Listening Skills Analysis
This web page covers the listening skills which are required in the HKDSE English Language Paper 3 (Listening and Integrated Skills).
Essential Listening Skills
1. Numbers and amounts
In both Part A and Part B of the Listening Exam, you
are required to write down numbers, dates,
percentages and prices. Therefore, you
should know how to write the numerical form from hearing
the full form.
| Full
form |
Numerical
form |
| one, two, ten, fifty,
one hundred, one hundred thousand, one million,
etc. |
1, 2, 10, 50, 100, 100,000,
1,000,000, etc. |
| first, second, third, fourth, etc. |
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. |
| fifty cents, one dollar, two
hundred dollars, four thousand dollars, etc. |
50¢, $1, $200, $4,000, etc. |
| one half, two thirds, a
quarter, fifty per cent, etc. |
1/2 , 2/3 , 1/4 ,
50%, etc. |
Below are some common traps in DSE:
|
Click this link to
study common cardinal and ordinal numbers2. People's names
You should be able to spell some common first and last
names, e.g.
- First names: Amy, Cindy, Debbie, Eva, Andy,
Anthony, Icarus
- Last names: Chan, Cheung, Chow, Fung, Burton, Miller, Smith, Wood
|
|
Click this link to
study common female names
3. Times and dates
- Listen for keywords such as o’clock and a.m./p.m.
- Pay attention to wh-question words and phrases (e.g. when, what time, which day, what date, which month)
- Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, etc.
- Ordinal numbers: first, second, twenty-third, etc.
- Months of the year: January, February, etc.
| Make sure to spell days, months and
ordinal numbers correctly. NO mark will be awarded
for misspelt words. |
4. Locations and addresses
- Make sure you know the spellings of common place names. Only unusual place names will be spelt out in the exam.
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|
To understand a person’s opinions, listen for the following indicators:
| Positive |
Negative |
Neutral |
| certainly, definitely, good, good idea, great, I agree, of course, sure, true, well done, yes, you’re right | bad idea, can’t be, definitely not, I can’t agree, I disagree, I don’t think so, no, not really, no way, you’re wrong | could be, I don’t mind, I’m not sure, I suppose so, it’s all right, maybe, might be, perhaps, possibly, so-so |
To understand the attitude of a speaker, pay attention to his/her tone and volume.
- The intonation usually goes up at the end of a sentence if we feel positively about a situation.
- The intonation usually goes down if we feel negatively about something.
- A speaker often raises his/her voices to
express how he/she feels strongly about
something, but speaks more quietly to express
uncertainty.
| Opinion |
Emotion |
| positive | encouraging, enthusiastic, happy, helpful, interested, supportive, sympathetic |
| negative | afraid, angry, annoyed, sad, worried |
| neutral |
unsure,
undecided, no strong opinion |
6. Aim
| Synonyms |
endpoint, intent,
purpose, function, intention, rationale, goal,
mission, target, idea, objective, principle |
| Hints |
to, in order to, in
order that, so as to, so that, want to, be aimed
at, to this end, with a view to |
| Language
requirements |
|
| Example |
Well, as I say, you’ll probably end
up having to spend a bit more money than you need
have done, but there’re still plenty of measures
you can take. The main service we offer for
finished buildings is conducting security surveys.
