Listening: Listening for Inference, Attitude, & Opinion B1 - Lesson 3: Distinguishing Simple Facts from Opinions in Short Talks

Main Skill: Listening | Sub-skill: Listening for Inference, Attitude, & Opinion | CEFR Level: B1 (Intermediate)

🎧Listening: Listening for Inference, Attitude, & Opinion B1 - Lesson 3: Distinguishing Simple Facts from Opinions in Short Talks

🎯 Learning Objectives

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

• Understand the difference between a fact and an opinion.
• Identify statements of fact in short, clear English talks.
• Identify statements of opinion in short, clear English talks.
• Recognize words and phrases that often signal an opinion.
• Improve your critical listening skills by distinguishing between what is presented as true and what is a personal belief.

💡 Key Concepts: What's True vs. What Someone Thinks

Hello B1 learners! When we listen to people talk or give information, it's important to understand the difference between facts and opinions.

• A fact is something that is true and can be proven.
  Example: "Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia." (This can be checked and verified as true.)
  Example: "The Sangkae River flows through Battambang." (This is a verifiable geographical fact.)
• An opinion is what someone thinks or feels about something. It cannot be proven true or false for everyone, as different people can have different opinions.
  Example: "Phnom Penh is the most exciting city in Asia." (This is what someone believes; others might disagree.)
  Example: "Battambang has the best mangoes in Cambodia." (This is a personal feeling or belief.)

Words that often signal an OPINION:

• I think...
• I believe...
• In my opinion...
• It seems to me...
• My favorite is...
• Adjectives like: beautiful, ugly, good, bad, wonderful, terrible, interesting, boring.

Facts often include numbers, dates, specific names, and information that can be checked.

🇰🇭 Cambodian Context: Facts and Beliefs

Sua s'dei! In Cambodia, when you talk with friends or listen to news, you hear many things. Some things are facts (ការពិត - kaa pit), like "Angkor Wat is in Siem Reap province." Some things are opinions (មតិ - mateh), like "I think the weather in Battambang is nicer than in Phnom Penh."

Understanding this difference in English is important. It helps you know what information is a proven truth and what is just someone's personal idea or feeling. This is useful when you listen to news, discussions, or even advertisements in English.

🎧 Pre-Listening Activity: Fact or Opinion?

Read these sentences. Which one is a fact? Which one is an opinion?

1. "Cambodia is in Southeast Asia." (Fact or Opinion?)

2. "Cambodian food is the most delicious in the world." (Fact or Opinion?)

(Sentence 1 is a fact. Sentence 2 is an opinion.)

🔊 Listening Tasks: Identifying Facts and Opinions

Important Note for Learners: This lesson uses your browser's Text-to-Speech (TTS) to "speak" short talks. Click the "🔊 Listen" buttons. For B1 level, clear human narration helps in focusing on content analysis. On your full platform, use clear pre-recorded audio.

Task 1: Listening to a Short Talk about a City

Listen to the talk about Battambang. For each sentence below, decide if it is a Fact or an Opinion from the talk.

1. "Battambang is located in the northwest of the country."

Fact Opinion

2. "I think Battambang is very beautiful."

Fact Opinion

3. "Many tourists visit Battambang every year."

Fact Opinion

4. "The bamboo train is a lot of fun to ride."

Fact Opinion

📝 Post-Listening Activity: Your Opinion!

Think about your favorite place in Cambodia (e.g., a place in Battambang, Siem Reap, or your home village).

Try to make two sentences about it:

1. One sentence that is a FACT about the place.
2. One sentence that is your OPINION about the place.

Example (about a market):

Fact: "The market sells many kinds of fruit."

Opinion: "I think it is the best market in town."

🚀 Key Takeaways & Listening Strategies

• A fact can be proven true or false (e.g., by checking information).
• An opinion is someone's feeling, belief, or judgment, and others might disagree.
• Listen for clue words like "I think," "I believe," "my favorite," or descriptive words like "beautiful," "boring" – these often signal opinions.
• Facts often include numbers, dates, specific verifiable details.
• Distinguishing facts from opinions helps you think critically about what you hear.

💬 Feedback & Learner Tips (Self-Assessment)

After the exercises:

• Could you tell the difference between the factual statements and the opinions in the talk?
• What words helped you identify an opinion?
• When you listen to news or discussions in English, try to notice when people are stating facts and when they are sharing their opinions.

🇰🇭 Tips for Cambodian Learners:

In conversations, it's good to know if someone is telling you something that is a known fact, or just what they think. For example, if a friend in Battambang says, "The weather report said it will rain tomorrow" – that is based on a factual report. If they say, "I think tomorrow will be a terrible day because of the rain" – that is their opinion or feeling.

Being able to separate these helps you make your own judgments and understand conversations more deeply.

📚 Further Practice & Application

• Listen to short English news reports for learners (B1 level). Try to identify 2 facts and 1 opinion (if the reporter gives one, or if they quote someone's opinion).
• Read simple English product reviews online. Can you find facts about the product and opinions from the reviewer?
• When you talk with friends in English about a movie or a song, practice sharing one fact about it and one opinion you have.