Two students, Lynne and Robin, plan an essay on how children learn through the media. First they list the main forms of media with examples, then they decide whether each one works best with one child, a small group or the whole class.
Questions 21-30 · 10 marks · 2 question blocks
Two halves. The table (21-25) follows their list in order: print, pictures, audio, audio-visual, electronic. Robin's signpost 'let's move on to when each type of medium could be used' starts the matching (26-30), where Robin covers tapes, computers and videos and Lynne covers books and maps.
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: Each row gives one example and you supply another. The category names are said aloud just before each answer ('print media', 'pictorial forms', 'audio forms', 'audio-visual', 'electronic media'), so use them as signposts.
Also accepted: newspaper
What is another example of print media besides books?
Here you'd have things like books and newspapers, that sort of thing
Question says → You hear
Why: Lynne gives books and newspapers as print media. Books is printed, so the gap is newspapers.
The trap: Maps come next, but Robin introduces them as a separate pictorial form, which is the next row.
Also accepted: map
What example of pictures do they give?
and included in these are the pictorial forms of print media, like maps
Question says → You hear
Why: Pictorial means made of pictures, and Lynne adds that maps are 'really just formal pictures'. So the example is maps.
The trap: It's easy to think the gap needs a general word like photos or drawings. Only maps is said.
Also accepted: radios
What is another example of audio media besides CDs?
where children can listen. CDs and radios are probably the best examples
Question says → You hear
Why: CDs and radios are the examples of audio media. CDs is printed, so the gap is radio (or radios).
The trap: Tapes come up later in the conversation, but in the second half about group sizes, not in this list.
Also accepted: TV
What is the audio-visual example between film and videos?
film, television . . . and we mustn't forget videos.
Question says → You hear
Why: Robin lists film, television and videos, in the same order as the table. The middle one is television (TV is fine).
The trap: Radio was just mentioned, but it's audio only. This row is for things you can see as well as hear.
Also accepted: computer
What is the example of electronic media?
there's a final category as well . . . computers, that make up the so- called electronic media
Question says → You hear
Why: Computers make up the electronic media, so computers is the example.
The trap: The statistic about one in three families comes straight after. It's background, not an example.
How to attack this block: Three choices: one child, a small group (five or six children) or the whole class. The speakers often mention one setting and then reject it ('Although tapes look ideal for individual children...'), so wait for the final recommendation.
In which situation are tapes most useful?
Although tapes look ideal for individual children, I feel they're best suited to small group work.
Question says → You hear
Why: Robin's view is that tapes are best for small groups, because children don't feel isolated and can get help from friends. A small group is option B.
The trap: A, individual children: Robin says tapes look ideal for individuals, but 'Although' warns you he's about to disagree.
In which situation are computers most useful?
Computers are the same . . . I think they're better with small numbers of children and they're hardly ever useful with a whole class.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'The same' as tapes means small groups, and Robin repeats it: better with small numbers of children. B.
The trap: C, whole class: the words are said, but in 'hardly ever useful with a whole class'.
In which situation are videos most useful?
Videos, however, are ideal for use with everyone present in the class
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Everyone present in the class' is the whole class: C. 'However' signals the change from small groups.
The trap: 'Individual activity sheets' sounds like option A, but the sheets are just a support for the whole-class video.
In which situation are books most useful?
Books are ideal for children to use by themselves. I know they're used with groups in schools, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Question says → You hear
Why: Children using books by themselves are individual children: A.
The trap: B, groups: Lynne admits books are used with groups in schools, but says she wouldn't recommend it.
In which situation are wall maps most useful?
Other pictorial media like maps, though, are different . . . I'd always plan group work around those
Question says → You hear
Why: Lynne plans group work around maps so children can share ideas, and Robin agrees that kids enjoy using them for problem solving. Group work is B.
The trap: A: Robin mentions children looking at wall maps alone in their free time, but as a habit of teachers that he doesn't agree with.
Robin says tapes 'look ideal for individual children', and many people stop there. His real point comes next: they're best suited to small group work.
Maps on the wall for children to look at alone sounds like A, but that's what teachers often do. Lynne says she'd always plan group work around maps, and Robin agrees.
Lynne mentions groups in schools for books, but only to say she wouldn't recommend it. Books are for children by themselves: A.
The full Cambridge 2 Test 2 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 2, Test 2, Listening Part 3. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