There’s more than one purpose for these
security surveys. The first is to identify
areas of weakness. That’s obviously
something we’re very experienced in, and
of course we also recommend practical
solutions. Now, perhaps Inspector Lee
can give you more details about what these
practical solutions may involve. |
7. Reason
| Synonyms |
cause, motivation,
point, factor, motive, justification, grounds,
occasion, purpose |
| Hints |
because, since, as, in
view of, due to, owing to, given, on account of,
for, Why...? |
| Language
requirements |
SVO |
| Example |
That’s a fact. There’s a lot of things you have to consider when planning where to build a theme park. One of the first things you have to make sure of is good public transport – we’ve got trains, buses, even boats to this park. Why’s that important? Well, public transport is usually cheap – visitors don’t want to spend too much getting to the place and if they do spend a lot, it means they have less to spend when they get here. Public transport also eases traffic congestion. Nothing worse than being stuck in your car on a hot day waiting to get in. A third factor is less parking space is needed in the park. This kind of real estate sells at a premium, so what you don’t want is an excess of parking lots. |
8. Advantages and Disadvantages
| Synonyms |
asset, good point,
strength, attraction, merit, appeal, benefit,
plus, on the positive/plus side bad point, difficulty, weakness, criticism, drawback, on the negative/minus side, danger, minus, demerit |
||||||||||||||||
| Hints |
What's so good about
...?, The best/worst part is ..., What XX likes is
..., Things XX dislikes include, I feel/think that
..., It seems to me that ..., If you ask me, ... |
||||||||||||||||
| Language
requirements |
SVO v. + n. adj. |
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| Example |
|
9. Effect
| Synonyms |
consequence, outcome,
impact, result, influence |
| Hints |
so, therefore, as a
result, as a consequence, consequently, leads to,
contributes to, give rise to, result in, make,
bring about, so + adj. + that + SVO, will/ would/
may/ might |
| Language
requirements |
v. + n. n. SVO |
| Example |
I’m afraid I have to agree with
Angela. We have to take a more sophisticated
approach with young people these days. To put it
bluntly, we shouldn’t treat them like children. If
we fail to tackle issues such as drug abuse head
on there can be very serious consequences
for young people. There’II be more
teenage drug addicts, there’s no doubt about
that, and a marked increase in youth
crime — crime, as the expert just pointed
out, is an inevitable part of drug culture. Worse
still, there’ll be more
suicides, more kids whose lives have been
ruined by drugs, killing themselves as a
result. |
10. Solution
| Synonyms |
advice, method,
suggestion, key, recommendation, way, hint, tip,
guideline |
||||||||||
| Hints |
should/ must/ may/
might/ need to/ ought to/ have to, imperative (v.
+ o.), It is + adj. + to, Why not ...?, How / What
about ...?, Have you thought about ...? |
||||||||||
| Language
requirements |
inf. + n. |
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| Example |
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11. Sequences
In the exam, you may be asked to jot down notes for
steps or arrange events in order. You should listen for
the following sequence words and time phrases:
after, afterwards, before, finally, first, later,
next, second, then, to begin with, etc.
12. Directions
The following are some keywords for directions:
- Compass directions: north, south, east, west, north-east, north-west, etc.
- Common landmarks on maps: MTR stations, bus stops, post offices, roundabouts, traffic lights, crossroads, banks, supermarkets, petrol stations, churches, temples, etc.
- Giving directions: left/right, go past the …, go straight on, head north/south, it’s just around the corner, take the second left and on your left/right you’ll see …, etc.
| Key
words |
Other
expressions |
| between (halfway
between, in between, sandwiched between) |
among, in the middle,
amid/amidst |
| middle |
centre (at the very
centre of), the heart of, halfway across/ between/
up/ down |
| back |
back out of/ through/
towards sth, back away from sth, back up (a bit),
retreat down/ from/ into/ to sth, step back into
sth |
| the back (n.) (at/in
the back) |
the rear (the rear of
the house, at the rear, to the rear of), the other
side, the reverse side (sign the contract on the
reverse side, on the reverse), behind |
| front |
the head (at the head
of the queue) |
| next to |
by, beside, at/ on the
side of sth, adjacent to, adjoining (adj)/
neighbouring |
| side |
at the left/ right
margin |
| corner |
|
| opposite/ facing |
Directions:
backward(s), forward(s), head up the steps, walk on,
towards, in the direction of sth, see off for A, head
for A, make for A, make a beeline for, advance on,
approach, westbound, inward bound, you'll find yourself
at, enter via Gate A, clockwise, anti-clockwise,
counterclockwise
Objects & Places:
| Key
words |
Other
expressions |
| exit |
the front/ rear/ side
exit, the nearest exit, way out |
| entrance |
the main entrance, the
front/ back/ rear/ side entrance, the entry/
entryway to/ of, way in, midway between/ through |
| corridor |
hall, hallway, aisle,
passage, passageway |
| walkway |
pathway, trail/ track,
sidewalk/ pavement |
| gate |
doors to the gate |
| lift |
elevator (≠ escalator) |
| stairs |
staircase |
| lobby |
|
| basement |
vault |
Symbols:
tick / check (✓), cross (✕), arrow (→), asterisk (*)
Lines:
13. Definitions
- Listen for questions such as What is …? What does … mean? What is the definition of …? The answer will usually come after these questions.
