown at the different people. Watch TV and films in English whenever possible,
bottom of the
picture.
use subtitles to help you.

• You will be able to see a list of teaching staff. Look these people up
and try to find out where they are from and think about whether they
might have an accent or not. Remember that people are born, live
and work in different countries so your expectations may not always
be correct.

• Once you start having lectures, identify which lecturers you find
more difficult to understand, and then practise listening to people
who sound similar (again online, or on the radio). You can listen
to university lectures online or talks like those on www.TED.com
to give you experience in listening to different accents and lecture/
presentation styles.

• If you are allowed to record your lectures, make sure you do this
with lecturers who you find difficult to understand. Then listen again
and again, if possible with your own and someone else's notes on the
lecture to help you identify key words.
 4 Features of speech

• Do not be shy to ask your lecturer to clarify any parts you did not
understand, but make sure you do this at the end of the lecture. At
"ill this point, do not worry about asking your lecturer to speak more
le of slowly.
will
me Ti P ./ Remember, do not panic. Sometimes fluent English speakers cannot understand people
:y with different accents!
act,

fic

~
vhen
Exercise 3
You are going to hear six people giving the same lecture about Artificial
0.
23
Intelligence (AI). Each person will say the same thing but with a different accent.
Listen out for the following words.
--- --

ave automation productivity outsourcing atm checkout till

)me Now, listen to the following six people and mark down how difficult you find them to
rt understand, from 1 = Easy to understand to 5 =Difficult to understand. Where each person is
from is listed in brackets.
1 (from Australia) 1 2 3 4 5
2 (from India) 1 2 3 4 5
e,
3 (from London) 1 2 3 4 5
4 (from China) 1 2 3 4 5
Ip
they 5 (from the Middle East) 1 2 3 4 5
6 (from France) 1 2 3 4 5
ays
Now, look at your results above.
1 Which accent did you find most difficult?
2 Why were some easier to understand than others?
Now, listen to the most difficult accent again and try to write down the words
you hear.
Now, listen to the accent you find the easiest again and write down the words
you hear.

;am Check your writing with the audio script. Were you able to write more from the
the accent you found easiest to understand?

49

1
Lectures

Ti pS ./ try to identify what aspects of the accents you find difficult such as vowel sounds or
certain consonants or intonation patterns .
./ think about aspects which may be related to the speaker more than the accent such as
speed, volume or choice of vocabulary.

For more information on preparing for lectures see Chapter 2.

Sound differences in native speaker varieties of English

Vowel sounds
vowel
The sound of the letter 'a' in some words varies from a short to long sound.
A vowel is a
sound such as the
ones represented For example: In 'bath' it can be pronounced with a short loel or a long 10:/.
in writing by the
letters 'a', 'e', 'i',
'0', and 'u', which The sound of the letter 'a' in some words varies from a short to long sound.
you pronounce
with your mouth The sound of the letter 'u' in some words varies also.
open, allowing
the air to flow For example: In 'cup' it can be pronounced lul or 1/\1.
through it.

Exercise 4
Listen to these people with different accents say the same list of words.
o 24
1 What differences can you hear between speakers 1, 2 and 3?
2 What differences can you hear between speakers 4 and 5?

1 American: cat! cutl cot 4 New Zealand: then! thin! theme

2 Northern English: cat! cut! cot 5 Scottish: then! thin! theme
3 Australian: catl cut! cot

Consonant sounds

consonant The sounds of Idl and ItI vary from a soft to a hard sound.
A consonant is a
sound such as 'p',
'f', 'n', or 't' which
you pronounce
by stopping the
air flowing freely
through your
mouth.
 4 Features of speech

,'" I ~ Exercise 5
Listen to the differences as the following accents say the same list of words.
0.25 1 American: later I community I video
2 Southern English: later I community I video
3 Irish: later I community I video

}und. Connected speech 1

10:/. I Fluent speakers of English do not say words individually but push
them together. The words become 'connected'. This causes sounds to be
illo dify
)Und. modified in different ways - they may join together, disappear or change.
~ ~·o u modify
>omething you
Words joining together
.=3ange it slightly
.:.sually in order

J :0 im prove it. For example: One of the most important aspects of engineering is ...
V V V VV V

CJ In this phrase the words are connected together because the final sounds
-1 261- of many words are consonants and the first sounds of the following
words are vowels . This means speakers connect the words together so
that they flow. This makes it easier to say and the speech sounds fluent.

Disappearing sounds

For example: There must be different views about this which could have been
CJ
-I I- exploree further. V V V
27

In this phrase the final letters disappear as the speaker connects the words
together. In English the letters which most often disappear at the ends of
words are It I and Idl and at the beginning Ihl disappears most often.

Changing sounds

0. For example: I'll just let ch you look at the slides .. . So, 00 j'you think ...
28
In this phrase the It! sound in let changes when it's next to the IjI sound in
you and the ItI becomes lifl Similarly, 'do y' changes to 1d31 when next to
the Ijl sound.

[51
Lectures

o0.
29
Exercise 6
Listen to sentences 1-4 and write down what you hear. You may want to listen
several times to hear every word. The sentences have examples of joining words,
disappearing sounds and changing sounds. Remember also that there will be
stressed and unstressed words from Chapter 1.

Lecture Styles
Your lecturers will have different approaches and styles of lecturing which
you will need to get used to. We can divide these approaches and styles
into content and delivery.

o Exercise 7
Look at the words in the box and decide if they are connected to the content or
delivery of a lecture.

use of slides asks students questions visual information reading a prepared script
use of diagrams handouts includes discussion conversational
 4 Features of speech

n
ds,
o(')
·1 I'
30
Exercise 8
Listen to three lecturers giving the same lecture in different styles. What do you
notice about the speaking style of each one?

Lecturer 1 __________________________________________________________________
Lecturer 2 __________________________________________________________________
Lecturer3 __________________________________________________________________

Why is lecture style important?

It is important to recognize the lecturing style of each of your lecturers
because sometimes you will find that one style of delivery is easier to
follow than another. Think about the styles you have noted above. Which
one did you find most difficult to listen to? Why? Some lecturers may read
and have very little eye contact with their audience, which can make it
very difficult to pick up on the key points they are making. Some lecturers
may be discursive and go off the topic, which can be difficult to follow.
Some lecturers will use visual aids like presentations or models, while
'hich others might not.
~s
Some strategies to help with these difficulties are:

• If a lecturer reads a prepared script or does not use any visuals,

ask to record the lecture and listen to it several times afterwards to
understand the main points.
)r
• With lecturers who speak quietly, mumble or do not make eye
contact, sit at the front so you can hear better.

• Learn to recognize words and phrases such as 'incidentally, actually,

that reminds me' which show that the lecture may be about to go off
topic.

Ti P ./ Trying to get a copy of the slides either before or at the end of a lecture or from the
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), for example Blackboard or Moodle, can be very
useful to help you check your notes.

53

1
Lectures

Dealing with unknown words

During a lot of lectures there will be words you hear that you do not
understand, either because of the lecturers accent or because you have
never heard them before. In these situations it is important to have a
strategy.

Exercise 9
Look at the strategies below and decide which ones you might find helpful and
----
which are less helpful. Write ./ or X next to each strategy.

1 Ask the student next to you to spell the word and tell you the meaning.
2 If you think the word sounds the same as a word on a slide, copy it and highlight it to
check the meaning after the lecture.
3 Try to guess the spelling and highlight the word to check the meaning after the lecture.
4 Forget it and just move on.
5 Write down what you hear and pay attention in case the lecturer repeats the word.
6 Use other things such as signposting language to help you guess the meaning.
7 Guess the sense of the word (positive, negative, feeling, size) rather than trying to work out
the exact meaning.
8 Listen out for explanations or definitions; lecturers often explain meanings if words are
unusual.

Now match the reasons below to the less helpful strategies above.

A If you make a mistake, it is unlikely that you will find the correct word in
the dictionary.
B If it is a key word, you may understand a lot less of the lecture.
C This will take too long and you may miss out on something important the
lecturer says.

Ti P .I The English used by all native speaker academics is typically standard so you do not
need to worry about culturally specific words or phrases.
 4 Features of speech

~ Exercise 10
Listen to the lecture extract and try to write down the words you do not
e
o31
understand. Then read the audio script and check your answers. Which words
did you find difficult to understand? Did you know the words when you read
them?

Recording Vocabulary
d
It is important to try to predict words that you might hear in lectures, as
unlike reading, you cannot check them during the lecture. Here is some
advice on how to build your vocabulary, understand vocabulary in the
lecture, and record it.

Before the lecture:

• always do some reading around the subject and note down any new
words.

• talk about the subject with people on your course. Are there any
It
words that you don't understand, if so make a note of them.

• make sure you have noted down and listened to any unfamiliar
words on the lecture topic.

• think of ways you could abbreviate (shorten) key words . Make sure
the abbreviation is clear and that you won't mistake it for another
word.

During the lecture:

• if you don't understand a word, just write it as you think it might be

spelled. You can check later.

• if the lecturer is using slides, check to see if the unknown words are
written on the slides.

55

1
Lectures

After the lecture:

• read through your notes and check any unknown vocabulary.

• record your new vocabulary in an organized and detailed way.

There are many ways to record vocabulary, and you need to find the best
way for you. Look at the two ways of recording below. Which one do you
prefer?

Key «.)ard
····_ ·_______ I_ __ _ _·__ ·_A _· ____r!:~~unc.~~~:an_
Part of's,Peec.h

fl,;,£;;:t/on Ma:;ni£c.a6an .lu/n) ..±(c./n)/mcesnL-/,zKezfn/

~. fle£: the ,PJc=eSS a-/' moJ:/nSSamdh-·n!j . loo/:. b/!3!3er. .
Ca!: Law/W,jJhma:Jnill.c.aiion . underma:;ni£c.aiian._
L!j.We loo/;:edai .the .c.ells underma:Jn,:lJc.ai,:on {u/.n}
77JisiS ..the result .a-/'.a .ma:;':I1:lI.c.at.ian..o£.thidy .timeS. the
.... _ real Size. (c./n) .

Call=atianS eXCi/>1'ple
. "S-;,nrenc.eS

en
,mc.egnlflkeIJn For example: 'We
put the subject
under magnification'

Magnification
(countable + uncountable noun)

Def; = enlargemenV process

of making sth bigger v - magnify (to/by)

Formal/ Scientific

j
vocabulary
 4 Features of speech

Think about the information you need to record. You might want to add
all or some of the following information.

• Definition

• Part of speech
lest
you • Pronunciation

• Example sentence

• Synonyms/Antonyms (be careful with these as they are not always

accurate)

• Collocations

• The formality of the word

• A translation

• Connotation (whether the word has a positive or negative meaning)

• Different forms of the word

Ti P ,/ Try to listen to examples of the word being spoken. You can find this in most online
dictionaries.

Remember
- - - - - - ----_._----------------- ----------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - ------------------- ------------------------- -

] ./ Familiarize yourself with a range of different accents .

Lecturers have different styles and you should find strategies to help
./ you get the most from their lectures.

Do not worry if you do not understand every word - develop some

./ strategies to help you manage unknown words in lectures.
1
Make sure you record unknown vocabulary and continue to expand
./ your vocabulary during your studies.

57

1
 LECTURE

2 A brief overview of tsunamis

o Preparation 1
You are going to listen to a lecture on tsunamis. Before you listen to the lecture,
read this definition of 'tsunami'.

tsunami (tsu'n<EmI ,.,)))

Definitions
noun
(plural)- mis, -mi

1 a large, often destructive, sea wave produced by a submarine earthquake,

subsidence, or volcanic eruption. Sometimes incorrectly called a tidal wave

Source: Collins online dictionary www.collinsdictionary.com

Ti P ./ Most online dictionaries allow you to listen to the pronunciation of the word. To do
this, you need to click on the speaker icon next to the word. Listening to the word and
repeating it is a good way to practise pronunciation and will mean that you are more
likely to recognize the word when you hear it in the lecture.

o Preparation 2
The lecture title is 'A brief overview of tsunamis'. Circle the following points
which could be covered by the lecture.

a What people think of tsunamis

b A definition of tsunamis
c A detailed explanation of how tsunamis came to be studied
d An explanation of how tsunamis develop
e The causes of tsunamis
f Some of the effects of tsunamis
g An outline of other natural disasters

58
 Lecture 2

~ Preparation 3
Look back at the points you circled in Preparation 2. Think about which order
would be most logical for the lecturer to present these points in?

,
1 0 2 0 3 0 4 0
-,

uthentic lecture: Part 1

Lecture: A brief overview of tsunamis

ING'S
K College
LONDON
Lecturer: Professor Bruce D. Malamud
Institution: King's College London
- Accent: American (Midwest)

n You are going to listen to the introduction of the lecture. Which one of
'1 321' the points in Preparation 2 does the lecturer cover?

Listen to the introduction again. What are the three main aspects that the
cl 'F lecturer is going to talk about?

2
3

uthentic lecture: Part 2

n·1 I' Now you are going to listen the section of the lecture on propagation. A
student has summarized the main point(s) of the slides on the handout.
33
For Slides 2.2 and 2.3 the student has forgotten to write the main points.
Listen to the lecture and read the main points. Then complete the notes
for Slides 2 .2 and 2.3.

59

1
 Lectures

~"'III""'••"IIII""'.'~'II"I"'. Ea vtk1Q lA ape b a C; vvec!

2.0 .ropagat.lon QC {',IA

Ee vt(.1CIy.Cl Re gevverClt es evverg tJ

2.1 Overview
Th~s evvergtJ tre vvsV\A..~tted

• to bottoV\A.. of oeee vv fLoor

• tkJevv to wkJ oLe w Clt ev COLki ViA,VV
• tkJeVl, to tap of tl1e Ol',fljl vv

2 .2
~~
2~O Propagation
2.2 'Deep' vs. 'shallow' water waves
tSkivv ~vv deep oeee vv foLLow
• D = Water depth [deep ocean D"", 2-4 km]
• A= Water wave wavelength sheLLow oeeCJvv the0qj
• Deep-water theory: D > IJ2 bee
• Shallow-water theory: D < IJ20
• Tsunamis follow shallow-water theory in
deep ocean, as depth (couple km) is
much less than wave wavelength
(hundreds km).

Figure 2. 1 from Thurman, Harold V ; Trujillo, Alan P., Essentials of Oceanography, 7th Editi on © 2002
60
 Lecture 2

2 .3
~~ speer;;{ of tt.1e wClves =
:}--
2~O Propagation
Ri-LoVlA.etres .:p.er
2.3 Shallow-wave theory
nour. = speer;;{ of Cl
c = celerity of wave (speed)
~ =(gD)0.5 "' R EMEMt;ER THI S

Tsunami celerity in deep ocean depends EQk1ATION fOR THE

on just gravity (g) and water depth (D).
EXAM
D =4000 m: c =200 m S-1 =720 km hr-1
D= 250 m: c =50 m S-1 =180 km hr-1

Reflection
./ Why does the student write only summaries of the slides?
./ Why has the student written numbers before his summary?
./ What does 'tsun' and 'bee.' mean in the students notes?
./ Did the student try to write everything down?
./ Did you try to write everything down?

-0 listen to the complete lecture and read the full transcript of the lecture, visit www.collinselt.com/academicskills

61

1
 5 Understanding points
Aims ./ what to write in lecture notes ./ identify fact and opinion in lectures
./ understand importance of lecturers' ./ recognize reference words
voice (intonation and emphasis)
./ recognize main and supporting points

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle True or False for you.

!: : ~: : : ~;::l~~~~:r~~~: ~~::~:~~. ~~~:~: ~:~l:~l:~~<t:~~i:J;~t::~~~~~~t:'~~:~t:<::: : ': : : : : : : : : : : :. . ::r:::i~~:<;: :~:~I~~·:·: : :J

:. 2 Ishould write down the references to books and academic papers : True I False .~
~
mentioned by my lecturer.
:....................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................
~
: ~

~ 3 Lecturers usually provide examples to support main points. : True I False j

ii ~~~;~;;'~~;~'n;;';~~;;~;~;t;~; ;,~~,~~~,~t;'~l;;;~;;; r ';;~~ I ~;I;t J --
: 5 Ishould pay attention to my lecturers' intonation. True I False
;.......... ..... .... ...... ...... .. .. .. ............................... ........ ... ..... ... ................ ........ ... ..... ......... ....... ............ .................... :... ................... ....... ............ :
: 6 Lecturers always tell students what the main ideas are in alecture. True I False :
:............................ ... .... .... ..... ... ..... .. .... ..... ... ...... ... ......... ... .. ..... ... ......... ... ... ............. ... ............... .... .... ... ............. : ... .. ......... ........ ... ... ............. :
--

What should I write in my lecture notes?

