General Listening Quiz

What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking private lessons, small group lessons (3-10 students), or language classes of 20 or more students?

1. 1. A language tutor can help you learn faster.
   2. You should always speak in the language you’re learning during tutoring sessions.
   3. Language tutors should give homework to help students practice.
   4. It’s better to learn a language with a tutor than by studying alone.
   5. Language tutors should focus on speaking more than grammar.
   6. It’s okay to ask a language tutor for help with pronunciation.
   7. Language tutoring should be fun and interactive.
   8. You don’t need a tutor if you can use apps to learn a language.
   9. A good language tutor makes learning interesting.
   10. It’s important to practice what you learn outside of tutoring sessions.

“ace a test” = get a perfect score
“Amber is going to ace tomorrow’s test because she studies so hard, and she has a very good private tutor to help her.”

“hit the books” = study hard
“When are you going to hit the books for the test? You’ve been playing video games all afternoon.”

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words that appear in the recording:

• had better (modal of advice): have to, must, with a feeling of possible negative consequences
  – You had better find a private teacher and start studying more, or you will fail the class.
• something matters (verb): something is important and makes a difference
  – Good study habits matter in learning and passing classes.
• once (adverb): at one time
  – I had a great teacher once, and she taught the subject very clearly.
• lie (verb): not tell the truth
  – Brandon lied and said he took lessons from a private French teacher, but he can’t even say hello in the language.
• guy (noun): informal for person, usually a man
  – That guy is a really good language tutor if you need help with your Chinese.
• whole (adjective): full, complete, used to emphasize the noun
  – I did poorly on the whole test.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Mixed-Up Sentence  | Gap-fill Exercise | Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Discuss your past experiences in learning English. How much did you learn in your home country? What different methods do teachers use to teach grammar, spelling, reading, writing, listening, and speaking? What percent of the time do teachers use English in the class? In your opinion, what is the secret of learning English faster?

Use the internet to find two online esl tutoring services. Compare the following points:

• the cost of lessons
• types of lessons (writing, grammar, listening, speaking, etc.)
• meeting times and days of the week
• experience and background of tutors
• hardware and software requirements