- Jot down the keywords. Try to come up with a phrase using those words.
14. Vocabulary
It is a known fact that exam setters choose different themes for Listening Exams. In DSE, themes such as reality shows, tourism, media production, museums and gaming have appeared in the Listening Paper. Therefore, besides improving your listening skills, you should also improve your vocabulary at the same time.
Commonly Confused and Misspelt Words
Many students find the following word groups confusing.
Make sure you can distinguish them before the exam.
| accept/except access/assess advice/advise affect/effect all ready/already allot/a lot allusion/illusion along/a long altogether/all together apart/a part ascent/assent assure/ensure belief/believe beside/besides brake/break breath/breathe chord/cord cite/site clothes/cloths complement/compliment comprise/consist conscience/conscious council/counsel cue/queue desert/dessert device/devise discreet/discrete dragon/jargon emigrant/immigrant farther/further formerly/formally forth/fourth hear/here hole/whole insure/ensure its/it’s |
knew/new know/no later/latter lay/lie lead/led loose/lose meter/metre passed/past peace/piece plain/plane pole/poll practice/practise precede/proceed presence/presents principal/principle quiet/quite raise/rise sea/see sight/site sit/set staff/stuff stationary/stationery storey/story than/then their/there/they’re through/threw to/too/two vain/vein waist/waste ward/walk weak/week wear/where weather/whether/rather who/whom whose/who’s you’re/your |
Many students spell the following words incorrectly. Make sure you know how to spell them before the exam.
| Incorrect
spelling |
Correct spelling |
|
accidence/accidients |
accidents |
| apperciate |
appreciate |
| auther/authur/offer |
author |
| aviod |
avoid |
| awearness/awarness |
awareness |
| bady |
baby |
| bettery |
battery |
| bussiness |
business |
| botton/buttom |
button |
| compaign/campagin/campain |
campaign |
| charater |
character |
| civalization |
civilization |
| climat |
climate |
| creat |
create |
| destory/distroy |
destroy |
| develope |
develop |
| differcult |
difficult |
| desposal |
disposal |
| eletricity |
electricity |
| emptyness |
emptiness |
| enginir |
engineer |
| envirnomental/enviromental |
environmental |
| environmentist/enviromentalist |
environmentalist |
| estim/estem |
esteem |
| expension/expandsion |
expansion |
| gavity/grafity |
gravity |
| humanlity |
humanity |
| incredable |
incredible |
| independant |
independent |
| inefficent |
inefficient |
| mechine |
machine |
| mitre |
metre |
| morden |
modern |
| participents |
participants |
| passagers |
passengers |
| pattens |
patterns |
| pulution |
pollution |
| perpare/prepair |
prepare |
| randam |
random |
| recieve |
receive |
| refleting |
reflecting |
| resercher/reseacher |
researcher |
| resourses |
resources |
| rerange/refrench |
revenge |
| sinery/scenary |
scenery |
| sciencetist |
scientist |
| self-sufficency |
self-sufficiency |
| sence |
sense |
| stronge |
strong |
| tastless | tasteless |
| transperent |
transparent |
| universial |
universal |
| varites |
varieties |
| violant |
violent |
| wheather |
weather |
| wind meals |
windmills |
| writter |
writer |
| yeild |
yield |
The table below lists other easily misspelt words in the public exam:
| accommodate, address, adjusts,
alcohol, already, argument, artificial, attacked,
attract, autumn, available, bandage, baskets,
beginning, believe, bite, bleed, build, burglar,
camera, cameras, ceiling, challenge, choose,
cliffs, conference, cooperation, create,
cucumbers, customer, damage, debt, desperate,
develop, disappear, disappoint, dissatisfied,
efficiency, elbow, embarrass, entrance, envelope,
environment, evidence, explorer, fascinating,
February, fisherman, foreign, forty, fragile,
fresh, frogs, gloves, goals, government,
guarantee, height, horses, hygiene, identify,
images, immobilize, immune, information,
isolation, jewellery, journalist, laugh, library,
loneliness, luggage, luxury, lying, machines,
massages, meditation, model, mosquitoes,
mushrooms, necessary, neighbour, niece, ninth,
normally, observation, occurred, optimistic,
pattern, perception, performance, photographs,
poison, possess, posture, potato, prawns,
preferred, probably, receive, recognize,
recommend, resources, restaurant, return,
reusable, ridiculous, robots, saliva, sandwich,
scissors, security, separate, sharks, shelter,
slippery, smile, snake, soldiers, specify, status,
steep, sterilize, straight, strengths, suck,
suspicions, temperature, thirsty, through, toilet,
tongue, Tuesday, unusual, usually, waiter,
Wednesday, wooden, worse, wrap |
Writing Templates
| Reporting numbers Do not report raw numbers (including percentages) in the Integrated Tasks. The following example will receive no mark for directly copying raw numbers from the Data File: Instead, report them using the following formulae expressions.
