Listening: Active Listening Strategies (incl. Note-taking & Summarizing - Basic) B1 - Lesson 2: Taking Simple Notes (key words, numbers, names) from Short Talks

📝Listening: B1 - Taking Simple Notes

Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand the purpose of taking simple notes while listening.
• Identify key information (like main words, numbers, and names) from short talks.
• Practice using simple note-taking techniques to help remember information.
• Use your notes to answer questions about what you heard.

Hello B1 learners! When you listen to a talk, a lecture, or even a phone message, it can be hard to remember all the details. Taking notes is an active listening strategy that helps you focus on and remember the most important information. This lesson will introduce you to the basics of simple note-taking.

What to Write Down

You don't need to write down everything! The goal of simple note-taking is to capture only the most essential information. Click the cards to see what you should listen for.

Key Words

Key Words: The main nouns and verbs that tell you the topic and the main actions. For example, in "The festival will have boat races," the key words are 'festival' and 'boat races'.

Numbers

Numbers: Important quantities, dates, times, or ages. For example, "The meeting is at 3 PM on November 15th."

Names

Names: Names of people, places, or specific things. For example, "The report is for Mr. Smith" or "The event is at the City Hall."

Abbreviations & Symbols

Abbreviations & Symbols: Use shortcuts to write faster. For example, use 'info' for 'information', '&' for 'and', or '*' for 'important'.

✍️ Interactive Activities

Activity 1: What's the Key Info?

Imagine you hear this announcement: "There will be an English club meeting next Friday at 3 PM in Room 10. We will discuss plans for the New Year party."

Which of the following is the LEAST important piece of information to write down in your notes?

The day and time (Friday, 3 PM)

The exact words "There will be..."

The purpose (New Year party plans)

Activity 2: Listen and Take Notes

Listen to this short announcement about a local festival. As you listen, take notes to find the specific information needed below.

Listen to the announcement:

Use your notes to fill in the details:

Festival Name:

Start Date:

Duration:

Expected Visitors:

Main Race Time:

🚀 Tips for Simple Note-Taking

• Be Prepared: Have a pen and paper ready before the speaker starts.
• Don't Write Full Sentences: Focus on keywords, names, and numbers. You don't have time for complete sentences.
• Use Abbreviations: Use short forms of words to write faster (e.g., `info` for information, `Eng` for English).
• Listen for Signal Words: Words like "first," "second," or "important" tell you that key information is coming.
• Review Your Notes: After listening, quickly read your notes to make sure they make sense.

Summary: This lesson introduced the active listening strategy of taking simple notes. By focusing on capturing key information like main words, numbers, and names, you can improve your focus and remember important details from short talks, announcements, and messages. This is a fundamental skill that will help you as you listen to more complex English.