ELT365 · D155 — Listening for Gist: The One-Question Rule

Idea — Gist listening means capturing the overall message — who, what, why — without attending to every word. One well-chosen question sets the task; more than one turns it into a memory test.

Example — ‘What does the speaker want the listener to do?’ is a gist question. ‘What time, place, and three reasons did the speaker mention?’ is not.

Try — Write one gist question for a recording you use regularly. Make sure it can be answered without catching every word.

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