Your lecture notes should only contain the most important information in
the lecture. During the lecture you will need to listen and understand as
subjective well so you will not be able to write everything you hear. It is important
Something that
is subjective
to be selective in what you write. Remember that you can usually look
is based on
personal
information up after the lecture to check you have taken notes correctly. a
You can also compare your notes with other students.
opinions and
feelings rather
than on facts.

62
 5 Understanding points

Ti P .I Deciding upon the important points of a lecture can be difficult, and it can sometimes
be subjective (important), so you might have points that other students don't have.
However, some points are always important to note.

~ Exercise 1
Look at the information which is from a lecture entitled 'Worker Mobility', (i.e.
the movement of workers/employees between jobs, companies, industries or
countries). Decide which information you think is a key fact and which is not a
key fact and tick the boxes
: ...................................................................................................................................... : .................................... : .................................... :

:... ~.f~.~.~.~.~i.~~
............................................................................................................ I. .~~~.~~~~.... .... . ... I. .~.~~. ~~~. ~~~~ . . . .I
~ Landmark dates in mobility (immigration) law ~ ~ ~

t·:~~·~~~~~.~.~~~~:~~~~:~:~::~.~~:~~;;:~;:~::~:~~~~:~:~~~;::::::: : : : : . : : : :.: : : : : : :J: . ::.:::::.::::::::.::::.:::::::::r:::::..:.:.:·:·::.·::·::.:::·::"]

The lecturer's experience of moving countries for his job .
.................................................................
Economic effects of immigration upon the host country
...........................................
.-\ definition of worker mobility

References to books on worker mobility

..................................
.-\ list of the most popular countries to move to .
...................................................................
Economic effects of emigration upon the country of origin
... ........ .. .. ... ... ... .. .. ....... ... .... ....... ... ........... .... ... .. ... .. , ..... , ... ... ,.
' '

Factors effecting mobility decisions . . .

.: ~~:~.~~~;~~~:;:?~:~~~~:::::::. : . : : : : : : : : : : .: :. : : : : : : . : . :::::::.::.:.::::::::.:::::.::::::.:::::1.:::::::::.:::::.::.::.::::.::::::1.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.:::::1

Ti pS .I Names and dates can be checked afterwards online, so do not worry too much about
these during the lecture .
mm .I Always check the spelling of names after the lecture so you write the correct name in
1S an exam or essay.

nt

ly. hat can I learn from my lecturer's voice?

Your lecturer will usually stress some words more strongly or slowly than
other words to emphasize that what they are saying is an important point.
It is important to notice this and write down the point. Do not mistake an
important point for hesitation.
63

1
Lectures

oo34
Exercise 2
1
2
Listen to the following speaker and underline the key points.
Why did you choose those words and phrases?

'So, the real question is what indicators should a country pay attention to ... What indicators
show economic decline? Some commentators have claimed that unexpected dips in the
stock market are one of the key predictors, but this instability is really quite insufficient as
an indicator. Why? Because there have been quite a few stock market falls in the last 60 odd
years, with no real effect for a nation. The real indicator is the yield curve ... an inverted
yield curve often signals decline, as short-term interest rates exceed long-term rates ... '

Main and supporting points - -- - -- - - ------ -~

Lectures contain main points (key important points) and supporting

points (less important information). Look at the PowerPoint presentation
slide in Exercise 4. You can see how the main and supporting points are
written on the slide. The subject is the title and the main points are the
numbered points. This is normally the case in lectures. Extra information
not given on the slide is often supporting information.

Main and supporting points may be presented with examples and

explanations, which do not need to be written about in too much detail.
Notice how the lecturer explains the subject and then describes the main
points 1 ~4.

o Exercise 3
Read the lecture extract on page 65 and underline the main and supporting points
in different colours.

Ti pS .I Main points contain the general idea, topic, theory or concept

.I Supporting points add extra detail such as explanations, examples, reasons and
counter arguments.
 5 Understanding points

~ Exercise 4
Now listen to the audio script and read the Power Point slide at the same time.
0.
35
Types of worker satisfaction One type of worker satisfaction is based on
Employer driven (extrinsic) employer drivers - these are the things that
employers provide for their employees. We
1 Salary and benefits
call this extrinsic motivation because it is kind
2 Nature of work
of outside the control of the employee, they
3 Opportunities for promotion
have to take whatever the company offers.
4 Training
So, there are four main drivers here. Salary
and benefits are the most important as no one
wants to work for free! People apply for jobs
based on the money they're going to earn.
A close second is the type of work as people
want to be stimulated by what they're going
to do for 40 hours or more a week. Studies by
Ion Smith and Thompson have noted that one of
'e the key reasons for leaving a job is monotony
and the lack of fulfilment. The next two are
on also related - it's human nature to want to
progress in life so promotion and training are
key factors in making sure workers are happy.
This is perhaps why continual professional
1. development has played such a key role in
n many companies for the last twenty years.

You should write down main points as they are key and you will need to
read about them and research them further after the lecture. Supporting
points should be noted if they are relevant to you (For example: you may
wish to note examples or studies done if you want to find out more).

65

1
Lectures

oo36
Exercise 5
1 Look at and listen to the following lecture excerpt and complete the slide.

'So, there are a few forms of company structure which we are going to look at today. The firs t
o

step on the business ladder, so to speak is being a sole trader or partnership - this is where one
or two people work in a business, but importantly they aren't a company - they're liable for
their own losses. Then there are limited liability companies. This is quite common - these can
be public or private and lastly, we've got co-operatives, which we'll talk more about in the next
session as they can be quite complex.'

TYPE OF COMPANY STRUCTURE

2 Now listen to the following lecture excerpt and complete the slide.

TARGETING VIRAL MARKETING

 5 Understanding points

How can I know what is fact and opinion? - - ~ ~ --- --------- - --------- -_._._-- ---_._-------------------

It can be difficult to know when your lecturers are presenting facts or

their opinions or the opinions of other people. However there are some
things you can listen for to help you identify fact or opinion .
. ..... .. ... ... ......... . ... ... ...... .... .... ......... ... ...... ....... .. ......... ... . .... .......... .... ... ......- ..... .. ... ... .... .. .... ... - ... .. ........ •... .... ... ........ ...

I· · ~~~~··· · ··············· ····· ····················· ............................. :...?~~~~~.~.... ...... ......... ..... .............. . . . . ... ... . . . . .... .
:t l...~~~.~.~.~~.~. ~~~~~~.t .~~~?.~~ ........... ........................l..~~.~.~.~.~.~.~.:~~.~y..~.~~~.'.:.:~~~.~~.~~.~~. ~~.'............
l.~~.~~.~~~.~~.~~.~~~~~~~~. ..... . .. . ... . ...···· ··· ·······l···:.~~·?~·::-· ·'·~~·~~·~::·~·~~~i.~.:.~::.~~~.~~~~~.'.: .:~~~.~~.: ...
i. .~~.~?~~~~.~~.i.~.~..~~~.~..?~.e.~.?.~.~~.~.rr.... ... .............i...~~.~~~~.s~.~~..?~.~~~.~~~~~.... . ...... ............. ......... ......
i..:.~~.?~.::-..'.~~?~~::.~.~~~?~~.~~~:~.::.:~~t.a.?~.~~.~:....i...~.:.~~.~~:~~.r ...~f..r.e.s~~.~~~ ... ........... . ...... . ... ......... ...

~ Exercise 6
Read the following extract from a lecture on corporation tax and highlight the
factual information and the lecturer's opinion.

'In the UK, the tax rate for corporations is 20% of profits. There are a number of ways in
which corporations can reduce their tax bill but all companies pay corporation tax unless
they make a loss in any given tax year. However, the way in which the system works has been
heavily criticized by Taylor. According to Taylor we need to think more carefully about how
the taxation rules work in practice, especially related to growth in small businesses overall.
Although Sachs's theory can apply here, certain economists believe that Sachs has overlooked
some fundamental calculations. The interpretations from other economists suggest that small
businesses should expect slower growth in all economic climates but to my mind this is an
incomplete picture and needs further clarification.'

What helped you identify the factual information and the opinions?

~ Exercise 7
Now listen to extracts 1-3 and decide if the lecturer is presenting fact or
0.
37
opinion. Write Fact or Opinion for each extract.

1
2
3

67

1
 Lectures

Pronunciation: Intonation and emphasis

- ----- - ----_._-- - ------ -------- --- - - - -_._- - - - --_._._------------------------------ ~ -- - ---- - - - -- --- - ---~--- ----- ------ - -.-- - - ---- -- --- ---- ---- -~ --

Intonation is the pattern or tone of someone's voice which is used to

communicate some meaning to their listeners. From a speaker's intonation
we can often understand how someone feels about something. Intonation
can give us more information than just the speaker's words.

~ Exercise 8
~ Listen to the same sentence said three times. Notice the intonation of the
o
38
speaker and match it to the feelings being expressed.

Speaker 1:
Speaker 2:
Speaker 3 :
A he supports the idea
B he is excited about the idea
C he has doubts about the idea

Using intonation to show opinions

--- -- - -------- --- ------- ---------------_._- - -----------_._- ------------------ - . ---.- ---- -- -. - - ~-- - ~- ~-.--------------- ---- ---- --------------------- - -

Lecturers may use intonation to give their opinions on theories and

ideas of the past and present, the work of other academics and possible
explanations to complex areas in their field which have not been
proven. Some of the feelings lecturers may try to communicate by using
intonation are:

1 scepticism

2 disagreement

3 doubt

4 enthusiasm/ excitement

5 respect

68
1
 5 Understanding points

!ation
~ Exercise 9
Match the words in 1-5 with the definitions A-E.
ltion
A objecting to something
B to have a good opinion of someone's character or ideas
C a great eagerness to be involved in an activity you like
D to not really believe that something is true
E to be uncertain about something

Ti p .I Be aware of scepticism expressed by intonation. It is culturally acceptable in Western

academic English speaking cultures to express this feeling.

sing word stress to show opinion or importance

Lecturers often want to emphasize specific points during lectures to show
that they are important and students should write these points down or
research them further. In addition, there is a lot of information in a lecture
and using intonation and/or word stress is a technique which lecturers use
to help students pay attention to specific points, ideas, facts, numbers, etc.

e 0. Listen to the following sentence said with and without emphasis.

39
1 Although economists think we know a lot about market behaviour, if
g
we are truly honest we have no idea how significant even the smallest
changes are.

2 Although economists think we know a lot about market behaviour, if

we are truly honest we have no idea how significant even the smallest
!:TIphasis changes are.
:::"'Llphasis is a
':cecial or extra In number 1 students may miss the importance of the lecturer's point as
a;portance that
; given to an
the speaker does not emphasize any words. However, in number 2 the
~-a\'i ty or to a lecturer adds emphasis to demonstrate the significance of what she is
:-a..'1: or aspect of saying. By using word stress the lecturer is showing the information is
-mething.
perhaps not what the students are expecting; it is surprising or different,
so they should pay attention to these points.

[69
Lectures

Exercise 10
Read the sentences 1-3 and mark where you think the lecturer will add
o40
emphasis and say why. Then listen to check. Use the example to help you.
For example:
Entrepreneurship is without a doubt going to become the key aspect of economic
growth both developed and developing economies.
Why are these words stressed?
a without a doubt - some people do doubt this but the lecturer does not.
b the - maybe the students think there are other key aspects but the lecturer does not.
e both - some people think this is true for one group of countries but the lecturer
thinks it is true for both.
1 The long term economic effects of improved technology in the workplace are especially
hard to predict as we currently have no way of knowing whether new and small companies
will have enough resources to embrace them.
2 While it is still not entirely clear how social networking will affect corporate policy, one
thing we are sure of is that, in theory at least, there will be some measurable effect.
3 The budget deficit of many countries has now become so large that many of them will be
forced to think again on whether subsidies in certain industries such as agriculture and
transportation are really effective.

Emphasis
- - - ------
on unstressed words: modals and negatives
--------------------------------------
------ --- --- ----- --- - - - - ------ -. -- - . - ~- --- - -- - ---------_._-- ---_._------- ---- - _._-------------- ---

Sometimes lecturers stress modal forms and negatives, even though these
are often unstressed words in connected speech. This is to draw the
students' attention to something unusual or something which has been
discovered which the academic community did not know until now.

oo41
Exercise 11
Listen to the examples below and underline the words stressed for emphasis.

1 'Okay, so interestingly, Jones and Franklin at Colombia University wrote an algorithm

which could accurately predict share variation with little market data despite people
thinking this was not going to be possible at that time.'
2 'For some years now human resources experts have thought that there must be better
ways of assessing candidate suitability than the traditional interview and that companies
have to spend more resources in this area.'
 5 Understanding points

,~ Exercise 12
Listen to the examples again. How does the stress change the speaker's
meaning? Choose A, B or C.

1 a It shows that the formula written by lones and Franklin did not work in reality.
b It draws students' attention to the achievement of lones and Franklin in its historical
context.
c It highlights the difficulty of the work done by lones and Franklin.
2 a It shows students that this is a serious issue and that there needs to be more work done
in this area.
ot.
b It advises companies to change their systems as soon as possible.
!r
c It demonstrates a new idea that the lecturer feels strongly about.

~s

For more on connected speech see Chapter 4.

eference words
Lecturers use reference words such as 'they', 'he', 'we', 'it', 'this', 'that',
'these' to avoid repeating nouns or ideas. Reference words help to
:clef maintain the speaker's flow. When listening to lectures it is important to
:i a word refers
:u a particular
recognize what these words refer to so that you can follow the content of
=g, situation, the lecture.
: idea, it
;e
.:escribes in some
ay.

Ti p ./ Reference words and pronouns can help you link together ideas and understand who
or what the lecturer is referring to. It is useful to know these to link up your notes, but
remember that noting key ideas is your priority.

171
 Lectures

o Exercise 13
Read the lecture extract below and identify the nouns or ideas that the
underlined words refer to.

'Grey and Waiters have demonstrated the relevance of risk analysis for large corporations.
They have shown that i1 is far more important in growing and protecting companies than
we previously thought. The main reason for focusing on risk analysis is to be properly
prepared. This means identifying possible problems and developing a strategic plan to tackle
them. This can make all the difference in financial projections and ensure that the company is
aware of the kinds of risks i1 might be exposed to.'
I They = Grey and Waiters
2 it= _____________________________________________________________
3 This = ________________________________________________________
4 them= __________________________________________________________
5 This= ________________________________________________________
6 it= _____________________________________________________________

7 What does we in line 3 refer to? _______________________________________

Personal Pronouns
It is important to know which people a lecturer is referring to when they
use personal pronouns ('we', 'you', 'they', 'our', 'their', etc) which do not
refer to specific individuals or groups of people.

• We/ our! us can refer to academics in general OR people in general

OR the academics in a specific university or department OR the
students and the lecturer on a particular course.

• You/ your can refer to the students in the lecture OR people in

general.

• They/ their can refer to academics in general OR people in general.

72 1
 5 Understanding points

For example:

1 The following calculation can be used to work out the value of a

company. You will be using it when you cover business planning.
You = the students in the lecture.

2 Stanning's theory of leadership can be applied to small and large

organizations. We have been studying the impact of this theory
for ten years or so. We = academics in general.

3 Marketing is an integrated part of business development

nowadays in fact it underpins much of wider society too. You can
see it in many aspects of daily life. You = people in general.

4 Here at UCF there is considerable research done into employee

motivation and we use this research to find out what causes
employees to be effective. We = the academics in this university.

~ Exercise 14
Listen to extracts 1-3. What does the pronoun refer to in each extract?

0.
42 1 We=
2 You= ___________________________________________________________
T
,t
3 We/you/we= ____________________________________________________

Remember
Your notes should cover the main points and only the supporting
./ points that may help you in your study. Don't write everything.

