Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension Singapore: How to understand and improve your skills easily

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Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension Techniques…

Most people think that preparing for Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension means practising assessment books. 

And this is usually done at the last minute, about a week before the exam.

In order to Really prepare for Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension, you need to get to the root of this paper.

What is Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension all about?

The paper is based on listening to a recorded text and then recalling it to answer questions.

The recording is ‘live’ during exams and students have to listen attentively to every detail in order to recall it later. 

You are not allowed to answer the questions while listening.

So, what does this tell you?

This paper is based mainly on Memory Recall.

Understanding what is being said is important too but you need to be able to recall the details mentioned. 

That is really the main part.

Ok. Now that we know what is really needed to prepare, it is obvious that we need to prepare for some memory recall and understanding.

secondary 2 listening comprehension

How do you Prepare for Memory Recall in Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension?

I can prescribe some exercises for easy recall which you can do to improve your memory. 

You can do this on a daily basis, when you’re shopping, travelling or walking.

In fact, you can make it a part of your daily habit and you will never look at anything in the same way again. 

This is a good thing of course! 😊

If you are walking around the park, try to look at signs and letters placed wherever they are seen and observe names of kiosks, restaurants, cafes etc.

Once you have reached the end of that place, try to recall the first thing you saw. 

Try to recall the name accurately. Then try to recall the next one. 

Do this in the order you saw them working your way to the end.

You may jot it down if you want. You can always do this on your mobile phone.

Now, walk back and see if you have recalled the names correctly.

Give a tick for every detail you recalled correctly.

If you have managed to do that rather well, try to do something which is a bit more difficult.

Visit a place. For example, a shopping mall which you have never visited before.

Malls are full of signs and names. There are even bulletin boards advertising their wares.

Walk in a path from one end to the next. 

Observe all the signs and names including bulletins. 

Do not be overly ambitious and observe too many items. 

Just try something between 10 and 20 items.

Stop after that. Then try to recall everything. Write it down. 

Do the same thing which you did for the earlier exercise. 

This should be more difficult.

This is really a superb way of improving memory recall for Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension as you will be forcing your brain to recollect what you had just seen.

This is almost the same as listening to a recording, but it is no less difficult. 

This is also a fun way to improve memory recall.

Once you have got this far, the rest is easy.

Understanding a text

Understanding what is being said is another matter. 

You need to listen carefully to the main content in Secondary 2 Listening Comprehension. 

Listen to the names, proper nouns and verbs. 

Observe the tense. 

Are there repeated words?

Listen to a dialogue on tv and record it on your mobile phone.

Without listening to your mobile phone, recall the entire dialogue and test yourself to see if you have understood the following:

I) The theme (what it was all about)

II) The highlights (were there any interesting details?)

If you had understood I) and II) without having to listen to your phone recording, then you are on the right track. 

If you had to listen to it a few times, then you should practise this more often.

Remember, these exercises can be done anywhere. 

You can incorporate it into your daily routine – Memory recall and understanding in everyday activities.

The more you refine it, the better you will be! 


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