Listening: Listening for Specific Information A2 - Lesson 1: Extracting Details from Short Announcements (e.g., platform numbers, flight times)
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Identify key details such as numbers (times, platforms, gates, flight numbers) in short, clear English announcements.
- Extract specific information like destinations or simple reasons from these announcements.
- Understand the main pieces of information given in common travel or public place announcements.
- Feel more confident listening for important details in everyday English announcements.
💡 Key Concepts: Catching Important Information
Hello A2 learners! When you are at a bus station, train station, or airport, you will hear announcements. These are short messages that give important information. "Listening for specific information" means picking out the exact details you need, like a time, a place, or a number.
For example, an announcement might say:
"The bus to Battambang will leave at two o'clock from platform 3."
The specific information here is the destination (Battambang), the time (two o'clock), and the platform number (3).
Tips for Listening for Details in Announcements:
- Listen for keywords related to what you need to know (e.g., "flight," "gate," "platform," "time," "delayed").
- Numbers and names are often spoken clearly.
- Try to predict what kind of information might be given (e.g., if it's a flight announcement, you'll probably hear a flight number and destination).
🇰🇭 Cambodian Context: Announcements in Public Places
Sua s'dei! In Cambodia, especially in bigger cities like Phnom Penh or tourist areas like Siem Reap, you might hear announcements in English at bus stations, airports, or even some large shopping centers. For example, if you are taking a bus from Battambang to another city, there might be an English announcement about which bus to take.
Understanding these announcements can be very helpful so you don't miss your bus or flight! This lesson will help you practice catching those important numbers and place names in English.
🎧 Pre-Listening Activity: Travel Vocabulary
Let's look at some words you might hear in announcements at stations or airports. Click "Listen" to hear them.
- Flight
- Gate
- Platform
- Train
- Bus
- Delayed
- Boarding
- Arriving
- Departing
- Attention
🔊 Listening Tasks: What Are the Details?
Important Note for Learners: This lesson uses your browser's Text-to-Speech (TTS) to "speak" the announcements. Click the "🔊 Listen" buttons. For the best learning on your full platform, use clear, pre-recorded human audio for announcements.
Task 1: Airport Announcement
Click "🔊 Listen" to hear an airport announcement. Fill in the missing information in the table below.
Task 2: Train Station Announcement
Click "🔊 Listen" to hear a train station announcement. Answer the questions.
1. Which platform is the train arriving at?
2. Where is the train going?
3. What is the new arrival time?
📝 Post-Listening Activity: What Did You Hear?
Think about the announcements. What were the most important pieces of information?
In Announcement 1 (airport):
- Flight Number was important.
- Destination (where it's going) was important.
- Gate Number was important.
- Time was important.
If you were at the airport, you would need these details!
🚀 Key Takeaways & Listening Strategies
- Listen for numbers (times, platforms, gates, flight numbers).
- Listen for place names (cities, countries).
- Keywords like "flight to...", "train for...", "gate number...", "platform...", "leaves at...", "arrives at..." are important clues.
- Don't panic if you don't understand everything. Focus on the details you need.
💬 Feedback & Learner Tips (Self-Assessment)
After the exercises:
- Could you easily pick out the numbers and names from the announcements?
- Which details were harder to catch? Times? Place names? Flight/platform numbers?
- Practice listening for numbers in English as much as you can. It gets easier!
�🇭 Tips for Cambodian Learners:
When listening to announcements, sometimes the speaker talks quickly or there is noise. Focus on the keywords. For example, if you are at the bus station in Battambang waiting for a bus to Phnom Penh, listen for "Phnom Penh" and then the time or platform number.
English flight numbers often have letters AND numbers (e.g., KH782). Practice listening for both. For times, "AM" means morning, "PM" means afternoon/evening.
📚 Further Practice & Application
- Search online for "airport announcements ESL listening" or "train station announcements English listening" for A2 level. Many websites have practice audio.
- If you watch English movies or TV shows that have scenes in airports or train stations, listen carefully to any announcements in the background.
- Practice with a friend: one person reads a short, simple announcement script, and the other listens for specific details.