Listening to the word stress of the lecturer and looking at slide

./ content can help you identify main points.

It is useful to identify what is fact and what is opinion. This can be

./ done using the lecturer's tone and choice of words.

The lecturer will use lots of referring words and pronouns during the
./ lecture. Try to follow these as much as possible, but do not let them
distract you from main points.
73

1
 6 Thinking critically
Aims ./ evaluate arguments and views in a ./ connected speech and the 'schwa'
lecture ./ recognize rhetorical questions
./ understand the lecturer's perspective
./ apply critical thinking

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle True or False.
~ ....................................................................................................................................................................... : ......................................... ~

\ 1 M y lecturer has no opinion of the subject. True I False

~.......................................................................................................................................................................i......................................... ~

\ 2 Academic study is objective. \ True I False :

1· ......................................................................................................................................................................j.. ........... .................... ..... ... ~
\ 3 I must always accept other people's ideas as correct. \ True I False :
~ ......................................................................................................................................................................'l '........................................ ~

~ ....~...... :~..~~.~~.~~.~~..t~.~~.~ l.~~~~.~.~~~.r~~.~i.~~: ...................................................................................:.....~~~.e... ~ ...~.~~~~ ..........\

! 5 I should only describe what others think and not question it. . True I False :
:......................... ......... ...................... .......................... .. ......... .. ........ .. ................................................ .... .. ........ ......... ................................ ;
~

~ 6 My lecturer will tell me what to think. True I False

: .. ................ ... ......... .... .. .......... ....... ......... ........ ............... ..... ... .. ...... .. .. ..... ............ .......... .................. ... ........ ...... : ............... ................ ... ....... :

Why does my lecturer give me so much information?

Your lecturer will usually talk to you for about an hour. This gives the
lecturer time to give you a broad overview of the subject they are talking
critique about. When you study a subject, it is important to have this broad
A critique
is a written
overview. It helps you to know what academics researched and discovered
examination and in the past, what is important in your field of study nowadays and what
judgement of a the key research questions for your lecturers and you are. Your lecturer
situation or of a
will only give an overview in a lecture because there is not enough time to
person's work or
ideas. go into a topic in great detail. Also, it is your responsibility to follow up
on the points raised in a lecture by doing your own independent research.
Within this, you will study some sections in depth, perhaps for essays or

74
 6 Thinking critically

presentations. It is possible that the sections you study in depth are not
the same as other students, so the lecturer needs to make sure everyone
has a starting point for further study.

A lecture covers main points, often with explanations, examples, theories

and critiques. You must decide which parts you need to make notes on.
Main points should always be noted, as well as points relating to your
direct study, for example: your essays or presentations.

You will then need to independently read and research around the
subject, paying particular attention to your in-depth areas.

Tip ./ Take your lecture notes with you to the library to help you focus your research on the
key aspects you need more information 011.

~ Exercise 1
Yuen, Samuel and Mohammed are all studying for a business degree. Look at
their essay titles below and then read the lecture handout. Which areas in the
lecture should they pay particular attention?

Yuen: Examine the effects of the internet on traditional high street stores.
Samuel: What marketing mix makes a successful store?
Mohammed: Outline how the British high street has changed over the past 50 years.
How might they continue to change?

Lecture 1: An introduction to retail management

Section 1 - What is retail management?
Section 2 - Global retail management - an overview of regional differences
Section 3 - Case study 1: Retail in Saudi Arabia
g Section 4 - Case study 2: Retail in the UK
Section 5 - An overview of key marketing strategies
ed Section 6 - Challenges for retail
i) Global competition

to ii) Online stores

iii) Costs and pricing
1.

75

1
 Lectures

How can I analyse the views given in my lectures?

Your lecturer may give you different ideas and theories from different
writers. You will need to note down the writer and their idea. You should
ideology
also write down a description of the general theory or framework that
An ideology is
a set of beliefs, the lecturer is working with, for example: if a lecturer follows a specific
especially ideology, their opinions and research will usually follow that ideology.
political beliefs You must be aware of their broad ideology as it influences a writer's
on which people,
parties, or
position and views.
countries base
their actions.
For example, if a businessman were asked which was more important,
discredit
study or work experience, their likely answer would be work experience.
To discredit an The answer might be quite different for an academic. This is due to their
idea or evidence background and beliefs. Knowing reasons and background to opinion can
means to make
help understand and evaluate arguments.
it appear false or
not certain.
Most academic study has competing viewpoints and often there may not
disprove
be any 'best' answers. Your lecturers are likely to present the different
To disprove an
idea, belief, or ideas or viewpoints to you in a lecture but they will not tell you which
theory means to one(s) to follow. Even if they have a particular opinion, they want you to
show that it is analyse the ideas and viewpoints and reach your own conclusion about
not true.
the quality of each one. When you review ideas, try to think of how they
objective
If someone
have addressed competing views and what evidence they have for their
is objective, own.
they base their
opinions on facts The key to analysing viewpoints can be best described by the following:
rather than their
personal feelings. Argument: Read an idea and evaluate the relevance and evidence. Find
sources which agree with this idea.

Counter argument: Read ideas which evaluate the first idea, and think
critically about what you have read.

Synthesis: Evaluate both ideas. Which viewpoint has a stronger argument?

Why? Is there more evidence for one idea? Does one idea discredit the
other? Has one been disproven? How?

Remember: opinion comes through objective evaluation.

76
 6 Thinking critically

How do I evaluate the ideas presented in my lectures?

You will receive a lot of information in your lectures and it is important
)uld to evaluate it afterwards using critical thinking. Critical thinking is an
prejudice essential part of university study. To think critically you need to evaluate
t
:ill unreasonable
~c dislike of a
arguments and ideas. Critical thinking is not just thinking a lot; when
pa rticular group you think critically you need to question the ideas of others and your
of people or own. Try to test them and identify flaws. To think critically about the
rh ings, or a
information you receive from your lectures, you need to question and test
preference for
one group of the information by thinking about it.
people or things
ce. over another. To help you consider the type of questions you need to ask, look at
elr this example of a thinking system. This system uses specific questions
can under headings. The first letters of the words in the headings make up a
memorable word.

.ot For example:

B.A.R.R.I.E.R.S - Barriers are obstacles which could stop you thinking

clearly. By remembering the word BARRIERS, you will remember the
to
types of questions you should ask.
~y Biases - What perspective does the writer have? Is this objective or does it
affect their objectivity? Does the writer have a broader ideology, cultural
experiencellimitations or prejudice that affects his/her objectivity? Is there
any motivation for the writer's argument that is not based on facts and
objectivity?

Assumptions - Has the writer expressed that something is true without any
evidence? Or is there a cause/effect without considering other factors which
may be related? (For example: if not A, then B, without considering C.)

Reasoning - Are the ideas logical? Has the writer shown reasons for the
It? ideas presented? Has the writer presented clear development of the idea?
Could there be any examples or evidence? If so, has the writer given
examples or evidence?

Relevance - Are the ideas related to your work? Can the ideas be applied
to what you are writing about? Are the ideas too old?

Implications - What conclusions does this work indicate? What do these

ideas mean for your work? Will they affect or do they contradict other
writers or arguments you wish to use? How can you explain this in your
work? Can you use it in your own work?

77
 Lectures

Evidence - Has the writer given any proof for what they have stated? Is
the proof valid? How has the research been done? Are there any gaps in
the research? If there is a sample, is it representative? Is it large enough?
Has it been tested against anything?

Response - How has the writer's idea been received in the wider academic
community? Have the ideas been mainly criticized or supported? Are the
criticisms valid?

Situation - Which contexts does this apply to? Can this idea work in all
situations? Can it be applied more widely or more narrowly? Was the
writer writing at a time or in a situation which may affect the ideas or
conclusions?

Ti P ,/ Select the critical questions that are applicable to your work. Not all of the questions
above will be relevant to your study. Scientifically, research will largely be evidence
based, meaning that questions about assumptions, evidence and sampling will be most
important. Arts subjects may focus more on questions of reasoning, situation and bias.

o Exercise 2
You are going to listen to eight lecture extracts and identify different types of
critical thinking. First match the words 1-10 with the descriptions a-j below.

1 contemporary a reduction in the success of a business activity

2 refreshing b living in the same period of time
3 scathing c left-wing beliefs or theories
4 downturn d section of the population sharing common
characteristics such as age, sex or class
5 regulated e vague, ImpreCise
6 socialist ideology f scornful, harshly critical
7 free trade g international trade that is free of government
interference
8 demographic h fact or situation that is observed to exist.
9 phenomenon controlled
10 loose pleasantly different or new

78
 6 Thinking critically

Is
III
h? ~ Exercise 3
Listen to and read the eight lecture extracts below. In each extract the lecturer is
0.
43
applying critical thinking. Match each extract with the correct form of critical
thinking in the box below.
~mlC

:he
Biases Assumption Reasoning Relevance Implications Evidence Response Situation

.11 Extract 1
'Although_Bryant's argument is an interesting one, it has wide reaching effects in terms of
contemporary theory and these need to be taken quite carefully into consideration.'
Type: Implications Suppor~
Extract 2
'Parlour's theory relating to social networks is an interesting one, and certainly a refreshing approach
ro this relatively new area. However, it has been met with scepticism by his peers. As we can see both
Bartlett and Previn have given scathing critiques. In particular addressing ... '
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism
Extract 3
'Although his work states that lack of money is the only real reason for the downturn in high
street profits ... this ignores other possible factors, which really need to be addressed. There is a
mix of causes ... '
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism
Extract 4
'We have to remember that Brudenell was writing this at a time when business was not as regulated
as it is today .. .'
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism
Extract 5
'We have to remember, that although Garrett's theory is useful, it very much comes from his socialist
ideology and doesn't particularly consider benefits of free trade.'
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism
Extract 6
'Anderton based this argument on the research he conducted, which had a large sample and covered
most demographic groups. In fact, it's the largest and most representative survey of its kind.'
Type: Support/criticism

79
 Lectures

Extract 7
'When you read Yorath's paper, although he identifies the phenomenon of crowd funding, his
definition is loose and he fails to explain how he reaches this conclusion.'
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism
Extract 8
'Charleston's theory is particularly relevant to those of you who are studying marketing in terms of
fashion, as the theory applies specifically to this area. Fashion marketing is quite a distinct area in
which not all theories ... '
Type: _ _ _ __ Support/criticism

o Exercise 4
Underline the vocabulary in Exercise 3 that helped you identify the correct form
of critical thinking. Can you think of any other words that could be used to
express these forms?

o Exercise 5
Look at the extracts in Exercise 3 again. For each one, mark whether the critical
thinking has supported or criticized the argument.

o0.
44
Exercise 6
Listen to the lecture extract and identify what is wrong with Dr Burns' ideas.
Choose one of the options below to explain what is wrong with the ideas. Then
try to note down exactly why the ideas are flawed.

Option 1: He shows bias towards supermarkets and although his reasoning is good for the
pharmaceutical company it isn't relevant to the town.
Option 2: Although Dr Burns has mentioned evidence, his evidence is relevant to how the
town could grow socially, not economically.
Option 3: He shows bias towards the pharmaceutical company and has made assumptions
that more supermarkets make more money. All arguments are based on poor reasoning.
Option 4: Although the pharmaceutical growth has sound reasoning, the supermarket idea
doesn't have good reasoning and assumes more supermarkets will bring growth, which may
not be the case.

80
 6 Thinking critically

What's my lecturer's opinion?

Although academic study is objective, this does not mean that people do
not have opinions on academic work. Remember that many people apply
controversial
critical thinking, which is largely objective, to academic ideas, which then
!f you describe
;omething or forms their opinion on that idea.
5Omeone as
~o ntroversial, Sometimes your lecturer will make their opinion clear, for example:
ou mean that 'Davidson's ideas in this area were fundamentally wrong in my opinion.
:ney are the This is beca use of ... .'
rubj ect of intense
.:ublic argument, Sometimes your lecturer will show their opinion less clearly, for example:
::.is agreement, or
iisapproval.
'Davidson's controversial ideas in this area .. .' (Here the adjective
'controversial' suggests the lecturer's opinion)

When you are in a lecture, think of not only the adjectives your lecturer is
n using to describe theories and ideas, but also their body language, which
can help you to understand the lecturer's opinion.

It can be difficult to know if you should agree with your lecturers' ideas.
In some situations your lecturer will show you how past ideas have been
discredited or that new research has proven an old idea to be wrong.
In these cases it is likely that many academics have the same opinion
and therefore you should probably agree with your lecturer's opinion.
However, in other situations it may be less clear. For example, your
lecturer may believe in the importance of government regulation in the
banking sector but s/he may encourage their students to form their own
opinion on this. You will learn how to respond to each of your lecturers
as you study.

Ti p ./ Set up a discussion group with other students. After each lecture meet up and critically
discuss the content and ideas presented by your lecturer.

81

1
Lectures

o Exercise 7
Look at the list of adjectives below and match them to their descriptions in the
box. Then decide whether you think each adjective has a positive or negative
meaning in the phrases.

1 Smith's disputed idea .. . G negative

2 Smith's seminal work .. .
3 Smith's groundbreaking theory .. .
4 Smith's hopeful concept .. .
5 What makes Smith's work questionable is ...
6 Smith's theory could be considered incomplete ...
7 Smith is very objective in . ..
8 Smith's data may be inaccurate .. .
9 Smith makes significant contributions to . . .
10 However, Smith's ideas are unconvincing .. .
11 It could be claimed that Smith is misguided in .. .

A believing that something that you want to happen will happen

B without emotional or personal bias
C important
o unlikely or hard to believe
E not completely acceptable
F innovative or completely new
G an argument or disagreement
H incorrect or wrong
not finished
J unwise or foolish
K very important and influential
 6 Thinking critically

~ Exercise 8
Now turn these expressions into the opposite meaning. Use as many different
structures as you can think of.

For example:
Smith's undisputed idea ...
Smith's idea wasn't disputed .. .
No one disputed Smith's idea .. .
Smith's idea wasn't subject to any dispute ...

~ Exercise 9
Listen to the two lecture extracts and decide whether the lecturer has a positive
0.
5
or negative opinion of the theory they are talking about.

ronunciation: Connected speech 2

In Chapter 4 you learned some ways in which English words connect
together and flow in natural spoken language (words joining together,
disappearing sounds and changing sounds). Now we will look at two
more features of connected speech; extra sounds and schwa.

When a word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with
a vowel sound, English speakers often insert an extra sound in order to
help the 'flow' of speech.

For example: 'Can you go out and buy us some more bread for dinner'

~ Exercise 10
In this phrase, we can see that the words go and buy end in a vowel sound and the
o
46
words out and us begin with a vowel sound. Exercise 10 Listen to the phrase and
insert the sound which connects the words in bold.

This theory can go ... only so far in explaining the decisions of the Mengies Corporation
which lie ... at the heart of this case study

83

1
Lectures

There are rules for these extra sounds as follows:

• After lu:1 leul laul insert a Iwl sound

• After li:1 leil lail insert a Ij! sound

• After la:1 lal 13:1 I'J:I insert a Irl sound

o0.
47
Exercise 11
Look at the following examples, say them to yourself and insert the connecting
sound.

1 It is important to go _ _ and find out more data on the financial accounting of the
company before you _ _ ask questions on the audit process.
2 The phenomena _ _ of the micro business is something we see _ _ occurring in
developing economies.
3 How would you _ _ aim to study the effect of management change on
employee _ _ accuracy?
4 There is a flaw _ _ in the research in this study.
5 I'll say _ _ it again so you _ _ are clear about how the theory works and does not
work in practice.
6 Although government should play _ _ a part in economic development, we must
remember that it cannot do _ _ everything well.

{J The Schwa sound lal is a weak unstressed sound is very common in

·1 I'
48 English and occurs in many words. It is pronounced softly and increases
the fluency and speed of the speaker. Listen to the two sentences below
and notice the difference in pronunciation. In the first example all the
sounds are pronounced clearly; in the second the underlined schwa sounds
are much weaker. You can see that the schwa can replace many sounds
represented by different combinations of letters.

l Over the years there has been a lot of support for a thorough
approach to mentoring.

