Listening Practice: Comprehension for Media and Technology

The word you were not listening for

You can learn every technology word on the list and still lose the mark. It happens constantly, and almost never because the topic word was missed. The meaning usually turns on a small word next to it. Somebody who hears la aplicacion and catches it perfectly, but does not catch ya no, has heard that the speaker uses the app when in fact they have stopped. The vocabulary was right and the answer is backwards. So the question to carry through is not what is this about. It is what small word changes the meaning of what I just heard? ⭐ This module works from written transcripts, which is deliberate. It is far easier to see the trap on a page first, and then to listen for it, than to try to do both at once at exam speed. Get these six words and five small words solid here, and a recording has much less chance of catching you out.

Six words for media and technology

These six are not the ones in the vocabulary module on this topic, so learn both sets. Four are nouns and two are verbs.

Match each one to what it does

What she actually said

In a recording you hear: Ya no descargo aplicaciones en el móvil. A student writes down that she downloads apps onto her phone. What has gone wrong?

• Ya no means not any more, so she used to download apps and has stopped. The student caught every topic word and missed the two small ones that reverse the whole sentence
• Nothing is wrong; ya no simply emphasises that she does download them
• The verb is in the past, so she downloaded them once and will not again
• Descargar does not mean download, so the topic word was wrong

Two ways of listening

Most people listen for the first column and are marked on the second. Both matter, and only one of them is usually revised.

Find the two that change the meaning

Here is one sentence broken into pieces: Nunca comparto mi contraseña porque es demasiado peligroso. Tap the TWO pieces that change what is being said, rather than naming the topic.

• Nunca
• comparto
• mi contraseña
• demasiado
• peligroso

What each small word does

How to listen for them

Small words are short and unstressed, which is exactly why they get lost. Three habits catch most of them. Listen to what comes IN FRONT of the verb. In Spanish the negatives sit there: no descargo, nunca comparto, ya no uso. If you hear the verb and nothing before it, that is itself information. Expect a time word and wait for it. Siempre, a veces, nunca, ya no. A question that asks how often is asking about precisely one word, and it is rarely the longest one in the sentence. Treat demasiado as an opinion. If somebody says there is demasiado of something, they are not measuring, they are complaining, and a question about attitude has just been answered. ⭐ And one for the exam itself. If you only catch the topic word, write down what you did hear and move on. Half a sentence recorded honestly is worth more on the second playing than a guess you have already committed to.

Put the sentence in order

These pieces make one correct Spanish sentence meaning: I never share the link because it is too dangerous. Put them in order.

• Nunca
• comparto
• el enlace
• porque
• es
• demasiado peligroso

What can you safely conclude

You hear: A veces descargo aplicaciones, pero ya no comparto mi contraseña con nadie. Select every statement you can safely conclude from that.

• She downloads apps at least some of the time
• She used to share her password and has stopped
• She does not share her password with anyone now
• She has never downloaded an app in her life
• She dislikes apps and thinks there are too many of them

The same trap, a different topic

Here is a short passage that has nothing to do with technology, so you can watch the method work without the vocabulary getting in the way. Me gusta el cine, pero ya no voy los sábados. Ahora solo voy una vez al mes, porque es demasiado caro. A student who listens for the topic hears cine and sabados and writes down that she goes to the cinema on Saturdays. Every one of those words is in the recording, and the answer is wrong. Now read it for the small words instead. Ya no tells you she has stopped doing something. Ahora solo tells you what she does now and that it is the only thing. Una vez al mes gives the new frequency. Demasiado tells you her opinion and her reason. Four small words carry the entire answer, and the two topic nouns carry almost none of it.

Complete the Spanish

To say I never share my password, write _____ comparto mi _____. To say I do not download apps any more, write _____ no descargo _____. To say it is too dangerous, write es _____ peligroso. And to say I only click on the link at home, write solo hago clic en el _____ en casa.

Build the opinion sentence

Build the Spanish for: I like the channel but I do not watch it any more because there are too many advertisements.

Four things you half heard

Four short recordings, each half caught. Decide what can actually be concluded from what you did hear.

• You clearly heard the words descargo and aplicaciones, and something short in front of the verb that you did not catch. The question asks whether the speaker downloads apps. Decide what to do.
• You heard clearly: A veces comparto fotos. The question asks whether the speaker shares photographs regularly. Decide what to answer.
• You heard: Hay demasiada publicidad en este canal. The question asks for the speaker opinion of the channel. Decide what to say.
• You heard: Antes descargaba musica, pero ahora solo escucho la radio. The question asks what the speaker does now. Decide what to answer.

Write about your own media habits

Write in Spanish about the technology and media you use. Use at least three of the six new words, and at least two of the small words that change meaning.

• Say one thing you do, using descargar or compartir in the I form
• Say one thing you no longer do, using ya no
• Say how often you do something, using a veces, nunca or siempre
• Give an opinion with a reason, using porque, and try to fit demasiado into it
• Finish with one full sentence containing me gusta or hay