Include one extra event not from the story so students must listen to the entire passage. Listening for Specific Information Choose a group of items that come up several times in the listening passage. They might be content items like names of food, colors or people or grammar items such as -ing verbs, past tense verbs, modals or adjectives. Tell the students what to listen for. Play the passage.
Students raise their hands each time they hear the item.
This is a way to show their answers and cue others who might have missed it. Generally, listening for content items is a way to preview the main listening task. Listening for grammar points is usually best after they already know the general meaning. If the listening task involves answering comprehension questions or filling in blanks, students work in pairs before they listen. They try to guess the answers to the questions.