2 Over th~ years there hflS been fl lot Qf s!lpport fQr fl thorough
flPproach t~mentoring.
 6 Thinking critically

~ Exercise 12
Listen to the following sentences and underline the schwa sound. Then practise
0.
49
saying the sentences yourself. Try to copy the pronunciation on the audio.

1 Education is key to developing the workforce of the future and this is recognized in the
theories of Jenson which we'll be discussing later on.
2 What we can see from this analysis is that teacher training varies throughout the world
except in international schools which maintain a fixed curriculum.
3 Becoming an independent learner should be the goal of any university student as this will
raise your confidence and allow you to make progress faster.

Rhetorical questions
A rhetorical question is a style of question used for effect and it does not
require an answer. Here are some ways lecturers use rhetorical questions.

A The lecturer asks a question and answers it immediately.

For example: So, what is the real benefit of financial regulation to the
markets? Well, there are actually two clear advantages,
namely reduced risk and increased confidence.

Reason for the question: To focus students on the key points and show
that there are clear answers to this question.

B The lecturer asks one or more questions and does not answer itlthem.

For example: Where will globalization take the economies of

the BRIC countries in the next decade? How will
these economies develop? And who will be the most
successful?

Reason for the question: To help students to think critically about a topic.
The lecturer is saying to the students 'These are the kinds of questions
you should be thinking about.'

85

1
Lectures

C Lecturers ask a question and say that academics in the field do not
know the answer.

For example: Are the personality traits of successful entrepreneurs

consistent across different industries? Are their
distinct similarities and/or differences in for example:
manufacturing or service based industries? What
about the creative industries? These are areas which
we currently know very little about.

Reason for the question: To give students some background information

on where current academic thinking is in their field of study.

o Exercise 13
Match the following rhetorical questions to the examples above. Write A, B or C
next to each question.

1 Can we really fully evaluate the impact of political change on company profitability? It's
a question which has been occupying the minds of academics for some time now and one
we've yet to resolve.

2 Why do companies need to think about work life balance? Because study after study has
shown links between this and productivity.

3 Now, what about the role of technology in small and medium companies? How can it be
used to improve productivity? Is it often too expensive? And how could these organizations
get investment for technology?

4 What are the main problems of corporate social responsibility? Well, let me put them into
four broad categories.
 6 Thinking critically

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking has many definitions. Here are just a few:

For example:

Critical thinking is being able to look at both sides of an

argument equally and without prejudice, and to critique those
arguments.

Critical thinking is about problem solving. You need to

1
understand an issue, think about everything that affects it, and
try to work out a solution.

Critical thinking is about taking your thought to more

than just description. It's about understanding the reasons,
motivations and effects behind an issue.

If you think critically, you question what you read and what
you're told. You don't just accept it.

The difference between 'normal' thinking and critical thinking

is that 'normal' thinking just accepts and describes, while
critical thinking analyses and evaluates. That's what you're
expected to do at University.

Remember
The purpose of lectures is to present current thinking and ideas on a
./ topic for you to evaluate.

There is usually no 'right' answer - you should think critically about

./ the ideas and views presented by your lecturers.

Speakers of English insert sounds between words to make their

./ speech flow more smoothly and quickly.

Lecturers use rhetorical questions to make students focus on

./ particular points in a lecture.
87

1
 LECTURE

The pursuit of innovation

Preparation 1
Sometimes a lecturer will give you a handout in advance of a lecture. You are
going to listen to a lecture on innovation in business. Look at the handout below.
What should you do to prepare for this lecture? List some preparation techniques.

Module 3, Lecture 3: Company Innovation (R and D)

Title: The Pursuit of Innovation
Definition: This means the search for new ideas or products in the business.
Overview:
The search for valuable new products, processes and services is a strong focus on many organizations
nowadays compared to the past. In the past R & D departments traditionally focused on creating and
developing ideas inside the company and then protecting them. Modern innovation has seen many
organizations moving towards a more interactive, networked and open approach to innovation. This
means bringing external ideas and people inside, which has implications for how individuals and
businesses innovate. For businesses, it requires rethinking the innovation process and developing a
strategy for working with others outside the organization. For individuals, these new models require
new roles and responsibilities. There are obviously many legal, managerial and financial issues to be
dealt with. Drawing on the research done at Imperial College, Professor Ammon Salter discusses the
changes in corporate innovation.
Key ideas
1 Past R & D approaches
2 Modern R & D approaches
3 Implications of modern approaches: Businesses
4 Implications of modern approaches: Individuals
5 Challenges: legal, managerial, financial
6 Research from Imperial College

Further reading:

• Villiers, j. & Stone, R. (2010) Innovating the future: key aspects of SMART business development.
London: Palgrave.

• Salter (2013) How researching innovation can predict growth areas. journal of Management
Science vo!. 33 (2) pp. 423-435

• Draper, P. (2011) Is innovation dead? An analysis of corporate innovation policy and its
effectiveness in tech start-ups. Business Weekly jan 2013 p35-37.

88
 Lecture 3

o Preparation 2
To prepare for a lecture think about what information the lecturer is going to
cover. Next to each point write 'Yes', 'No' or 'Maybe' to show if you think it will
be covered and give a reason for your answer.

1 How to set up a successful business

2 How companies thought of new ideas or products in the past
3 What makes an idea successful
4 Modern ways that companies create new ideas or products
5 What the role of an Rand D department is in a company
6 What kind of people are good and bad at Rand D
7 How companies protect their ideas legally
8 A definition of intellectual property
9 How to get a job in the Rand D department of a large multinational company
10 How companies will come up with new ideas or innovations in the future

~ Preparation 3
Another technique to prepare for lectures is to look up any unknown words
about a subject. Look up the meaning of the following words in a business
dictionary and write a definition in your own words.

be aligned with something _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

brands _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
drawon __________________________________
facilities __________________________________
implement an idea ______________________________
implication __________________________________
innovation / innovate ______________________________
interactive _____________________________________
model (n) _______________________________________________________
networked ________________________________________________________
non-disclosure agreement __________________________
RandD _______________________________________________________

89
 Lectures

Authentic Lecture
---- ---~ ----------~

Imperial College Lecture: The Pursuit of Innovation

London
Lecturer: Professor Ammon Salter
Institution: Imperial College Business School
Accent: Canadian

(') You are going to listen to a section of the lecture. Look at the page
'1 I·
50 opposite. A student has taken notes using her tablet but a few details are
missing. Listen to the lecture and fill in the missing details.

Reflection
Listen again and highlight/underline any points or words that the
lecturer stresses.

What rhetorical questions did he ask at the end of the lecture?

./
Was the lecturer easy or difficult to understand? Why/why not?
./
Which of the key ideas on the handout did the lecturer talk about?
./
Did the lecturer talk about any of your ideas in Preparation 2? Why/
./ why not?

To listen to the complete lecture and read the full transcript of the lecture, visit www.collinselt.com/academicskills

Extract from Pursuit of Innovation by Ammon Salter

http://wwwf.imperial.ac. uklimedia/content/view/1414/the-pursuit-of-innovation-l O-march-20111

90
 Lecture 3

Module 3, Lecture 3: Company Innovation (R and D)

The Pursuit of Innovation
Lecturer: Ammon Salter
What mean 4 indiv.? NOT organ.
Very diff if YOUR job = go 2 get new ideas
Probs = 1 Colleagues NOT like ext ideas
2 Ideas NOT aligned to company processes
3
4
5 Costs a lot
Result = many org turn away from _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ __
BUT now = people hunting 4 new ideas
Find rei w/ people 2 _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __

Chall. 4 trad R&D orgs

Manage new model = openness
Need people who know:
1
2 talk re: IP
3 know when 2 talk about _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _
Indiv have to acquire skills

Our research looked at different roles individuals play in process

Research topic = large org & role of different R&D staff in bringing in knowledge
Findings = 3 roles that indiv. take up:
1
2 Some indiv good @ assim ideas into company - enthuse other people
3
Some-take on all 3 roles & some - none
Result of our res: indiv who take on all 3 roles =_ _ ________ ________ _
Conclusions: Not enough to just explore the ext. space
Need 2 think about how ideas will B assim & _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ _

91

1
 7 Strategies for note taking
Aims ./ use different note-taking systems ./ use rising and falling intonation to help
./ take notes quickly take note
./ recognize the importance of relative
clauses

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and decide if they are good or bad strategies.

1 Write as much as possible in the lecture.

2 Write down the main ideas, examples and references for further reading.
.... .................................... ............... .. .... ... .... ............ ................. ...... ....... ... ................ .. .................... .... ....... , ........... ..... ... ........................... .

3 Only write down facts such as dates, places and numbers .

................. .. ........................ ... .... ........................ ....................... .. ... ..... .... ............. .......... ....... .... ...... ......... ... .. ...... ... ................ ........ .. ... ... ... .

4 Write down your lecturer's opinions on all key points .

................... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... ...... .. ....... ............ .. ... ...... .. .. ....... ....... ................................................ ......... .. ..... ......... ....... ... ...... .......... ..........

5 Write nothing if the lecturer gives a handout .

.... ........... .. ............... ............ ..... ...... .... .. ................ ... ........... ... ................... .............. ... .......................... .... .......... ....... .. .............................. ..

6 Record the lecture but write nothing.

How can I take notes?

Taking notes is an important part of attending lectures because your notes
will help you to remember key information after the lecture and they will
technique
provide you with ideas and details for further research. However, many
A technique
is a particular students find taking notes difficult because they are not sure what to write
method of doing or how much to write. Some students also find it difficult to listen and
an activity, write at the same time. In this chapter you will learn about the different
usually a method
note taking systems and techniques for improving your note taking
that involves
practical skills. abilities.

92
 7 Strategies for note taking

There are five main note-taking systems.

List: In this system you write each new piece of information on a new line
and number each one.

For example:

Feb 21 st • Mark Twain -life and works

1 Early life
2 Schooling
3 Work
4 Influences on his writing
5 Main literary works

Cornell: Divide the paper or screen into two columns. The left column
should be smaller than the right column. In the right column write your
notes in any way you want. After each section write a key word or
question in the left column.

For example:

: ..................................................................: ........................................................................................
1 Key words/questions 1 Notes - Feb 21 st Mark Twain
literary : ..................................................................: ....................................................................................... .

:s Literary means 1 Early life 1

concerned with
or connected : Schooling
with the writing,
a
~
study, or : Work
appreciation of
literature. : Influences on his writing

1 Main literary works .

; ..........................................................................................................................................................
: Summary

93

1
 Lectures

Outline: This is like note taking in paragraphs. You number each main
point and write it on a new line and then write the notes under it,
indenting related information.

For example:

Mark Twain Feb 21st

1 Early life:
Family-
Schooling
Work
2 Literary work:
Influences
Major works

Mapping: For this system write the title/main point in the centre if the
page. Then write related points around the main idea and connect them
with lines, arrows and numbers. Smaller details can be added under these
points.

For example:

2 School

1 Earlylife/ --~ 3
'MarkTwain

4 Literary influences -----+ 5 Main works

94
 7 Strategies for note taking

Charting: Divide your note-taking space into columns with pre-written

headings and complete the columns with the relevant information. This
method can be used when you know the structure of a lecture in advance
so you can write the headings beforehand.

For example:
--,:"",

...... ............ ............. ..... ................ .................. ................ ............ ................. ................. .. .... .. .... ........ ...

. ~~??~::.~.~.~~.~.!~.~~...............................:.................... .................:...................... ...............!

Facts on : School & : Influences on : Main works :

. ~.~~~:..~.~~.~. . . . . . . . . . I. ~~~~ . . . . ... . . . . . . . I. ~i.~.~~~~.i~~ ...............I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

. : : :
:
:
: ::
: :
:: ::
:: ::
~ j

.~ :......... ........................... ..:...................................... :..... .... ............. ...... .... ......:......... ............ .................1

~
e
Exercise 1
Listen to Diane Foster, a research methodology lecturer, talk about the
o51
advantages and disadvantages of four of the systems and complete the table.
: .. ... ....... .............. ... : .................... ... ....... ............. ...... ........... ...... ... ................ .... :..... ... .. .... ..... ..... ... .. ... .................... ....... .... ........................ ..

r~ . System
~·i~~..................·j~ ........
Advantages ~ Disadvantages
·.............................................. ·................................. j.........................................................................................
: ·· ·c~~~~ii···· ·· ······i·· · · ·· · ···· · · · · ·· ··· ···· · ·· · · · ........................................................... j........................................................................................ .
............ . . ......... ... . . .... . ... .................. j..... ... . . . ...... . . ........ ............ ............. . ..... ........... .............
~ ···o~~·ii~~ · · · ·· ······j· · · · ·· · · ···· · ··· ·· · · · · ·· ···· · ·

r. ~;~~i~·~ . . . . r. ..............·.......... ·....·. . ·. ·. ·.......... ·. ·...... ·....................... j....................................................................................... .

: .. .. .............. ........... :.... .......... .. ...... ... ... ...... ....... .. .. .. .... ...................................... : .................................. ... ... ........... ... ....... ............. ... ..... .... ..

Ti p ,/ Some lecture topics may fit one note taking style better than another, for example:
a chart is useful for lectures on things such as cause and effects, where you can note
the causes in one column and effects in others, whereas a process could be better in a
mapping format.

95

1
 Lectures

Exercise 2
Look at the following lecture outlines and decide which note taking system you
think would be best and why.

1 2 The Development of the EU

How to conduct historical research
1 Primary sources Creation in 1993
2 Secondary sources Reasons for the EU
3 Interviewing First wave of expansion
4 Analysing documents and records 2000 - present: Problems and solutions
5 Future members

System: _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ System: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Reason: _ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ Reason: _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

3 Psychological factors influencing

4
An analysis of Homer's The Iliad
youth crime in the UK
» Cultural background
Role models - parents and siblings
» Storyline
Self esteem
» Main characters
Influences from friends
» Themes
Likelihood of achieving ambitions
» Relevance to modern times
Discipline in family

System: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ System: _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __

Reason: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ Reason: _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __

96
 7 Strategies for note taking

~ Exercise 3
Choose ONE of the systems on pages 93-95, listen to the lecture on Mark Twain
o 52
and make notes. Then compare your notes with the notes in the answer key.

Listen to the lecture a few more times and try taking notes with the different
systems.
Which system did you prefer? Why? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

How can I speed up my note taking?

In order to speed up your note taking either by hand or by typing you
will need to practise often. At first you may find it difficult to listen and
symbol write at the same time. You may find that you are writing too slowly and
_\ symbol is
;omething
worry that you are missing important ideas or points. So, you will need
:hat represents to become faster and more efficient in your note taking. There are several
or stands for ways you can do this.
;omething else.
Symbols and numbers are also very useful for increasing your note-taking
speed.

o
.
Exercise 4
Match the symbols and numbers (1-16) to their meanings (a-p).

l:,i::::::~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::l::~:::::/~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::l::::~::::::::;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::l::i:::::::ii.~:~::~~~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::1
~ 2 @ ~ b decrease/ go down ~ 10 ': ~ j to/ too ~

~: :f::~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::r~::::::~i0~~:~~i.i.::::::::::::::::::::I:~f::::t/;::::::::::: :::::::::::::::rr::::::;f:j:iL:~~:~:;i::~:IS~::::::::::::::: :'

il ~i; a~~:~;ni !i t2°1; ~~!;:~~:;~;o~po''''i

Some abbreviations come from Latin not English but we use them a lot.
We call these 'Latin abbreviations'. You may see some of the following
abbreviations on the lecturer's slides or handouts, so they are useful to
know. They are very common in academic English.

97

1
Lectures

Exercise 5
Match the meanings (1-5) with the abbreviations (a-e).
1 For example a d.
2 And so onl etcetera b N.B.
3 That is/ in other words c e.g.
4 Take note of! remember d ete.
5 Compare e I.e.

Tip ./ You can make your own abbreviations, as long as you can read and understand them.
You can also use standard abbreviations (see Exercise 4) .

