Listening Comprehension Tips for P3 & P4: 5 Proven Note-Taking Strategies to Ace Your Exam

Hello, everyone! I am Ms Su Xin, a Specialist English Teacher at Lil’ but Mighty. In my post today, I want to cover an important aspect of the English paper that is often overlooked: the Listening Comprehension paper! For the PSLE English paper, this section is worth 10 percent of the total weighting and there are 20 MCQ questions to answer, each worth 1 mark. However, in a typical Listening Comprehension examination for P3 and P4 students, there are several components which are usually tested. The first will be Picture-Matching, the second will be Sequencing (of Pictures) and the final component will be Note-taking for listening comprehension.

Since note-taking might not be something that P3/P4 students are familiar with, I will be zooming in on this particular skill and want to share 5 tips to help you ace the Note-taking component!

How is Note-taking Tested?

You will typically be taking down information for the following text types in this section:

• Event details (e.g. competitions, learning journeys, excursions, outings/ meetings with friends/family)
• Instructions / Procedures
• Passing on a message to someone
• Complaints / Reminders

Of course, the text types you will encounter are not limited to the above but these are the more common ones you will hear. It would be useful for you to familiarise yourself with these different text types as this will certainly help you easily understand and process what you are listening to.

5 Ways to Ace Note-taking for listening comprehension:

The biggest challenge of note-taking is the multi-tasking that you have to do. Imagine needing to listen, understand the questions and then having to write down the correct answer! That is not an easy task for sure. In order to tackle the multitasking that is required of you, use the following tips to help you:

1. Read the questions and preamble before hand

Before the text is even read out, read the preamble. The preamble typically tells you the context of the note-taking and helps you to understand the situation better. After that, read through the questions (which usually detail 4-5 items you will need to note down). Take note of the important information you will need to look out for in the audio text.

2. Look out for the 5W1Hs

In most note-taking questions, you will need to provide answers for the 5W1Hs (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How). Highlight or underline the 5W1H (whichever is applicable) so that you will know what to write down when the text is being read to you.

3. Keep it short and sweet

Keep your answers short and to the point! It is not necessary to write long sentences. Most answers would require one to two words/short phrases from you.

4. Spelling (sound it out!)

Another challenge that students face is spelling! Sometimes you know the answer, but you do not know how to spell it correctly. To overcome this challenge, try to sound out the words and spell it syllable by syllable. It would be helpful to learn commonly used words for days/months or places.

5. Check your answers

Finally, after the text has been read twice, look through your answers. Does your answer match what the question is asking for? For example, if the question requires you to write the venue, check that you have written the name of the place down. If it is an instruction that you need to note down, are you specific with the details? It is always good to read through your answers at least once to make sure you are answering the questions correctly.

Bonus Tip!

You do not have to wait until after the second time you hear the text to write down the answers. Whenever you catch what the questions are asking for, you should write them down! However, do not panic if you are unable to get all the answers at this point. Just listen to the text when it is read for the second time to fill in any gaps.

Like any other component, it is always good to have additional practice outside the classroom. For instance, try watching the news and see if you can catch the 5W1H details of a news report! For more tips on how to improve your listening skills in general, you can also check out this post. Good luck with honing your note-taking for listening comprehension skills!

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