Reporting trends Below are some expressions used to describe trends. (Click to enlarge)  |
Formal letter/email
| Dear Ms. Lau, The editorial team has received your article about plastic surgery holidays and thank you for your contribution. I am writing to inform you of some corrections we would like you to make. To start with, please submit images together with your article. You are encouraged to submit 15 to 20 images in soft copy. High resolution JPEG file format is recommended. Then the editorial team would choose 5 photos from the submission if your article is accepted for publication. You are reminded to state the source of images to avoid breaching copyrights. Secondly, a title is needed for your article, within 80 characters long. A word limit is also set at 900 words. Regarding this, some content has to be deleted as your article has exceeded 1200 words now. Moreover, you are reminded of the importance of accuracy of spelling and details. Please check the spelling of Thai place names and details in the article carefully. Last but not least, please submit the article with all the changes before 30th April. Submission must be on time so as to give time for the editorial team to read through and give suggestion. Otherwise, late articles will not be considered for publication as Asia Life magazine retain the right on it. Once your article is published, a payment of $1,000 will be given per page, with text and images included. Thank you again for your contribution and we are looking forward to your article. Yours truly, Marty Poon Editor Assistant Asia Life magazine |
Sentence patterns for formal letters and emails:
| Reply |
|
| Inform
/ Remind |
|
| Apology |
|
| Invitation |
|
| Enquiry |
|
|
Report on Problems
that the Museum faces
Introduction This report will cover the problems currently faced by the museum and correlated suggestion in order to improve our services. Smoking incident The first problem on the list is about smoking in the toilet. On 4th April, 13 visitors were caught smoking on the toilets at different times, causing the fire alarm being triggered and leading to the evacuation of the building in the afternoon. In order to prevent similar event from happening again, it is recommended that a ‘no smoking’ announcement to be played when a person opens the toilet door. School Visit to the museum Alongside the smoking incident, it has been reported that the Committee for Hong Kong International Primary Schools have raised a few concerns in respect to school visits to the museum. Primitively, it is claimed that the museum is not safe for children as a school girl fell off the large plastic ox and broke her arm during her visit. Also, it is claimed that the exhibits are too boring for average primary school students while the museum staff do not offer help to the teachers. In view of this, it is recommended that all members of full-time staff should assist school groups at all times during their visit while part-time staff should help by making worksheets for school groups to allow more exhibits that children can interact with safely. Signage in the museum Lastly, it has also been claimed that the number of signs in the museum is not enough that some school teachers and students got lost in the basement of the museum at closing time. However, with reference to the online survey, it is agreed by the majority that there are enough signs, while what the museum should increase is the size of letters on signs and make the colors of signs more eye-catching. It is suggested that the museum take these into consideration. Conclusion With the above highlights, it is hoped the museum would make corresponding improvements so that the honorable visitors will find it enjoyable during their visits. |
Sentence patterns for reports:
| Title |
|
| Subheadings |
1. Introduction 2. Reasons for the Fall in the Number of Moviegoers 2.1 Rising Popularity of Free Movie Sites/Apps 2.2 The Rise of New Recreational Activities 3. Possible Solutions to the Problem 3.1 Strengthening Law Enforcement 3.2 Promoting Local Movie Stars 3.3 Offering Discounted Movie Tickets 4. Conclusion |
| Opening |
|
| Closing |
|
Feature article
|
Offer helping hands to
newcomers to Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, there is a certain number of
people who are from different countries.