Exercise 6
Match the abbreviation with the words in the box.
Interesting Someone Minimum Maximum Problems Probability / probably
Reference Answer Different / difficult Important Approximately
Possibility / possibly Something Including Regarding / about / concerning Very
With Without Question Especially Because Information
........ ........ ......................... ...... ..................................... ..... .. ... .... .... .. .. ....... .. ......... .... .. .... ........ ... ..... ......... ....... .. .. ...... ..... .. ...... .. .............. .. ..

i..~?~r.~y.i~.~~?~........................ i..~?~<:'............. . .... .... ................ i..~?~r.~y.~~.~~?~........................i..~?~<:'....... . ....................... ....... i

i· ·~~·~?········ · ····· ···· ······· · ····· · · · ·ij····· · · ··· · · ····· · · ··· ······ · · ···· ······ij··re:~~h.~··· ··· · · · · ··· · · · · ········ · ·······i········
j poss j
· ··· ··· · · ····· · ··· ··· ·················ij
........................................ ... .......... ... ....... ... ... ... ..... .. ........ ......... ............................. ..... .. ....................... ... ...... ............ ........... ... .. ...... .. ........ .

i..~!.~f............... ...... . ................... .i................................................... i..~.~.~.........................................i...................................................i

l.. .......
int ... ..... ... .. .. .. ...... .. ... ... .. ... .. .. ... ..l .. ... .. ... .. ... ... .. .. ... .. .... ... ... .. ... ..... ....l................
Q l
...... ... ... ....... ............... ............... .... ...... ....... ... .. .......... .......l

i..~~??~. ......... . ....................... ... i................................................... i..~p.p.~?~: ..................................i...................................................i

l...imp l
... ................ ... ..... .. ..... .. ...... ....... ............ l min
...... .... .. ... .. ..... ............... .......... .. ... ... ... ...... .. ..... .................. .. ..l.... ... ...... .. ..... .. .... ....... .. .............. ...l

i..~(? ............................................ i................................................... i..~~~.I .......................................... i...................................................i

:.P~?? .............. ............. ... .... .....:. ........... ...... . .............................. :..y.................................................:...................................................:
l esp
...... .... ..... .. .. ........... .. .............. ... ... ..l ... .. ..... ...... .... ... ... .. ... ... ... ...... .... .. ....
l bec
.. ...... .... ... ... ... ... ....... ..... ..... ...... ....l ... ......... .. ... .. ........ ..................... ...l
lA l l w/ l .
: ..... .. .. ..... .. ... ... .... ..... ... .. ...... .. ....... :................................. ... ... .......... .. :.... ... .. ... ..... .. .... .. ... ...... .. .. ... ....... ... :........... .. .. ..... ... ... ....... .. .......... .. ... .:

:. v:/? ............................ . ... ... .... ..:. . .......... ............. . ............... ....... :.:.~~....... ......... .................... ... . ... !........... ............ . . .............. .........:
 7 Strategies for note taking

o
n·1 I'
53
Exercise 7
Now listen to a lecture extract on analysing birth certificates and read the
audio script below. Take notes as you listen using some of the symbols and
abbreviations from Exercises 4 to 6.

In the next section I'd like to talk about some of the possible problems associated with
analysing birth certificates from nineteenth century England. Firstly, it's important to
remember that many documents were forged at that time because the early censuses
focused on recording names only. Then of course there's the issue of spelling. It's often
difficult to follow family trees because of the way names were recorded on birth certificates.
The percentage of the population which was literate was low and therefore local officials
recording names tended to guess at name spellings, especially uncommon or foreign sounding
names for example: French or Dutch sounding ones. This lead to countless inaccuracies in
the census but interestingly it increased the number of surnames, for example: we can see the
name Smith spelled as Smith, Smyth, Smythe, Smithe, Smeeth, Smeith and so on.

What should I write and how much?

Note taking varies from student to student and depends on the content
of the lecture. You will need to develop your own style and prepare for
lectures so that you know what kind of information you want to take
from the lecture and how much you want or feel you need to write.

o
n'1 I,
54
Exercise 8
Listen to three students Lina, Gregor and Ozan talking about how they
approach this question. Make notes on what they say.
Lina: ____________________________________________________________

Gregor: ________________________________________________________________

Ozan: ____________________________________________________________________

Which ideas do you think are useful for you? Would you use a mix of these
ideas to improve your notes?

99
1
 Lectures

o0.
55
Exercise 9
Listen to the following short lecture extracts. Make notes using some of the
ideas from Lina, Gregor and Ozan.

Extract 1 _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __

Extract 2 _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ __

Extract 3 _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __

Relative clauses
Relative clauses give extra information and lecturers often use them to
explain ideas or to expand on them.

For example:

1 There are several aspects to gender and language, which is why

we are going to spend four lectures analysing this topic.

2 Freud's ideas of persuasion, which have been used by many

organizations, are largely considered to be incorrect nowadays.

3 Today we'll be covering the main ideas of Edgerton, who was the
first person to come up with a unified theory of social mobility in
urban areas.

4 One of the ideas that changed the way we think about the effects
of family on success in education and employment is that of
Roberts.

5 One of the key areas where academics disagree is the causal

relation between education and expectation.

100
 7 Strategies for note taking

Tip ./ Remember that sometimes the relative clause is a necessary explanation and sometimes
it is extra. Often the speaker will change pitch or pause to highlight if the information
is extra. In the examples above, 4 and 5 have necessary information.

~ Exercise 10
Look at the examples and decide in which sentences the relative clause has
necessary information and which has extra information.

~ecessary: _________________________________________________________________
Extra: _________________________________________________________________

Relative pronouns

~(J
Exercise 11
Complete the following sentences with the correct relative pronoun ('who',
·1 I· 'where',' which' or 'that'). Decide if the information in the relative clause is extra
56 or necessary.

1 Brown's theory was quite controversial for its time, is the reason for so
many studies in this area. Extra/necessary?
2 We're going to look at the ideas were developed in the late 1970s. Extra/
necessary?
3 The Greeks were the main group contributed to the development of
rational thought. Extra/necessary?
4 There are many aspects of company law but today we are going to focus on shares
___________ are actually quite an interesting area as you'll see later on. Extra/necessary?

Pronunciation: Rising and falling intonation

Rising and falling intonation can help you with note taking. Rising and
falling intonation are used by speakers to show listeners when they have
finished a specific idea or point or when they are going to change topic.
Below are some important points to remember.

101

1
Lectures

For example:
• Lists: When speakers give a list they use rising intonation for each
item in the list until the last item which has falling intonation.
The pattern is: rising, rising, rising, falling.
• Statements with multiple clauses: the first statement(s) have rising
intonation and final statement usually has falling intonation.
• Asking and answering questions: speakers usually use rising
intonation when they ask a question and then falling intonation
when they answer a question.

oo57
Exercise 12
Listen to the lecture extracts 1-3 and notice how each speaker uses rising and
falling intonation. Match them to the examples above.

Speaker 1: _________________________________________________________
Speaker2: _________________________________________________________
Speaker 3: _________________________________________________________

Noticing intonation can help you when you are taking notes using some
of these note-taking systems.
List: start a new line based on the intonation pattern
Outline: indent again following the intonation
Mapping: add another point to the map according to the intonation

Ti P .I For the Cornell and Charting systems, paying attention to word stress is helpful
because then you can identify the key facts or important points.

For more on word stress see Chapter 5.

Old and new information

Rising and falling intonation can also show old and new information.
Speakers usually use the following intonation pattern:

Old information New information

Fall-rise Fall
 7 Strategies for note taking

For example:
~
Right everyone, we've covered the main events leading up to The War of Independence
~ Old information
so now I'd like to turn to the analysis of the events.
New information ~
Many sociocultural theories describe the interplay between politics and philosophy and
~ Old information
this is important to understand human action and reaction.
New information
Lecturers often use this intonation to introduce the content of the lecture, link to other
lectures in the module or to change topic during a lecture.

o Exercise 13
Practise saying the following sentences using the intonation pattern shown
above. Then listen and add the rise-fall and fall arrows according to the
intonation of the speaker.

1 Today we're going to first recap last week's lecture on key ideas of the Renaissance and
then we'll move on to investigating the impact of these ideas on society in general.
2 Looking at the arguments for and against electoral reform over the past 20 years, it is clear
that there are many which are no longer relevant to modern society.
3 Right, I've put some sources on this slide for you to follow up on after the lecture so now
let's turn to the causes of the Surrealist art movement.

Remember
Different forms of note taking are useful in different lecture formats .
./ Use a style which you find clear and suits the lecture.

Abbreviations can help you write more quickly, but make sure you
./ know what the abbreviations mean.

Intonation can help you understand if the lecturer is changing the

./ main point or topic.

Intonation can also tell you whether information in a relative clause is

./ necessary information or extra information.

103
 8 Understanding your notes
Ai ms .I understand the importance of notes for .I how to keep notes accurate
assessments .I use context to help with understanding
.I recognize when to rewrite notes
.I organize paper and electronic notes

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the following student comments and decide which strategies are better.
Write ./ or X next to each comment.

1 2
"Usually I put my notes
"When I come out of a in my folder and get
lecture, I go to the cafe them out again when I
and read my notes again, need to read them for
highlighting important points my assessment." Dorota
in different colours." Simon 0 o

3 4
"My friends and I go to the
"I file my notes in library and swap notes after
different folders for
each module." Ali
each lecture to check if we
got the same information.
s
Then we write the extra
o details on our notes." Sumita o

104
 8 Understanding your notes

Why is note taking important for my assessments?

Your lecture notes will help you plan and organize the research, designing
and writing of your assessments as well as helping you to revise for
formulate your exams. Good notes will make it easier to plan your research and
If you formulate
a thought, assessment writing, give you ideas for essays, give you references for
opinion, or idea further reading and remind you of key points in exam preparation. Good
you express it or notes will:
describe it using
particular words. • give you general background information to help understand the
focus of the assessment.

• help you focus on the areas of the assessment you understand.

• help identify areas of the assessment you need to read/research more

about.

• give you further reading suggestions - books, journal articles etc.

• help you formulate your own ideas in relation to the ideas of others.

• encourage you to link your ideas/thoughts with the work of

academics in this area.

• give you an opportunity to refresh your memory, review and process

the information your lecturer gave during the lecture.

It is important that you do something with your notes as soon as

possible rather than just filing them and not re-reading them for weeks.
The following sections will provide ideas and exercises for re-writing,
organizing, checking and using the notes from your lectures.

Should I rewrite my notes?

This will depend on the quality of your notes. When you first start
attending lectures your notes may be incomplete or disorganized because
you found the lecturer difficult to understand or s/he spoke too quickly or
the topic was unfamiliar to you. In these cases it is a good idea to re-write
your notes.

105

1
Lectures

o Exercise 1
Look at these notes from Jamal, a Literature student, and decide which parts of
his notes need re-writing.

Lecture 2: Latin American lit c20.

Nobel prize winners = 5 (Mistral, Marquez, Vargas .. . )
Themes in fiction
political hist = big infl on writers
indigenous heritage = v. imp bec of sthg about individual countries
Lang, geog and religion also imp.

New style of wr comp to Europe

Original bec. no established rules
Trans BUT also ...
New structures
Writing about rural & urban life v. diff
For example: 1 Borges & Argentina - Reject Euro ideas
Focus on good writing
Explore margins
Reading = Borges: a writer (sthg about culture - check reading list) + some chapters from
6 books

Answer

o
 8 Understanding your notes

o0.
58
Exercise 2
What might happen if Jamal does not re-write his notes and needs to use them
for an assessment? Add some problems to the list below.

1 He might waste time researching basic details which he could have done directly after the
lecture.
2 He might not understand what some points mean.
3
4
5

Now listen to a lecturer talking about a Literature student, Jamal's notes.

How can I organize my notes?

In this section we will look at how to organize notes on paper and in
electronic format. It does not matter whether you take notes on paper or
on your laptop/tablet or both but it is important to have a filing system
for both. The filing system should label each set of notes clearly and
organize them in such a way that you can find them easily when you need
them for your assessments.

Tip ,/ There is no right or wrong way to organize your notes. Try a range of different systems
until you find one which suits your study style.

Organizing electronic notes

If you take notes on your laptop/tablet, remember to make time to
organize them after each lecture. Use a system in the same way as for
paper notes to ensure all your files are up to date.

107
 Lectures

oo59
Exercise 3
Look at Maria's computer screen below which shows her filing system for her
Law degree notes. What should she do to improve it?

Or Edwards Semester 2
Reading List

Module 1

International Law

Contract Law_25 .10.13

Module 2

Module 3 Notes_Professor Shaw

Answer __________________________________________________________

Now listen to an interview with Maria where she talks about how she plans to
improve her filing system. Were your suggestions similar to Maria's plans?

Organizing paper notes

After each lecture you should set aside some time to organize your notes.
Make sure you have folders and plastic wallets, highlighter pens, module
handbooks, assessment titles, and reading lists to help you.

108
 8 Understanding your notes

o Exercise 4
Look at the following list of organization tasks and complete the sentences
with phrases from the box.

assessment chronological further reading

highlight module name module or topic date

1 Check your notes have the , lecture title and ______ .

2 Colour code/ any important points.
3 Check quotes have page numbers and references for are correct.
4 Put your notes in order.
5 Put your notes into a folder divided into sections by ______ .
6 File titles and reading lists with the relevant lecture notes.

How can I check my notes are accurate?

It is important to check that your notes are correct and there are several
ways to do this.
go over
If you go over 1 Meet with friends after the lecture to go over your notes and correct
your work, a
any errors you find together.
situation, or
a system, you
2 If the lecture slides are available on the university's VLE then access
consider it
carefully to see them after the lecture to check your notes for errors.
what is wrong
with it or how 3 Ask your lecturer if you can record their lecture and then listen to the
it could be recording afterwards to check your notes.
improved.

109

1
Lectures

oo60
Exercise 5
Read Roberto's notes from a lecture called 'Key Philosophers and Democracy'
then listen to the lecture extract and correct the errors.

Key Philosophers & Democracy

Ancient Rome
• Plato BC 4 th & Aristotle BC 5 th
• citizens should focus on role in soc. - think about money
• majority is imp & democ = most dang form of gov.

• Document =Magna Carta 1215 - said people must obey law.

• Hobbes c16th: Democ won't work, govt should have power.
• Locke c. 18 th : contract bet people & govt. Govt protects people & have right
2 change govt
• Wollstonecraft c.18 th : all people equal, didn't bel in marriag

France
• Montesquieu c. 17th : limit monarchy, sep powers - basis of US constitution, relig
v good 4 soc.
• Voltaire c. 17th : bel in reason ~ progress, govt good if people prot by laws,
democ ok 4 large countries.
• Rousseau c. 18th:
• Rule belongs 2 people BUT people can do nthg - ideas 4 Fr Rev

Why do you think Roberto made these mistakes? Read the list below and
tick ./ the mistakes that Roberto made in his listening and note-taking.

1 He did not hear a negative (not, didn't, aren't) 0

2 He got confused between two subjects. 0
3 He did not understand the subject of a verb. 0
4 He did not understand the object of a verb. 0
 8 Understanding your notes

How can I use my notes in written assessments like essays?

rJ Your notes should act as a map to help you research, plan and do your
written assessments like essays and reports. By using your notes you
should be able to review the content, find ideas and further reading and
plan an outline for your assessment. Look at the flow chart below which
is a guide to using your notes for an essay.

• Re-read your notes and highlight parts which are relevant to

the essay title.

• Make a list of areas where you will need to do some more

reading/researching .

• Estimate how long this reading/research will take .

• Do some follow-up reading based on the references in your

notes to develop your ideas for the essay.

• Add ideas from your reading to your notes in the relevant

sections.

• Make sure all your references are complete in your notes -

names, years, page numbers.

1111
 Lectures

Exercise 6
Jamal from Exercise 1 has the following essay title as an assessment for his
Module on 20 th Century Latin American Literature.

The themes of 20 th century Latin American fiction were totally distinct from
those represented in European literature during the same period. Discuss with
reference specific writers and texts.
Look at Jamal's notes and do steps 1-3 from the guidelines on page 111 to show
how Jamal could use his lecture notes for this essay.

>'. Lecture 2: Latin American lit c20.

Nobel prize winners = 5 (Mistral, Marquez, Vargas)
Themes in fiction
= big infl on writers
political hist
indigenous heritage = v. imp bec of sthg about individual countries
Lang, geog and religion also imp.

