TOEIC Listening Class Thursday Jan 28 2009: Listening to authentic conversations
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 6:38AM 
Today's listening activity is based on the difficult task of listening for details in conversations. You will have two conversations to listen to on Logolab, then you will be able to check the tapescripts online.
The first conversation is called "He was born in Mississipi." You can find it on Logolab as marked on the board. The language is not too difficult, but there are a lot of proper nouns, both geographical and personal.
As you listen, make a list of GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES and NAMES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE. (There are at least 7 geographical names and two names of famous people.) When you recognize and can write a name, also note the details about it. Why is it mentioned in the conversation? What is said about it in the conversation?
After about two listenings, you can check the tapescript at the following link:
actually-he-was-born-in-mississippi
The second listening is longer and more complex. It is called "Burke's Education" and is also on Logolab. Burke is a Canadian guy and the interview starts with the history of his school education. Try to note where he did what type of school and what he studied. That is part 1, up to his answer to the question "Did you read Freud or Jung?" You might want to check that part before continuing to part 2.
Part 2, or the rest of the conversation, is really quite difficult and may not be accessible to everybody in the class. The questions become more abstract and the two men make remarks about society, men and women, and psychological questions. If you do this part of the conversation, just take notes and see what you can understand.
You will find the tapescript here:
(The conversations for this lesson come from the site English Conversations. There are a lot of authentic conversations with an emphasis on North American accents, although all types of accents are represented. It could be a good source of practice for Part III of the TOEIC listening test. The conversations are available as MP3 downloads.)
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