What is the Topic?
Lesson Goals
- Understand the "Big Idea" (Topic) without understanding every word.
- Listen for "Keyword" clues.
- Identify topics like: Family, Weather, Food.
What is "Gist"?
"Gist" means the Main Idea. You don't need to understand every single word. Imagine you are listening to the radio. You just need to know: "Are they talking about sports? Or the weather?"
1. Listen for Keywords
Keywords are the strong, important words in a sentence. They tell you the topic.
Example 1:
"It is very hot today. I need an umbrella because of the rain."
Topic = Weather ☀️🌧️
Example 2:
"My mother cooks dinner. My brother plays games."
Topic = Family 👨👩👧👦
Tip: Don't Panic!
If you hear a difficult word, don't stop listening! Keep listening for the next word you know. The next word might give you the answer.
Example: "The [difficult word] is delicious." -> You know "delicious", so the topic is probably Food!
Practice Activity: Guess the Topic
Listen to the 3 short clips in the audio. Choose the correct topic for each.
Clip 1:
Clip 2:
Clip 3:
Vocabulary List
- Topic (noun) /ˈtɒpɪk/ [ប្រធានបទ] - What people are talking about.
- Weather (noun) /ˈwɛðər/ [អាកាសធាតុ] - Sun, rain, wind, hot, cold.
- Family (noun) /ˈfæmɪli/ [គ្រួសារ] - Mother, father, sister, brother.
Your Mission 🎙️
Listen to a friend or a video in English for 1 minute. Do not try to understand everything. Just ask yourself: "What is the topic?"
Write down one keyword you heard.