Think about these questions, or answer them aloud.
Academic speakers rarely say “Point number two is…”. Instead, they use signposting language: words and phrases that tell you where the talk is going, how ideas relate to each other, and how important each part is.
At C1 level, signposts do three jobs for you:
| Function | Typical phrases |
|---|---|
| Outlining the talk | I'll start by… then turn to… and finish by…; There are three aspects I'd like to cover |
| Moving on | Moving on to…; Turning now to…; That brings me to…; Let's now consider… |
| Adding a point | What's more…; On top of that…; Another factor is… |
| Contrasting | By contrast…; Having said that…; That's not to say…; Conversely… |
| Giving examples | Take the case of…; A case in point is…; To illustrate this… |
| Emphasising | What I want to stress here is…; This is really the crux of it; I can't overstate… |
| Rephrasing | In other words…; Put another way…; What I mean by that is… |
| Qualifying | I should stress, though, that…; This is only one interpretation… |
| Digressing | Incidentally…; As an aside…; That's a story for another day |
| Returning | Anyway, back to…; Getting back to the main point…; As I was saying… |
| Referring back | As I mentioned earlier…; I said I'd come back to… |
| Summarising | To recap…; To sum up…; So, to pull these threads together… |
Match each phrase to its function. There is one function you do not need.
| Signpost heard | Function | What the listener does |
|---|---|---|
| I'm going to do three things: first… then… and finally… | Outline | Writes three headings: history, success factors, criticisms |
| To begin with, then, the history | Start of section 1 | Starts notes under heading 1 |
| What's changed recently is… | Contrast with the past | Notes the key change: scale, because of smartphones |
| Moving on to what makes a project succeed | Start of section 2 | Moves to heading 2 |
| The key factor, it seems, is… | Emphasis | Underlines: simple but meaningful tasks |
| Take the case of… | Example | Writes e.g. classifying galaxies |
| Incidentally… a story for another day | Digression | Writes nothing, or a small note in brackets |
| Anyway, back to the main thread | Return | Gets ready for heading 3 |
| Now, this is a legitimate concern, but… | Concession, then the speaker's real view | Notes: concern is real but overstated |
| So, to sum up | Summary | Checks the notes against the three points |
The lecturer's opening overview gives the whole structure in one sentence. A strong listener writes the three headings before the content arrives.
The digression about volunteers making discoveries is interesting, but the speaker clearly marks it as outside the main argument (Incidentally… a story for another day). Questions rarely target material like this.
The sentence “this is a legitimate concern, but it's often overstated” is a typical C1 pattern: the speaker first concedes a point and then gives their own view. If a question asks for the lecturer's opinion about data quality, the answer comes after but.
Listen to the lecture and choose the best answer. These questions are about how the lecture is organised and what the signposts mean.
Listen to the lecture again if you need to. Complete the notes. Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Listen and type each sentence. Pay attention to the small words that are easy to miss in fast speech.
Save words to review them later with flashcards.
“Phrases like “moving on” are signposts that help listeners follow a lecture.”
“After a short digression about his own research, the professor returned to the main topic.”
“The crux of the debate is who pays for the repairs.”
“She qualified her claim by saying the evidence was still limited.”
“The self-healing hypothesis is still being tested.”
“Engineers are studying the durability of ancient buildings.”
“The cumulative effect of thousands of small tasks was a huge data set.”
“Concerns about data quality are often overstated.”
“It is not yet clear whether the new material is commercially viable.”
“Longer-lasting materials could reduce the carbon footprint of construction.”
“To recap, there are three main causes.”