New style of wr comp to Europe

Original bec. no established rules
Trans BUT also ...
New structures
Writing about rural & urban life v. diff

For example: 1 Borges & Argentina - Reject Euro ideas

Focus on good writing
Explore margins

Reading = Borges: a writer ... . (sthg about culture - check reading list) + some
c~ chapters from 6 books

Answer:
Step 2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Step 3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

112
 8 Understanding your notes

o Exercise 7
Roberto from Exercise 5 has the following presentation to prepare as an
assessment for his Module on Key Philosophers and Democracy.

Choose one nation and briefly outline the views of the key philosophers. Then
prepare an analysis of the ideas of one philosopher and how useful their ideas
are for modern day politics.

1 Look at Roberto's notes that you corrected in Exercise 5 and do steps 1-3
from the guidelines to show how he could use his lecture notes for this
presentation.

Tip ,/ When you review your notes, highlight sections which could be useful for more than
one assessment.

Language: the (noun) of (noun)

Lecturers often use noun phrases such as 'the importance of social policy'
or 'a range of accents' to draw students' attention to specific information.

The structure of these phrases is as follows:

The/a/an + general noun + of + specific noun + clause

For example:

• The importance of social policy has been underestimated by

successive governments for many years.

• A range of accents are used by speakers of English depending on

the social status of their interlocutors.

113
 Lectures

o0.
61
Exercise 8
Listen to the following sentences and complete the noun phrases.

1 is fascinating in terms of how it changed the way in

which people in general interacted with works of fiction .
2 When we think about _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ it is clear that they play a key
public role in national culture.
3 Bartlett's study of inner city housing concludes that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
should be studied far more in future.
4 Right so if everyone looks at the slide here, which is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
we can see some interesting features.
5 Let's now turn to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ where we can see how he outlines
his ideas on democracy.

Pronunciation: Using context to help with understanding

-------------------_._--- _.-
- - ---- - - - -_._._- -_._._._- -_._-_._- - - - - - - - - --- - -- - - - - ---- - -- -- - ---- - ~ ------ ---- . --- . ----- - -- - - . --- - ---- - -- - - ------ - - ~-.-- - - - - --- - -- ------- -------- --- ---- - -- .- -.- - ~

Always remember that the context of the lecture can help you to
understand your lecturers even if you think you have misunderstood
something. There are many difficulties associated with listening to
lectures such as speed of the speaker, accent, complex ideas and unknown
vocabulary. However, often the context (situation, topic or information
around) can help.

Context information might include:

• the title of the lecture

• preparation reading

• the assessment that the lecture relates to

• the background information at the beginning of the lecture

• specific examples in the lecture

114
 8 Understanding your notes

oo
62
Exercise 9
Listen to the following extract from a lecture. Circle the word you hear at the
end.

When we examine fossils we can tell a lot about how an organism died by its shape in the rock.
Let's look at this bird fossil as an example. We can see in the fossil that the bird has extended its
legs and is in a very rigid position. This suggests that it may have died on the ground from an
attack by a predator and possibly that it died in a state of flight/fright.

Look at the context (topic) in the first line. Which word helps you understand
the last word?

Tip ,/ Remember that context can be useful if YOLl think you have misunderstood something.

o
(')
'I I'
63
Exercise 10
Listen to the following lecture extract on archaeological research. There is one
word which does not seem to make sense. Answer the following questions.

1 What do you think the word is?

2 How did the context help you understand the meaning?

Remember
Your notes are an important record of the content of lectures .
./
Check your notes are accurate .
./
Always do something with your notes .
./
Organize your notes into a suitable system so you can find
./ information quickly and easily at a later date.

115
 LECTURE
The history of universities
in Western Europe

Preparation 1
You are going to listen to a lecture on the history of universities in Western
Europe. Before you listen, try to think of some key words that could relate to
this subject. To do this, you may have to read around the subject a little. Some
of the work has already been done for you. The first five words related to this
subject are listed below. Add five more and then find definitions for these words
and ensure you know what they sound like by using an online dictionary.

1 scholar
2 dialogue
3 master (n)
4 debate
5 Latin
6
7
8
9
10

Tip ,/ When predicting words that might come up in a lecture, remember that nouns are
usually the words which are subject specific. Verbs and adjectives are quite similar
throughout academia. This means that you might need to do more preparation before
a lecture predicting nouns. Once you have learned some of the commonly-used verbs
and adjectives, these can be used in lots of different lectures.

116
 Lecture 4

o Preparation 2
Think of what abbreviations you could use when taking notes during the
lecture to speed up the process. Make a list of the abbreviations you could use
instead of the words in Preparation 1. Remember there are no definite correct or
incorrect answers to this. These abbreviations are your own system which helps
you speed up the note-taking process.

For example: scholar

This could be abbreviated to sclr
(Note: if sch was used, it might be confused with school.)

Authentic lecture: Part 1

~ University Lecture: The History of Universities in Western Europe

s! ifGlasgow Lecturer: Dr Joanna Royle
Institution: The University of Glasgow
Accent: English

n
'1 I'
Listen to this section of the lecture on Classical Greco-Roman learning
64 and complete the notes below. This time the student typed up his notes
using a tablet rather than writing notes by hand.

Classical learning - sophisticated. Avail only to men.

VESPASIAN (Emperor) understood importance of a

1 _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Learning done through DIALECTICS - still done

now (definition: 2 )
e.g the nature of :"is
goodness in single acts or in the abstract?" discussed
in Plato's time and today).

1117
Lectures

Follow up
Look at the answer key at the back of the book. What abbreviations
were used in the notes for the following words?

available
population
something
different
people
for example

Authentic lecture: Part 2

n Note taking does not always have to be organized in a linear way.
••65•• Sometimes, if it is appropriate for the content, notes can be organized in a
spider diagram. You are going to listen to another part of the lecture. This
time, the lecturer is talking about life at a medieval university, and the
lecturer mentions eight points. Listen to the extract and fill in the spider
diagram.

1 No set buildings 4

Life as a medieval
student

~
8 5

(6 )

<
 Lecture 4

(J Listen to Part 2 of the lecture again and answer the questions below.
'165I· . notes m
Wnte . a l'mear way.

1 How do we know what life was like?

2 Note down the main reason the lecturer gives, with an example and
some of the rules students needed to follow.

Reflection
Did you use any of the words you looked up?
./
Did you use any of the abbreviations?
./
How did you find the different styles of note taking? Did you prefer
./ one or another?

Which part did you find the most difficult? Why?

./

Follow up
How many points did you get from the second part of the lecture?

If you got under four of the eight points mentioned in Authentic lecture
Part 2, why? Was it a problem with speed, or understanding? If it was
understanding, was the problem with the lecturer's accent or was the
language too difficult? How could you improve this?

After a few days, come back and look at what you wrote for Authentic
lecture Part 2. Does it still make sense to you? If not, you should think
about rewriting your notes after the lecture. Read the audio scripts and
note the differences in language in both sections. Which section uses lots
of noun phrases? Which section sounds more informal?

To listen to the complete lecture and read the full transcript of the lecture, visit www.collinselt.com/academicskills
119

1
 Other types of academic
9 listening
Aims ./ learn to listen in tutorials ./ revision of pronunciation from previous
./ learn to listen in seminars chapters
./ recognize and use polite language

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Read the statements below and circle True or False.
:...................................... .............. ....... ...... .......... .. ...... ........... ....... ........... .. .................. ... ....... ................... .. .. ..:...... ........... ............... ... .. ... :
,

I. . ~. ... ~. ~.~~~.~.~~..~. ~~~~.e.r..~~.~~~..~~~.~~.~~.~..~t.~.~.f:...........................................................................~~~.e... ~...~.~.~~~..........~

i2 A tutorial is a presentation to a tutor. ~ True I False :

!> ;;;~~~~~~~;~;,~;;~;~,;~, r i;~~,~~,;;l

I. .~.. . ~.~~.~~~~~.'.t.~s.~ :.~~~~.i~.~~.~.~..~.. ~~~~.~.i~l................................................................................ :.....~~~.~...I...~.~~~~..........:
..

~ ~. ~~~~~~~ ..i~..~..~~.~~.~.~..~~.~~.~~~.i~.~..~~~.~~: .......................................................................... i.. . ~~~.e... ~ ... ~.~~~~.......... ~

..... ......
: 6 I cannot ask questions in a seminar. : True I False :
: .. ... .......... ..... .. ..... ..... .. ........ ................................ ... ........ ........... ... .. .... ........ ................. ............ ...... .......... .. ....... :................................... ..... .:

What is tutor supervision?

In the British university system tutor supervision is known as a tutorial
and will be referred to as that. Tutorials are meetings that you will have
with your tutor. A tutor is a member of the academic staff who advises
and guides you on your academic work at the university. A tutorial could
be a private meeting with your tutor, so you will be the only student there.
Sometimes, your tutorial will be with a small group of other students.

Your tutor is usually assigned to you by the subject department, and

the meetings are usually pre-arranged. You may be able to request a
tutorial, and your course handbook should outline how this can be done.

120
 9 Other types of academic listening

Remember, you cannot usually go and see your tutor without an

appointment.

There are some key points to remember about tutorials.

• It is important to be prepared for your tutorial. You should go to a

tutorial with an update for your tutor on your work, and also a set of
questions about your research.

• It is important to show your tutor your written work. Your tutor

cannot guess the quality of your work simply by what you say. Give
the tutor some of your writing. You will need to check with the
department if this work can be emailed to the tutor and when the
best time to email the work is.

• A tutorial is a two-way (or more) discussion. Do not expect your

tutor to talk through your assignment topics as if it were a lecture.
The tutor is there to guide and respond to your questions and
arguments. Do not be shy to give your opinion of the academic
subject being discussed.

• It is important to understand what you need to do after your tutorial.

If you need to, take notes during your tutorial on key works you need
to read or changes you need to make to your essay. You can ask to
record a tutorial, but this is not usually allowed.

o Exercise 1
Look at the questions below and decide which ones are and which ones are not
appropriate to ask in a tutorial.

1 Can you proofread my essay?

2 Where can I find more information on X?
3 I'm not sure what to write here as a good example. Could you advise me?
4 Do you think my referencing is sufficient in this section?
5 What mark will this get?
6 I've got lots of assignments to hand in at the same time. Can I hand this essay in later?
7 What books can I read to help me with this section?
8 I don't think this view is valid anymore because of X. What do you think?
9 Can you give me some more information on this comment you wrote on my essay?
10 Can you write this section for me?

1121
Lectures

How is listening different in tutorials?

-----'-----------,---------------------- -
------------------- -------- - - ----------- - --- - ---- ---------------------- -------- -'- - - _._- -----_._--------- ------------------ --

In tutorials, the type of listening you do will be much more interactive.

This means that the tutor will be responding to your questions, asking
you questions, and you can ask for clarification on parts you do not
understand.

n
-I I-
Look and listen to the following dialogues for examples of typical
66 conversations in tutorials.

Asking for Clarification:

Professor Jones: So, what you need to do is just review chapter 10

of Masterson, and chapter 3 of Rhys-Smith, but
make sure you read all of Peterson and Gable's
work.

Student: Sorry, I didn't manage to write that down. What

chapter of Masterson should I read?

Professor Jones: Chapter 10.

Student: And chapter 3 of . .. ?

Professor Jones: Chapter 3 of Rhys-Smith.

Questions and Answers:

Professor Barnes: So, have you finished your research methodology?

Student: Not yet. I've decided to review my questionnaire

design but I am a bit stuck with it.

Professor Barnes: Oh yes. How?

Student: Well, I just feel it's too open ended and I don't
think I'll be able to categorize the answers. I'm ,
not sure what I can do.

Professor Barnes: Have you thought about giving options?

Student: I have, but what options should I include?

Professor Barnes: Yes, it is always a difficult decision. Well first you

need to ...
 9 Other types of academic listening

oo
67
Exercise 2
Listen to the tutorial between Inghar and her tutor, Professor Jackson. The
tutorial is shorter than normal, but Inghar has three things she needs to do
following her tutorial. Listen and note down the three things Inghar needs to do.

1
2
3

What is a seminar?
In the UK, a seminar is a small group of 10-20 students who discuss an
academic topic with a seminar tutor. Seminars are usually held in small
rooms and are often linked to the lecture subjects. They are a chance to
discuss ideas and readings with other students as well as a subject expert.
Seminars are an important part of university life and can help you to
understand your lectures and support your understanding of a topic.

In a seminar you may discuss other theories, ideas or related topics to

the lecture programme. They can sometimes start with a presentation
of linked material (such as related theories or recommended reading)
and often students in the group take turns to prepare and present this
material.

There are some key points to remember about seminars.

• Seminars are an excellent time to clarify anything that you did not
understand in a lecture. Remember, this clarification refers to where
clarify ideas are vague or you need more information. Do not use this time
To clarify
something means
to complete your notes because you missed parts of the lecture. You
to make it easier need to focus on the specific questions being examined in the seminar.
to understand, After the seminar you may be able ask your seminar tutor about
usually by
anything you missed in the lecture.
explaining it in
more detail.
• You should try and actively participate in seminars. They are a time
for discussion and your seminar tutor will expect you to speak. Try to
make sure that you give your opinion on a subject and say why you
think that. You can agree and disagree with other students or theories
that you have read.

123

1
Lectures

• Remember that in a seminar you are part of a group, so do not do all

of the speaking, but share it with your fellow students and make sure
you let the discussion move on (do not always bring the discussion
back to what you need for your assignment for example).

• You can and should take notes in a seminar. You will hear lots of
good ideas. You can ask for clarification or further information on
these ideas if needed, but remember not to dominate the seminar with
these types of questions if you know you can find the information out
yourself after the seminar.

Tip ,/ Sometimes the terminology used to describe a seminar or tutorial may differ from
university to university too. Always check your course handbook or ask if you are
unsure.

Cl Exercise3
Look at the following sentences below and categorize them into the boxes .
.......... ........ ... .......... ............. ... ... ... ............. ............. .......... .. .. .. ................. ............. .. ..................... ...... ................... .....................
: Asking for clarification
! · ·A~k~·~~· ·f;~· ·~~~·~·~;~;~·~· · ··· · ···· · ·· ·········· · .... ... . ......... ... . ..!:. . . ....... ............. . . . . . . . ............... . ... ....................................
~ ............ ...... .............. ............ ...........••.........•• .... ...... ••................ j ....... .......•••........••. ....... .•• .........••..........••... .•....•••...... ..••.............

I··~~~~~~~~········· · · ···· · · ······ ······························ ··················· 1· ···· · ···· · · ··· .............................................................................

I··?~·s~.~~.~.~.~~~ . .. ...... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . .... ..1. . . .. .. . . . . . ... . . .. . .. . . . .. ... .... . . . . .. . .. ... . . . . . .
: Expressing hesitation :
;................................................................................................ ........................... ........... .................. .. .................................... .
: Adding further information
~
1
:.............................. .......... .. ................. ... ............ ........ .............. :.................................................... .............. .... .. ...................... .

I··~~:.~~~··~~········
................... ···.· ..·······································1····················· ......................................................................... .
: Giving an opinion :
:....................... ........ ......... .............. ........... ....... ..... ..... ........ ... ... : .... ... ......... ...................... ..... ... ............... ........... .......... ... ... .... ...

a What do you mean by ... ? On that topic, we can also ...

b Another point about that is ... j In relation to that we could look at ...
c I think ... k What was the writer that talked about
X called?
d I'm not too sure .. .
Can you spell that?
e In my opinion ...
m No, I don't think that ...
f Well, I think it's debatable ...
n Shall we look at the next point?
g I completely agree that ...
o I'm in two minds about ...
h Could you say that again?
 9 Other types of academic listening

11 n Expressing hesitation can sometimes be a way to disagree with someone if

'16SI' you are expressing hesitation about the person who spoke before.
=

For example: 'I think Steinman's theory is quite relevant for today's
climate.' 'I'm in two minds about how relevant it is. I think
we could apply it to the East, but not really to the West.'

o
h.
t
Exercise 4
Listen to the following seminar excerpt which is on the theories of education
n
·1 I' and note any key points below.
69

fUV\-Ct~o~l~st -meortJ:

CoV\-Cept: -meoy-~st:

Relc!t~oV'v to todCltJ?

