Listening: Listening for Gist A2 - Lesson 1: Understanding the Main Point of Short Dialogues on Everyday Topics (hobbies, food, daily routines)

Listening: Finding the Main Point

CEFR Level A2

Lesson Goals

In this lesson, you will practice listening to short dialogues to understand the main point—the most important idea or reason for the conversation.

From 'Topic' to 'Main Point'

In A1, you learned to find the topic (e.g., food, weather). Now at A2, you will listen for the main point. This is the key message or purpose of the conversation.

For example:

• Topic: Food
• Main Point: Two friends want to eat lunch, but they want different kinds of food.

The main point gives you much more information than just the topic. It tells you why the people are talking.

Key Tip: What is the speaker's purpose?

To find the main point, ask yourself, "What are the speakers trying to do?" Are they...

• Sharing different opinions?
• Making a plan for the weekend?
• Giving advice to a friend?
• Agreeing or disagreeing about something?

Thinking about the purpose helps you find the most important idea in the conversation.

Practice Dialogues

Listen to the dialogues in the audio player. For each one, choose the best answer that describes the main point.

1. Dialogue 1: Hobbies

   Speaker A: "What do you like to do on the weekend?"
   Speaker B: "I love to read books. I usually go to a quiet cafe and read for hours. It's so relaxing."
   Speaker A: "That sounds nice. I prefer playing football with my friends."

   What is the main point of this conversation?

   • A) They both like to play football.
   • B) They are talking about their different hobbies.
   • C) They both like going to cafes.
   Show Answer

   Answer: B). The main point is that they have different hobbies they enjoy (reading vs. football).

2. Dialogue 2: Food

   Speaker A: "I'm so hungry. Do you want to get some lunch?"
   Speaker B: "Yes! I'd love some Khmer food. I really want to eat Fish Amok."
   Speaker A: "Oh, I had that yesterday. I think I want a simple noodle soup today."

   What is the main point?

   • A) They are not hungry.
   • B) They both want to eat Fish Amok.
   • C) They want to eat lunch, but they want different things.
   Show Answer

   Answer: C). They are both hungry, but one wants Fish Amok and the other wants noodle soup.

3. Dialogue 3: Daily Routines

   Speaker A: "You always look so tired in the morning."
   Speaker B: "I know. I go to bed very late, around midnight."
   Speaker A: "You should try to sleep earlier. I go to sleep at 10 PM, and I feel great in the morning."

   What is the main point?

   • A) Speaker B feels great in the morning.
   • B) Speaker A is giving advice to Speaker B about sleeping earlier.
   • C) They both go to bed at 10 PM.
   Show Answer

   Answer: B). The most important idea is that Speaker A is giving advice to Speaker B.

Vocabulary

• Main Point (noun phrase) [ចំណុច​សំខាន់]

  The most important idea, message, or purpose of a conversation.

• Hobby (noun) [ចំណង់ចំណូលចិត្ត]

  An activity someone does for pleasure and relaxation in their free time.

• Daily Routine (noun phrase) [កិច្ចការប្រចាំថ្ងៃ]

  The things you do every day in the same order.

• Advice (noun) [ដំបូន្មាន]

  A suggestion about what someone should do in a particular situation.

Your Mission

Time to practice this new skill! Try these two tasks.

1. Real-World Gist: Listen to a short, simple conversation in English. After it finishes, ask yourself, "What was the most important idea they shared?" Don't worry about the details.
2. Summarize a Video: Watch a short video (1-2 minutes) online about a topic you like (e.g., travel, food). Write one single sentence in English that describes the main point of the whole video.