However, there are many practical difficulties
they are facing. So what are these difficulties
and how can they deal with this? Let us
investigate it in detail!There are numerous difficulties they are facing. First is that most of them, normally children, find difficulty in making new friends. Second is that they cannot find school for their children, and also have difficulty in filling in the application forms of school. Following this is that the majority of them have difficulty in finding a place to live. What is more, the vast majority of them find it difficult to find free medical care. Added to this is that most of them face difficulty in dealing with immigration or finding legal advice for other matters because often they cannot afford that advice. So what can we do to help them? Is there any help available in the community? The answer is certainly yes! To begin with, there is a local youth club run by the Cultural Commons, a non-government organization, for all the kids in Sham Shui Po, including kids from different countries to make new friends. In addition to this, there are some local lawyers provide pro bono service to newcomers coming to live in Hong Kong through a community-based legal advice scheme. What is more, there is also a commission-free service to help newcomers to find somewhere to live in Hong Kong by these local lawyers and there are some free clinics for newcomers in Hong Kong. And for the government organization, the Hong Kong Tourism Board has recently produced a new MTR map for tourists and newcomers to help people new to Hong Kong find their way so they can shop till they drop. Added to this is that, the Cultural Commons has also provided a wide range of service. They offer written translation of formal documents from foreign country; interpreter service for phone calls or for formal interviews; form filling service; child care services to working mothers; introductions to local sports teams; important contact numbers; and sightseeing guides for Kowloon and the Outlying Islands, all for newcomers to Hong Kong! The situation and difficulties of people from different countries in Hong Kong is so serious that really warrants our concern. But the above service and help is not that enough. So starting from now, offer your helping hands to those less fortunate and create a better future for Hong Kong. |
Sentence patterns for feature articles:
| Opening |
|
| Closing |
|
Proposal
|
Proposal for a new line
of teen sports shoes
IntroductionResearch conducted by the marketing department has shown we should develop a new line of sports shoes for teens. Rationale Eighty per cent of teenagers said that design was very important to them, while only 20% were more concerned by price, so this line should focus on good design. Eighty per cent of teens said they would be willing to pay $750 for a pair of sports shoes, so the shoes can be priced quite high. Findings The findings revealed that 90% of teens wear sports shoes, which is a huge majority. Recommendations and conclusion Our research has shown that it is worth developing a line of sports shoes for teenagers. It is hoped that this proposal will be considered positively. |
Sentence patterns for proposals:
| Title |
|
| Subheadings |
1. Introduction 2. Organizing a debating competition 3. Holding a video clip making competition 4. Conclusion |
| Opening |
|
| Body |
|
| Closing |
|
Speech
| Hi everyone, I’m Daniel Lo.
Thanks for inviting me here today. I’m going to tell you about the exciting things I’ve been doing on my recent travels. I hope that this will encourage you to do something similar. I have just returned from an expedition to Costa Rica, where I helped build an eco lodge in the jungle. Your first question might be, how did we do this? Well, firstly, we collected wood to make the lodges. Secondly, we worked with a local community group to build five simple eco-friendly lodges. Finally, we made everything as natural as possible to fit in with the environment. Now the community uses the money it makes from the lodges to fund wildlife conservation projects. Costa Rica has amazing wildlife—while we were working, we came face to face with crocodiles, monkeys and some huge butterflies! My question is: what about you? Do you think you could do something like this? My expedition was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, and I learnt so much at the same time. If anyone is interested in doing a similar project, talk to me afterwards. That’s all for today. Thank you all for listening. I hope you’ve found it interesting. |
Sentence patterns for speeches:
| Opening |
|
| Body |
|
| Closing |
|