Now, check the audio script. Do you think you have noted down the most
important information and ideas?

The US and Australian university systems

- -- ----- - ---- - ---- _._- -_._-- _._-----_._- - -- - - --------- -- -- -. ~ - -.--- -- --- .---- -.- --- - . -- - ------- --- - --- ------ - - -_._._- - - -_._---_._-------- - -------

The words and conventions for university systems are not the same.
They change by university and by country. Usually, university systems
are broadly similar within a country, but different countries can have
very different ways of naming and doing things. It is always useful to
familiarize yourself with the system you are working in. To do this,
always read through information on the university web site (often
the international section of a university website will have valuable
information for you), and read through your course handbook for further
information. Remember, you can ask questions at the administrative
(admin) office of the university and they will help you.

Ti p ,/ Always read your course handbook to find out how your university will deliver your
course. This will help you understand what is required of you in lectures, seminars and
tutorials.

125

1
Lectures

o0. 70
Exercise 5
The university system in the USA
Listen to Kate describing the university system in the USA and note in the
boxes how it is different to the UK.

L:·::·:·:····:.:.::::::.::::::::..:.::.::::.:: .. :·::.::·::::.. · : . :r:~~::·: : ·: ·:· : : : · : .:: ·: :· : : : : ·: : : · : : . : .:· : · : ...: r.~~~:: : ·::· : : : ·: . : : : :. : : : " ::: ::: : : : . : : :::.: . ]
~ Tutorials ~ One-to-one or small group :
! ~ discussions
i"'s~:;~~;~" " "" "" " "" " "" "" """"" " " ·······I···~·~·~·~~·~~~~;·d·;~~~~~;~·~~·~f·············i····································································i
: topics relating to the lectures. : :
:..................................................................... ....................................................................'l'..................................................................'I
~

! Lectures ! Large talks where the lecturer

. !. talks .

. ::.
.

I:..?~~.~~.~~:~~~.~~~~~<:: :.::.:::.::::.:::.:r::::::::::.:::::::::'::::::':.::.::::::::..::::::::::::":..:::::"1:':::::.:'::.::::.:::.:::::.:.::.:..::::::.::::.::::.::::..: : .:. : ~

o0. 71
Exercise 6
The university system in Australia
Listen to Bob describing the university system in Australia and note in the
boxes how it is different to the UK.
:.............. .. .... ... .. .... ....... .. ..... .. ... ... ...... ....... .....: ..... .. .... .. ...... .. ... .. ...... ........ ....... ..... ... .............. : ... ..... ............ ........ ......... ... ........ ........ ...... .. ... .

I... .... . . . . .... . .... . ......... . .. ....... . . ... ... . .!..y~. . . . .............. . .....................................I...~~.s~.~~.~i~................................................
: Tutorials : One-to-one or small group :
: : discussions :
: .... ... ............. .. ..... ....... .. ... ....... .. ...... ..... ......... .:.... ...... ........... ... .... .......... .. ......... ... ....... ... ....... : .... ..... ....... .. ............ .... .. ......... ... .. .. .. .... ......... .

: Seminars : Large group discussions of :

i...... . ..... . ..... .... . . ...... . ................i...~~.p.~.~.~. ~.e.l.~~i.~~..~?.~.~~..~e.~~.~r.~.~:.........:................................................................... .
: Lectures : Large talks where the lecturer :
.~ !. talks !.
1 · ··O·~h·~·~· ·di·ff~~~~~~~· · · ······ · ·· · ·· · ·· · · ·· · · ·· · · ··· · 1· ·· · ····· · ·············· ·· · · · ··· · ···· ··· · · ····· · ·· · · · · ·· ·· · · ·· · ··· · · ·1· · · · · · · · ·· · · · · · ·· · ······ · · · · · · · · · . . ..... ... .......... ............
: .. ... ... ... ..... .. .... ... ....... .......... ..... ... .... .. .. .. ..... ... .:....... ... ... .. ...... .... ..... ..... .......... .... ... ........... ...... :... .. ....... ... ... ...... .. ........... .. ... ...... ..... ..... ......... .

o0. 72
Exercise 7
In science subjects, there is another form of listening which is used. Listen to
Polly speaking and note down the other form of listening and a definition for it.
 9 Other types of academic listening

Pronunciation: Revision
Improving your listening skills includes improving your understanding
of how English is pronounced. You need to know specific aspects such
as how accents affect intelligibility, how speakers use their voice to add
meanings and how and why sounds change in rapid speech. Being able
to do these things will help you become an accurate listener and reduce
mishearing which can result in poor notes and understanding.

The main way to improve your understanding is to listen a lot, notice the
features you have learned about in chapters 1-8 and practise.

o Exercise 8
Look at the list of pronunciation features covered in chapters 1-8 below and
try to remember what each is about and why it is important when listening to
lectures. Then complete the table .
........... ...... .. ....... .. .... .. ; .. ........ .. .......... ........ .............. .. .... ............. ........... ....... ; ....... ........ ..... .. ........ ...... ... ... ............. ..... ........... .... ........ .....

................................. :... !.~~.i~ ...................................................................i. .~~~.i~..~t.? .................~.~.~.s.i.t.i.~.~?r~~~.~.? .... .

..~~.~.~:~~.:............I...~~.~~~~..~~~..::~.~.:.s.:~~~~.~ . . . .. . ... . .... .. .I. . . .... ... .. . ... . ...... . . . . .......... . ..... . ..... . .. . . ... .... ... .
. ~~·~·~:~~·~············I···~~·~s.~~.~.~~~.~~.~.~.~~~~.... . ... . . ....... ....I. ....... . . ..... ..................... . . . ... ..... . ... ... . . . . ...
..~~.~. ~:~~.~ ............I...~~.:~~.~.:~~?.~.~~~.s ................. . . ... .... .... . . . . . . .1..................... .... .. ........ .... :................ ...... .... ............ .. .........
Chapter 4 : Connected speech (joining words, :
: disappearing sounds, changing :
................................. !...:~~.~?s)...... . . . . ... . ........ . ............. ...... ..... ... ...... ;...... ..... ..... . . . . . .... ...... ,. . ...... . ............ .... .......... . ... . .
Chapter 5 : Intonation and emphasis for : :
: opinion/ importance including .
: modal verbs and negatives : :
. · · · · · ···················· 1················. ··· ··· ··· ····· . . . ..........
··Ch·;;~~;·6· · ····· ·· · ·· I ···c~·~~·~·;~~d·~;~~~h· · · · ·· · ····· ····· ·· · ··· ·· · · · ··· ··· ·· · · · · ···1 · · ·· ···

... ...........:.............................. ..................

··Ch·;;~~;·;· ·· · ·· · · · ·· I· · ·~;~;~~·~·~d··f;ii;~~· ·~~~~~~~;~·~· · · ·· · · ·· · ··· · ···· · · ··I · · · · · · ······· · · · · · ···· · ··

· ·Ch·;;~~; · 8· ····· · · ···· : · · ·~~;~~ ·~~·~;~~; ·~·~·h~i~··:·~~h · ··········· ·· ·· · ····· · ···: · ········ ···· ······ · · ·· .......... ..... :... .......... .... ... ... . ........ . ..... ..... .

..... . . .... . . . ... .......... :...~~?~~.~~!.~.~!.~~........................ ...... ............. ......:........ ............ ......... ......... :.... .... ... ... ..................... ..... ........
Now put the chapters in order of difficulty for you.
Which areas do you need to practise more to improve your listening skills?

1127
Lectures

Ti p ,/ Chapter 10 gives you useful resources to practise your listening. Try to listen to a
variety of different accents and areas to improve generally.

Language: Polite language in discussions

Often in discussions, you will hear language which is polite but indirect.
Usually English is constructed around the idea of being polite to people,
polite
and so sometimes the direct meaning of what a person is saying is unclear.
Someone who is
polite has good You need to understand this behaviour and the meaning behind the
manners and indirect speech.
behaves in a way
that is socially
correct and not For example:
rude to other
people. 'I would review your conclusion if I were you.' ='Review your conclusion'

Look at the following samples of language and their direct meaning.

1 'This reading list is good, but it needs work.' =Improve your

reading list. It is not good enough.

2 'I think your ideas might need further thought.' =Improve your
analysis, examples, evidence of your ideas.

3 'Hmm, I'm not sure the current thinking agrees with you.' = Current
thinking does not agree with you.

4 'I'm sorry but I don't see your point.' = I don't understand you/agree
with you.

S 'I don't think this line of argument has much weight.' = That is a
weak argument.

6 'Your referencing could do with another review.' = Review your

referencing

7 'You might want to resubmit another draft before the deadline.' =

Submit another draft before the deadline.

8 'I'd suggest reading the article on Multiple Intelligences when you

have the opportunity. ' = Read the article as soon as you can.
 9 Other types of academic listening

o
0.
73
Exercise 9
Listen to the conversation extracts A-C and note down what each student needs
to do and where each discussion takes place.

ThestudentinAneedsto: ____________________________________________________
Situation: ___________________________________________________________________
The student in B needs to: _________________________________________________
Situation: ___________________________________________________________________
Students in C needs to: ____________________________________________________
Situation: _________________________________________________________________

Ti p ,/ Try to use polite language yourself. Using polite language is a useful tool to persuade
people to help you.

Remember
Listening in seminars and tutorials is slightly different to listening to
./ lectures.

It is useful to identify your strong and weak areas in pronunciation to

./ minimize misunderstanding.

Polite language is often used in English. It is useful to understand the

./ meaning behind polite language. You could even try to use it yourself.

Sometimes there is different terminology used in different universities

./ and different countries. Familiarize yourself with your university's
terminology.

129
 10 Moving forward

Aims ,/ know your strengths and weaknesses

,/ make an improvement plan
,/ recognize speaker 'mistakes'
,/ test your pronunciation

Quiz
Self-evaluation
Match the advice in 1-9 with the correct chapter.
: .. ......... ... ............................................. ....... ..................... ......... ............... ........ .......... .. .... ......................... ................... .. :.... ............... ........ :

!~~::~:~:i~:;f: : : ~,',: : .~:l~';~;: :~ : :'~ ~ ~, ~;~,;:t?:j?::::::: 1

I. . ~. . . .~.~.~~.~.r..~.~.~.~.~~~~. ~~.~. ~~~.~. ~~.~. ~~~~.~~~ .~~.r..~~.~~..~.~.~.~.~.~~~~~.~................................................i. ..~~.~.~.t~~. ~....:
I. . ~..... ~.~.~~~~.~. a.~.~~.~..~~.~.~~.~i~..~.e.~~.r.e..i.~..a.. ~.~~~..~.~:...~~.. ~e.~l..~~~~.~~~~.. ~~~ ..a..~~~.~~r.~.: ...............I. .~~.~.~~~~.~. ..:
i: 6 Pay attention to word stress as lectures often use it to highlight important points. ! Chapter 6 :
.... ............... ........ .. .................. ............ ..... ..... ............................ ............................ .. ...... ............. ....... ... ......................... :....... ................. ... .

!.... ~. . . .~~.~:.~.~~~.~~.~~.i.~.~~.~. s.~~.~ .~:.~:~.: ~...I...~...~...~:..........................................................................................~~.a.~.~~~.~.... .

: 9 In tutorials and seminars lecturers often use polite language to analyse your
..
!....~...... ~.~.~~.i~.~ .~~.e.. ~.~~~.~t.~~~ ..~~. ~ ..~~~~.~~~..~~.~~..~~~.~..~~.~ ..f~.::.~~ ~.~~ ~.~~t.~.~~ ..~~~.~~~............... ..... :....~~.~.~~~~.~.... .
work. i Chapter 9 :
:... ... ............. ..... .. ...... ... .. .............. .... ....... ...... ........ , ..... .......... ................ .... .. ...... ....... ...................... ...... .. .... ..... ............ ...: .................... .... .. .:

What are my strengths and weaknesses?

Self-evaluation is an important part of learning and you should evaluate
your lecture listening abilities in detail if you want to improve. Difficulties
with listening to lectures are due to many reasons such as speed of
speaking, background noise, content, lack of preparation, accent,
unknown vocabulary and others. You should get to know your strengths
and weaknesses during the chapters in this book in order to become more

130
 10 Moving forward

self-aware. This will help you to focus on areas you need to improve
whilst giving you confidence from understanding your strengths.

o
0.
74
Exercise 1
Listen to three students talk about their listening abilities and decide which
student ling, Albert or Susanna is most like you.

Now listen again and decide which tips in 1-9 in the Quiz would be helpful for
each student.

Jing:--- -- -- - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -
Albert: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Susanna: ________________________ ______ _____ _

0 Exercise 2
Read the list of listening skills below and decide how good you are at each skill.
Circle a number on the scale where 1 = weakness and 5 = strength.

1 I completed most of the notes correctly in the authentic lectures 1 2 3 4 5

sections in this book.
2 I have a good understanding of how lectures are organized. 1 2 3 4 5
3 I know how to prepare for lectures. 1 2 3 4 5
4 My ability to understand connected speech has improved by doing 1 2 3 4 5
the exercises in this book.
S I know what kind of notes to take in a lecture. 1 2 345
6 My note taking skills have improved by doing the exercises in 1 2 345
this book.
7 I understand how lectures use intonation for emphasis and meaning. 1 2 3 4 5
8 I know what seminars and tutorials are. 1 2 3 4 5
9 I am confident of my ability to deal with unknown words or 1 2 3 4 5
complex vocabulary in a lecture.
10 I know the importance of certain grammatical structures for 1 2 3 4 5
understanding lectures.

131

1
 Lectures

Discussion
Now read the advice for statements 1-10 in Exercise 2.

1 If you did well in these exercises, well done, but remember that a
university lecture will be much longer so you should now practise
with longer lectures. You can find many lectures from universities all
over the world on the internet so make sure you take advantage of
these resources and practise as much as possible. See the authentic
lecture chapters 1-5 in this book for some additional practice.
Revision chapters: all authentic lecture chapters

2 Make sure you know what lecture structures are common in your
subject area. See if your university department has lectures available
online so you can familiarize yourself with the style before your
course. Revision chapters: 3 and 5

3 Real-life preparation will involve finding books and journal articles

from the library or VLE as well as allowing time for the reading. Revision
chapters: 2

4 A low score here is not a problem, it means you need more practice.
But make sure you do practise because it will make listening to
lectures much easier. Set yourself some goals and make a plan to
listen to lectures every day. Revision chapters: 9

5 If you gave yourself a low score here, repeat the authentic lectures
sections in this book. Revision chapters: authentic lecture chapters

6 You should have improved your note-taking skills with the exercises.
If not, repeat as many exercises as necessary. Revision chapters: 5
and 7

7 You may need more practice to fully understand this aspect of

lecturers' speaking styles. Revision chapters: all pronunciation
sections chapters 1-9

8 Make sure you are clear about the format and structure of seminars
and tutorials, and how they are different from lectures. Try to find
out how many lectures, seminars and tutorials you will have on your
course by looking at the university website and/or information from
your department. Revision chapters: 2 and 9

132
 10 Moving forward

9 Usually technical or subject specific vocabulary is not too difficult

to learn (especially if there is a direct translation into your first
language). Idiomatic language may be more difficult so try to
increase your conversational vocabulary as much as possible before
you start your course. Revision chapters: 4

10 This is often more difficult than learning subject specific vocabulary.

If you gave yourself a low score for this statement make sure you
revise the grammatical structures in this book. Revision chapters: all
language focus sections chapters 1-9

How should I continue to practise?

By working through chapters 1-9 of this book you have increased your
knowledge of lectures, learned new listening skills and improved your
abilities by practising with authentic lectures. However, it is important
that you continue to practise your listening skills so you need to make a
plan. First, you should revise your weak areas by repeating exercises or
whole chapters of this book - see Exercise 3 below. Second, you should
make an improvement plan to continue building up your listening skills -
see Exercise 4.

o Exercise 3
Using the self-evaluation and discussion in Exercise 2, make a list of chapters in
this book that you need to revise and skills you still need to improve.

Chapters to revise: ____ _ __ __ __ __ ________________

Skills to improve: _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Making an improvement plan

Now that you have completed this book and evaluated your listening
strengths and weakness, you should make a continuing improvement
plan.

