Listening to conversations
Understand natural conversations: follow the topic, catch attitudes and agreement, and deal with fast, informal speech.
In this lesson you will
- Follow the main points of a conversation
- Recognise attitude and agreement
- Understand informal features: weak forms and fillers
Learn
Before listening, predict the topic from the questions. First listen: who is talking, where, about what? Second listen: details.
Attitude: listen to tone and phrases like To be honest…, I’m not sure…, That’s a great idea!, I suppose so… (reluctant agreement).
Agreement / disagreement: Exactly! / Absolutely. / I see your point, but… / I’m not so sure.
Informal speech: weak forms (gonna, wanna), fillers (you know, like, sort of), and unfinished sentences. Don’t panic — focus on stressed words.
Examples
- “I suppose so…” = reluctant agreement.
- “To be honest, I’m not that keen.” = polite dislike.
- “We’re gonna be late” = we’re going to be late.
Vocabulary
keen on
interested in, liking
reluctant
not willing
to be honest
introducing a true opinion
fair enough
that’s reasonable
filler
a word used while thinking
Practice
“I suppose so…” usually shows…
Listening: Planning a trip with friends
Audio isn’t available in this browser — read the transcript instead.
Ella: So, where are we going this summer? I was thinking Portugal.
Marcus: Portugal sounds great, but isn’t it gonna be really hot in August?
Ella: Maybe, but we’ll be by the sea. What about you, Priya?
Priya: To be honest, I’m not that keen on beach holidays. I’d rather go somewhere with mountains.
Marcus: What about northern Spain? There are beaches and mountains.
Ella: Ooh, that’s a good idea. And it’s cooler than the south.
Priya: I suppose so… as long as we do some hiking.
Marcus: Fair enough. Let’s look at flights tonight.
1.What is Marcus worried about in Portugal?
2.How does Priya feel about beach holidays?
3.Who suggests northern Spain?
4.How does Priya react to northern Spain?
5.What will they do tonight?
Speaking
Retell the conversation from Priya’s point of view: what was suggested, what she thought and what they decided.
Writing
Write a message to the group summarising the plan and one thing you’d like to add (50–70 words).
Lesson quiz
“Exactly!” shows…
Review
Key points
- Predict → gist → details.
- Tone and phrases show attitude.
- Agreement/disagreement phrases.
- Weak forms and fillers are normal.
What you learned
- ✓ I can follow natural conversations.
- ✓ I can recognise attitudes.
- ✓ I can cope with informal speech.