DSE 2024: Pay attention to your grammar on English Paper 3
- Candidates should not overlook details on the listening exam and must remember to capitalise names and titles, said King’s Glory Education Centre tutor Alan Chan
- Students should read the questions before the audio begins; this allows them to anticipate the answers and jot down keywords
These tips will help you tackle the English listening exam with confidence. Photo: ShutterstockThe Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) English listening exam is approaching fast, but there is no need to stress. These revision tips from Alan Chan, a tutor at King’s Glory Education Centre, will help you tackle the exam with confidence.
Do not copy directly from the data file
In recent years, grammar usage has become an integral part of the listening exam, an aspect students often neglect. According to Chan, candidates frequently overlook details such as capitalising names, titles and tenses.
“Do not just copy word for word from the data file, as it will most likely affect the coherence of the text,” he warned.
The tutor added that there have been instances in which the dialogue is formal, but the information in the data file is informal. As such, it is important to tweak the content according to the tasks’ requirements.
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Genres to prepare for
Chan said students should review and be comfortable writing reports, proposals, business emails, letters to the editor, speeches, profiles and bio data.
“It may seem overwhelming to study so many different text types, but you can kill multiple birds with one stone. These are applicable across the exam for Part A writing, Part B writing, and the three listening tasks,” he said.
Other handy tips
At this stage, students should already have done enough practice to be comfortable with the speed of the dialogue. But even then, they might miss some vital information and essential keywords. Phrases to listen for include “let’s have a look at”, “let’s say”, and “such as”, as they usually introduce important information related to the answer.
If you hear something you cannot spell, listen to the explanation that follows. You can also make a note in Chinese and refer to it when reviewing your answers. It is also a good idea to go through the data file and answer script because they may have challenging English words.
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Chan recommended that candidates read the questions before the audio begins. This allows them to anticipate the answers and jot down keywords or phrases, saving them time when answering later.
“If you know there is a question about dates, you can quickly write some slashes to separate the year, month, and day and then just fill in the information later,” he said. “When taking notes about time, you can add a colon followed by ‘m’ to ensure you will not forget to write ‘am’ or ‘pm’ later. These little preparations can help you save time and do less work while listening.”