Teaching handwriting to children: listening answers and explanations
Two education students, a man and a woman, discuss their assignment on teaching handwriting. They talk about the benefits of learning to write, helping children with dyspraxia and dyslexia, cursive versus print, handwriting in exams, and the future of writing by hand.
Answers come in order. Q21-22 come from the benefits of writing, Q23-24 from the tips for children with dyspraxia, then Q25-30 follow the rest of the talk: laptops for dyslexia, cursive, exams, the future, digital devices and their own handwriting. Watch the questions that name 'the woman' or 'the man'.
Answer key and self-check
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: The key word is 'surprising', and for both students. Memory is called 'pretty obvious', so it's out. Listen for 'less obvious', 'never occurred to me', 'never associated' and the other student's 'Same here' or 'I thought that too'.
Question 21-22
Answer: C and E (in either order)From 'I hadn't realized that children benefit in so many ways' to the end of the benefits
Which two benefits of learning to write surprised both students?
What's less obvious is how it helps develop their concentration. … that aspect of handwriting had never occurred to me before. … I'd never associated spatial awareness with handwriting either. … I thought that too.
Question says → You hear
improved concentrationhow it helps develop their concentration
improved spatial awarenessI'd never associated spatial awareness with handwriting either
Why: C: the woman calls the effect on concentration 'less obvious' and the man says it 'had never occurred to me'. E: the man had 'never associated spatial awareness with handwriting' and she replies 'I thought that too'.
The trap: B, memory, is called 'pretty obvious', so not surprising. D, imagination: the man 'would have guessed' the result. A: she says fine motor skills improving is what she'd 'always assumed'.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 23-24
How to attack this block: You need the problems that are easiest to fix. Listen for 'simple' ('a really simple solution', 'One quite simple thing') and rule out the ones that take 'a lot of patience' or where there isn't 'much you can do'.
Question 23-24
Answer: A and C (in either order)After the man says children with dyspraxia have problems coordinating movement
Which two handwriting problems in dyspraxia do they think are easiest to correct?
one of those pens that lights up if you press too hard. That seems like a really simple solution. … One quite simple thing you can do is to use grid paper … that trains them to space the letters correctly.
Question says → You hear
applying too much pressurelights up if you press too hard
not spacing letters correctlytrains them to space the letters correctly
Why: C: a pen that lights up when you press too hard is 'a really simple solution' to pressing too hard. A: grid paper is 'One quite simple thing' that trains children to space letters correctly.
The trap: E, writing slowly: 'I'm not sure there's much you can do'. D, confusing letter shapes, needs games and 'a lot of patience'. B, straight lines, is called less important than spacing.
Multiple choice
Questions 25-30
How to attack this block: Several questions name one speaker, so note who says what. The woman worries about her spelling, the man predicts the future of handwriting. Distractors are usually things said in passing ('apparently', 'I'd never choose') or the opposite of what's claimed.
Question 25
Answer: CWhen the man suggests laptops for children with dyslexia
What does the woman say about teaching children with dyslexia on laptops?
Yeah, it's not as frustrating for them if they get things wrong. On a keyboard, they can be more willing to have a go.
Question says → You hear
react more positively if they make a mistakeit's not as frustrating for them if they get things wrong
Why: Getting things wrong is less frustrating on a keyboard, so they're more willing to try. That's reacting more positively to mistakes: C.
The trap: B is the opposite of her next sentence: 'developing fluency isn't any faster'. A also reverses the point: it's handwriting that makes some 'just give up', not the laptop.
Question 26
Answer: AWhen the man asks about the article on print and cursive handwriting
What is the woman's view on cursive versus print?
it's been proved that cursive is more difficult to learn, especially for children with learning difficulties who find joining up letters is really challenging
Question says → You hear
disadvantages a certain group of childrenespecially for children with learning difficulties
Why: Cursive is harder to learn, especially for children with learning difficulties. That's one group put at a disadvantage: A.
The trap: C reverses her point: 'Teachers' attitudes have changed', so they don't prefer the traditional style now. Cursive was once seen as 'more stylish and educated', but nobody links print to lower performance (B).
Question 27
Answer: AWhen the man says he always worried about his handwriting in exams
How does poor handwriting affect exam performance, according to the students?
I was always worried that my poor handwriting affected my exam results. And now research shows that I was right to worry. … Marks are definitely affected if examiners can't read the script.
Question says → You hear
evidence to suggest grades are affectedresearch shows that I was right to worry
Why: Research shows poor handwriting does affect results, and the woman agrees marks are 'definitely affected'. That's evidence that grades are affected: A.
The trap: B is the reverse: 'it's always been so important to teach children to write legibly'. Writing speed and answer length (C) are never mentioned.
Question 28
Answer: BWhen the woman asks 'Do you think the role of handwriting will change in the future?'
What does the man predict about handwriting in the future?
I can't see that changing much. … Anyway, teachers understand the value of handwriting. It's a basic life skill.
Question says → You hear
Children will continue to learn to write by handI can't see that changing much … It's a basic life skill
Why: He doesn't expect much change, and teachers value handwriting as a basic life skill, so children will keep learning it: B.
The trap: A: touch typing 'still isn't taught in most schools', and it may not even be necessary. C: he says people will be able to write by hand on digital devices, but not that they'll dislike it.
Question 29
Answer: BWhen she says people are writing by hand less and less
What has relying on digital devices made hard for the woman?
my mom is shocked by my awful spelling and the fact that my punctuation is really inconsistent. I think you can put that down to lack of practice.
Question says → You hear
spell and punctuatemy awful spelling … my punctuation is really inconsistent
Why: She admits her spelling is awful and her punctuation inconsistent, and blames lack of practice writing by hand: B.
The trap: C: reading historical documents is a problem 'apparently', in general, not for her. A: note-taking is the man's suggestion, and he says there are apps for that.
Question 30
Answer: CThe end, when the man says 'Personally'
How do the students feel about their own handwriting?
Personally, I miss writing by hand. I hardly ever write anything now. … I know. I feel the same way.
Question says → You hear
regretful that they have lost the habitI miss writing by hand. I hardly ever write anything now
Why: He misses writing by hand and hardly does it any more, and she feels the same and now keeps her diary digitally. They regret losing the habit: C.
The trap: B: the comments made by her mum were about her spelling, not her handwriting. A: they never worry about writing speed.
Imagination (D) is discussed at length, but the man says he 'would have guessed' that result, so it didn't surprise him. Fine motor skills (A) are what she had 'always assumed'.
B sounds positive and fits a laptop, but she says the opposite: 'developing fluency isn't any faster'. The point is that mistakes on a keyboard are less frustrating.
Note-taking and reading old documents both come up as problems, but as general ones. Her personal worry, the one her mum noticed, is spelling and punctuation.
Words from this recording worth keeping
spatial awareness(Benefits of writing)
knowing where things are in relation to each other
fine motor skills(Benefits of writing)
control of small hand movements
coordinating(Dyspraxia)
making body parts work together
legibility(Dyspraxia)
how easy writing is to read
fluency(Dyslexia)
the ability to do something smoothly and easily
cursive(Cursive or print)
joined-up handwriting
inconsistent(Digital devices)
not always the same
put that down to(Digital devices)
say that something is the cause
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The full Cambridge 20 Test 4 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 20, Test 4, 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.