Divide your plan into two sections: What to do before you start university
and what to do during your university course.

133
1
Lectures

Cl Exercise4
o Read Steffan's plan, then listen and complete the gaps with what he plans to do.
75
............... .. ....... ... ..... .. .. ........................ .. .. .............. ........ ... ................ ...... ... ................ .... ... ...................... ..................... ... ...........................

1. . ... .. . .. . . . .. . . ... I.}~~e.. . . . . . . ..... . . . . .I.}~~!. . . . . ..... . .. . . . . .1. ~~?~~.~.............................II.~.~.~t.~.~~e.~.. . . . . . . . . 1

~ Lecture practice ~ Listen for 15 mins : Listen for 30 mins : Listen for 45 mins I Listen for 60 mins

: Take notes & ask : Take notes & : Take notes & check : Take notes & '
,...................................:..~.....................................:..~~.~.~~............................:.............................................:..~~.~.~.~.............................,
~ Education ~ Record all vocab ~ Review words ~ Review words from ~ Review words ~
: Vocabulary : in lecture : from June's : July's lectures : from August's :
~ ~ ~ lectures: ~ lectures ~
~ ~ Make a list of ~ ~ Make a list of new ~ :
: ~ 2 ~ Make a list of ~ words from lectures ~ Make a list of
: and learn ~ new words from : new words from
,................................... ,......................................... :.. l~~~~.~~~ ........................ :.............................................:.. !.~~~~.~~~ ........ ............... . ,
~ Grammar ~ Listen for hedging ~ Listen for tenses : Listen for special ~ Listen for ~
~ ~ and opinion ~ and signposting ~ phrases ~ 3 ~
:................................... ~ .. ~~~~~~.~.....................:.........................................;.............................................:..........................................,
~ Understanding ~ Try to hear the ~ Practise with ~ Listen to Australian ~ Listen to many ~
: accents : difference between: others like : lecturers because the : and decide which
:......... ....... . ................ .:. !!..~.1\.~.y~.................:. ~.....................................:. ~~~.~.~~..!~.?~f.~~~.~~.......... :. ~.~~ . ~!!~~.~!~. ~.~~.~~: ..:

Cl
o
Exercise 5
Now listen to Dr Roke, an education lecturer, evaluate Steffan's plan and answer
the following questions.
76

1 According to Dr Roke, what are the strengths of Steffan's plan?

2 What does the teacher suggest Steffan should do to make his plan more effective?

3 How does Steffan's plan relate to current theories on effective learning?

4 What aspects of university listening might surprise Steffan, even after his preparation?

5 What does Dr Roke recommend Steffan should do during his BA Education course?
 10 Moving forward

o Exercise 6
Make a two-step improvement plan for you. Think about 4 areas to focus on in
each month. Use the tables below.

Before my course
............ ..... ........ ... ........................... ....... ................. ......... ....... ....... ...................... ................. .. ... .. ..... ....... ..... .. ...........................
l Area of focus l June l July l August l September l

1"3'·......··..··· ..·.. ·.. ·.. ·.. ·"I' . ······· . ···· ······ . . ··. . ····r.. ........... . . . . . . ............ . . . . .... ....... .r··. ··· . · ··· . ····· . · · ··

! i i '

135

1
Lectures

During my course
:"k~~'~f'f~'~~~"" "" : " O'~~~b~;" "" " "" "" ' "': 'N~~~~b~~""""" " " ":" D~~~~b'~~"""""" ' " " :'j~~~'~~" "" """ "" " " ':

[i ff!! ;

!: I I I ;I
1· 1! ' 1[
~ ~ ;
:··························· ···· · · ·!·F~b~~~;;······· · · · · · ···I·M~~~h········ ·········· · · ··i ·A~~il··········· ··· ···· · ····· ·! ··M~;··· ················· · ··· ··I
i··i ································i················· ..................... :................................ ······i······································i·········............................. i

:: ~::

'2 11 11 '

iX l!lii
14 1 1 1 i l
:... ..... .... .. .. .. .. ........ .... ....: .. .. .... ........ ..... ... ...... ........ : .. .. ..................................:.. ...... ...................... ........ :..... ....... .. .... .. .... .. ... ... ... ...:

• Improvement plan 1: before my course

• Improvement plan 2: during my course

Language: 'Mistakes' of the speaker

Native speakers are not 'perfect' speakers and this applies to lecturers
too. Some people are what we call 'natural public speakers'. They
seem confident and are often funny and dynamic when they lecture.
Other lecturers can be shy or less confident and find the experience less
rewarding than seminars or tutorials.

All lecturers, whether they are shy or confident, native speakers or non-
native speakers make mistakes when they speak. This is because speaking
 10 Moving forward

is not planned in the same way as writing. Here are some common
mistakes you might hear.

Wrong facts and figures: Large numbers, fractions, percentages, equations,

quantities, dates, names etc. can easily be confused. Usually the lecturer
will notice and self correct.

Grammar mistakes: These are usually small and happen because the
speaker is processing complex information in the brain at the same time
as speaking. The lecturer will usually notice and self correct.

Losing the thread of the argument: This can happen if the lecturer
digresses from the main point, tells a story or anecdote or tries to simplify
complex information. Suddenly s/he can no longer remember the main
point and says something that is not logical or connected. Usually the
lecturer will notice, apologize, pause, re-think what they wanted to say
and repeat the information.

'Stumbles' over words: Sometimes the lecturer might make a mistake

with a word or stutter when they start the word. This can often happen
because lecturers are speaking quickly or are a little nervous. Usually they
will repeat the word to correct it.

o
n
'1 I'
77
Exercise 7
Listen to the following six mistakes, highlight where the error is and categorize
them according to the terms on page 135.

1 'So there are in fact six hundred thousand dollars in the budget for ... I mean six
hundred million dollars ... '
2 'Nothing hasn't been added to this theory for years.'
3 'The key elements of learner aumoton ... autonomy ... '
4 'So, after we look more deeply into this theory we can see that ... We can see ... That's
the theory.'
5 'So, some prime examples of this kind of behaviour can be seen across the world.
Particularly in the USA and Japanese.'
6 'So, this is quite prevalent in education. Next we're going to look at ... oh ... one minute
... I've lost my place. Aha here ... Montessori.'

Remember there are many ways that speakers show they have made mistakes
or self-corrected. By regularly listening to people you will gradually become
familiar with many of these ways and begin to use them yourself.

[137
Lectures

Pronunciation review
In chapters 1-9 you learned about speed, stress timing, pausing and chunking,
unstressed words and connected speech, intonation, hesitation and false starts.

oo78
Exercise 8
Listen and write the exact words you hear. Then mark the features of pronunciation,
for example intonation or connected speech. Listen as often as you want.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses for each aspect of pronunciation below.
Write S (strength) or W (weakness) next to each one.

A I can hear word stress used to emphasize key points.

B I can hear word stress used to show contrast.
C I can hear meaning expressed through intonation.
D I can understand 'chunks' of language.
E I can recognize or 'guess' the grammar of unstressed words.
F I can understand fast speakers.
 10 Moving forward

Remember - - - - -- -- - - _.

Always prepare before a lecture

./
Know the purpose of lectures
./
Know the structure and organization of lectures
./
Try to practise listening to real lectures as much as possible before
./ you start university

Practise different note-taking styles until you find one that suits you
./
Know what notes you should take and why
./
Always do something with your notes after each lecture
./
Learn the techniques and strategies in this book to help you improve
./ your listening

Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in listening to lectures

./
Take responsibility for your own learning and make a plan to
./ improve your weaknesses

139

1
 LECTURE

Learner autonomy

Preparation 1
You are going to listen to a lecture entitled 'Learner autonomy'. Before you
listen, prepare for the lecture using some of the techniques outlined in this book.
List the techniques you would like to use below.

Technique 1: Understand the meaning of the title of the lecture, by looking up unknown
words or doing an online search.

Technique 2: Write down everything you know about the topic.

Technique 3: _________________________________________________________

Technique 4: _________________________________________________________

Technique 5: _________________________________________________________

For more information on preparation techniques, see Chapter 2 and the preparation sections of Lectures 1--4.

o Preparation 2
Now follow the techniques and write notes on what you learned.

Technique 1: Understand the meaning of the title of the lecture, by looking up unknown words
or doing an online search.

Technique 2: Write down everything you know about the topic.

Technique 3: ______________________________________________________________

Technique 4: _______________________________________________________________

Technique 5: _______________________________________________________________

140
 Lecture 5

o Preparation 3
You are going to listen to the final section of the lecture. Look at the handout of
the lecture slides to familiarize yourself with their content.
Slide 12

LEARNING STYLES
• Many different labelling systems for
example:
• Honey & Mumford 1982
• Kolb
• Ellis & Sinclair 1989
• Willing
• Gardner

Slide 13

Howard Gardner
1943-
Professor of cognition and
education Harvard Graduate
School of Education
• Frames of Mind
The theory of multiple intelligences (MI)
• Musical intelligence
• Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence
• Logical-mathematical intelligence
• Linguistic intelligence
• Spatial intelligence
• Interpersonal intelligence
• Intrapersonal intelligence

141
Lectures

Slide 14

~
i!
Why am I doing this? n

'l?') I
~
, I!

l(
I" t. ,'--

Slide 15

Concluding thoughts
• Cooperation/collaboration
• Find techniques/learning styles
• Be self aware
 Lecture 5

Authentic lecture

Lecture: Learner Autonomy

Lecturer: Celia Wigley
Accent: English

n Listen to the final section of the lecture and write your notes for each
'1 791' slide. Remember that you are trying to note down the key points.

Writing up your notes

Once the lecture has finished, type your notes up so that you have a clear
record of the content of the lecture. Use your notes from the previous
exercise and type these up so that they are easy for you to refer to.

Reflection
How much did the preparation help you with note taking?
./
Did you find you could write quickly enough?
./
Would you need to record this lecture and listen more than once?
./
Compared your notes to the answer key.
./
Do you have all the underlined main points as in the sample notes?
./
Listen again and read the audio script .
./
Are your notes accurate? Check the accuracy against the audio script .
./
If you completed the notes and have the main points and have
./ represented the lecture accurately, well done!

If you have incomplete notes, only some main points and have some
./ inaccuracies, use Chapter 10 to help you make a further study plan.

To listen to the complete lecture and read the full transcript of the lecture, visit www.collinselt.com/academicskills

143
Learner resources

There are many online resources to practise listening to academic lectures

and features of spoken English. Here are some which you can use to
continue practising and improving your skills.

Lectures

• www.TED.com
This website has many lectures from leading academics all over the
world. The talks are mostly short, come with video and the speakers
have a wide range of accents.

• www.apple.com/educationlitunes-u/
Many universities from all over the world have lectures you can
download from iTunes.

• http://www. bbc.co. uk/worldservice/learningenglish/generall

talkaboutenglish/2009104/09042 7_tae_al.shtml
In this BBC series you can listen to students talking about listening to
lectures and get advice on listening to lectures.

• http://bigthink.coml and http://www.academicearth.org/

These sites have lectures and talks from leading academics around the
world on a range of topics.

• http://www.futurelearn.coml and https:llwww.coursera.org/ and

http://oli.cmu.edu/ and http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
These are online education organizations providing free short courses
from universities in the USA and Europe. They have many online
lectures covering a variety of subjects.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/genre/learning
The BBC has many podcasts which are semi academic and would be
useful for listening practice.
 Learner resources

Pronunciation

• http://www. b bc.co. uk/wor Idservice/learningenglish/grammarlpronl

The BBC has a pronunciation section with exercises for practice.

• http://www.manythings.org/e/pronunciation.html
There are pronunciation practice exercises here.

145

1
 Glossary

@ POWERED BY COBUllD

Some of the more difficult words from the chapters are defined here in this Glossary. The definitions
focus on the meanings of the words in the context in which they appear in the text. Definitions are from
COBUILD Advanced Dictionary.

Key
AD] adjective PHRASAL VERB phrasal verb
N-COUNT count noun PHRASE phrase
N -UNCOUNT uncount noun VERB verb
N -VAR variable noun

a critique (critiques) N-COUNT

A critique is a written examination and judgement
attention span (attention spans) N-COUNT
of a situation or of a person's work or ideas.
Your attention span is the amount of time that you
can concentrate on a particular task, activity, or d
subject without becoming distracted.
digress (digresses, digressing, digressed) VERB
c If you digress, you move away from the subject you
are talking or writing about and talk or write
chronological AD]
about something different for a while.
If things are described or shown in chronological
order, they are described or shown in the order in discredit (discredits, discrediting, discredited) VERB
which they happened . To discredit an idea or evidence means to make it
appear false or not certain.
clarify (clarifies, clarifying, clarified) VERB
To clarify something means to make it easier to disprove (disproves, disproving, disproved,
understand, usually by explaining it in more detail. disproven) VERB
To disprove an idea, belief, or theory means to
complex AD]
show that it is not true.
Something that is complex has many different
parts, and is therefore often difficult to understand. e
concentrate (concentrates, concentrating, emphasis (emphases) N-VAR
concentrated) VERB Emphasis is special or extra importance that is
If you concentrate on something you give all your given to an activity or to a part or aspect of
attention to it. something.
consonant (consonants) N-COUNT ensure (ensures, ensuring, ensured) VERB
A consonant is a sound such as 'p', 'f', 'n', or 't' To ensure something, or to ensure that something
which you pronounce by stopping the air flowing happens, means to make certain that something
freely through your mouth. happens.
controversial AD]
If you describe something or someone as
formulate (formulates, formulating, formulated)vERB
controversial, you mean that they are the subject
If you formulate a thought, opinion, or idea you
of intense public argument, disagreement, or
express it or describe it using particular words .
disapproval.

146
 Glossary

g prejudice (prejudices) N-VAR

Prejudice is an unreasonable dislike of a particular
go over PHRASAL VERB
group of people or things, or a preference for one
If you go over your work, a situation, or a system,
group of people or things over another.
you consider it carefully to see what is wrong
with it or how it could be improved. preparatory AD]
Preparatory actions are done before doing something
else as a form of preparation or as introduction.
ideology (ideologies) N-VAR
process (processes) N-COUNT
An ideology is a set of beliefs, especially the
A process is a series of actions carried out in order
political beliefs on which people, parties, or
to achieve a particular result.
countries base their actions.
intensive AD]
Intensive activity involves concentrating a lot of real time N-UNCOUNT
effort or people on one particular task in order to If something is done in real time, there is no
try and achieve a great deal in a short time. noticeable delay between the action and its effect
or consequence.
intonation (intonations) N-VAR
Your intonation is the way your voice rises and falls refer (refers, referring, referred) VERB
as you speak. If a word refers to a particular thing, situation, or
idea, it describes it in some way.
relate (relates, relating, related) VERB
journal (journals) N-COUNT
If something relates to a particular subject, it
A journal is a magazine that deals with a specialist
concerns that subject.
subject.
rhythm (rhythms) N-VAR
A rhythm is a regular series of sounds or movements.
literary AD]
s
Literary means concerned with or connected with
the writing, study, or appreciation of literature. subjective AD]
Something that is subjective is based on personal
m opinions and feelings rather than on facts.
modify (modifies, modifying, modified) VERB
subtitle (subtitles) N-COUNT
If you modify something, you change it slightly
Subtitles are a printed translation of the words of a
usually in order to improve it.
foreign film that are shown at the bottom of the
o picture.
objective AD] symbol (symbols) N-COUNT
If someone is objective, they base their opinions on A symbol is something that represents or stands for
facts rather than their personal feelings. something else.
overview (overviews) N-COUNT
An overview of a situation is a general
terminology (terminologies) N - COUNT
understanding or description of it as a whole.
The terminology of a subject is the set of special
p words and expressions used in connection with it.
polite (politer, politest) AD] v
Someone who is polite has good manners and
vowel (vowels) N-CO UNT
behaves in a way that is socially correct and not
A vowel is a sound such as the ones represented in
rude to other people.
writing by the letters 'a', 'e', 'i ', ' 0 ' , and 'u', which
pose questions (poses , posing, posed ) VERB you pronounce with your mouth open, allowing
If you pose a question, you ask a question . the air to flow
1147