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Getting started with French 3
Getting started with French 3

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2 Listening for detail

In some situations you need to be able to understand key details of what someone is saying to you. This is the case for station announcements, safety warnings, advice received at work, or task instructions. You may not need to pay equal attention to all you hear, but you will need to distinguish what is essential in an utterance.

Described image

To develop an ability to listen for detail, practice is necessary. Try transcribing a recording dealing with topics you are interested in. Leave gaps where individual words or phrases have escaped you. Then read through the transcript and try to guess what words have been omitted. The ability to make this kind of inference, and particularly to predict what is coming on the basis of what you can already hear, is an essential listening skill.

A familiarity with common intonation patterns also enhances your ability to predict, by making you aware of what kind of utterance you are listening to (e.g. a question, an exclamation, a rebuke). Marking out intonation rhythms on your transcription is a good way of familiarising yourself with these patterns.

Activity 5

Part 1

Listen to the recordings and indicate the words you hear in each of the four dialogues.

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a. 

la rue


b. 

l’avenue


c. 

le boulevard


d. 

la place


e. 

la route


f. 

l’allée


g. 

le cours


h. 

l’impasse


i. 

le quai


j. 

le square


k. 

le passage


The correct answers are a, b, c, d and g.

a. 

la rue


b. 

l’avenue


c. 

le boulevard


d. 

la place


e. 

la route


f. 

l’allée


g. 

le cours


h. 

l’impasse


i. 

le quai


j. 

le square


k. 

le passage


The correct answers are a, b and d.

a. 

la rue


b. 

l’avenue


c. 

le boulevard


d. 

la place


e. 

la route


f. 

l’allée


g. 

le cours


h. 

l’impasse


i. 

le quai


j. 

le square


k. 

le passage


The correct answers are b, c, d and i.

a. 

la rue


b. 

l’avenue


c. 

le boulevard


d. 

la place


e. 

la route


f. 

l’allée


g. 

le cours


h. 

l’impasse


i. 

le quai


j. 

le square


k. 

le passage


The correct answer is a.

Discussion

  • la rue: dialogues 1, 2, 4
  • l’avenue: dialogues 1, 2, 3
  • le boulevard: dialogues 1, 3
  • la place: dialogues 1, 2, 3
  • la route:
  • l’allée:
  • le cours: dialogue 1
  • l’impasse:
  • le quai: dialogue 3
  • le passage:

Part 2

Listen to the recordings again and, using the map in Figure 3 and the instructions given in the dialogues, write the final destination for each dialogue. Your starting point in each case is the place du Général de Gaulle.

Described image
Figure 2 Map of Brive-la-Gaillarde town centre.

Dialogue 1

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Discussion

Le lycée d’Arsonval.

Dialogue 2

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Discussion

Le cinéma Rex.

Dialogue 3

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Discussion

L’office de tourisme.

Dialogue 4

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Discussion

Le musée Labenche.