IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 15: Listening for Signpost Words

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Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.

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In this episode we'll look at signpost words. These are words and phrases that help the

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listener follow what someone is saying, and work out what they are about to say.

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Listen to this woman talking about Chinese New year in Melbourne:

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Well, she's visiting from Vietnam, and we're just here to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

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I guess it's more quieter here. I mean, it's pretty noisy today, but over in Vietnam, it'd

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be, like, much bigger, yep. There'd be a lot more people around as well.

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When she says 'I mean', the listener knows she is about to explain more about her statement.

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Listen again:

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Well, she's visiting from Vietnam, and we're just here to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

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I guess it's more quieter here. I mean, it's pretty noisy today, but over in Vietnam, it'd

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be, like, much bigger, yep.

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Recognising signpost words and anticipating what the speaker will say are important skills

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for the IELTS Listening Test.

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In the test a speaker may use a technical term you don't know, but if you are listening

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carefully you might also hear a definition of it.

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In the next clip the speaker is talking about the problem of running out of fuel.

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Listen for the technical term and its definition:

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This is a worldwide problem - increasing traffic - not only because it's clogging our roads

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but because of the fuels it uses. And whether vehicles use petrol or diesel or liquefied

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petroleum gas, it all comes from under the ground and we're running out of it, which

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is why researchers are now turning to biofuels - fuels that can be grown instead of mined.

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There are a number of signpost words here. When the speaker says 'not only because' and

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'but because' the listener knows he is about to give two reasons why increasing traffic

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is a problem. Listen again:

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This is a worldwide problem - increasing traffic - not only because it's clogging our roads

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but because of the fuels it uses.

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He also uses the words 'whether' and 'or'. This tells the listener he is about to mention

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two alternative scenarios:

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And whether vehicles use petrol or diesel or liquefied petroleum gas, it all comes from

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under the ground and we're running out of it.

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Finally, he uses the word 'instead'. That shows he is going to give an alternative to

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the first kind of fuel mentioned. Listen: … which is why researchers are now

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turning to biofuels - fuels that can be grown instead of mined.

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Biofuels are 'fuels that can be grown instead of mined'. So now as you follow the talk you

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would be listening for something that is grown:

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They're researching how to extract biofuel oils not from canola and other seed crops,

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but from tiny plants called microalgae.

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He says 'not from seed crops but from tiny plants called microalgae'.

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So microalgae are tiny plants. 'Called' is the signpost word - when you hear it, you

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will get a name or term you might not be familiar with.

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And he uses the word 'but' to introduce the contrast between seed crops and tiny plants.

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Listen again:

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They're researching how to extract biofuel oils not from canola and other seed crops,

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but from tiny plants called microalgae.

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Another common signpost phrase that signals an unusual name is 'referred to as', used

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here by someone talking about hemp:

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Inside the stem is the pith, which is referred to as the hurd fibre. And this is the white

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part there.

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What's the signpost phrase in the next clip?

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Grampians national park is commonly known as Gariwerd as well which is the Indigenous

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term used.

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'Known as' - Grampians national Park is known as Gariwerd as well. It's another name for

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it.

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Sometimes a speaker may use an abbreviation as in the next clip about a motorcycle engine.

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Notice that he signposts this by saying 'what's called a':

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We've taken one of these engines and we've put it in an environment where it's very dynamic.

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You've got centrifugal acceleration, you've got the bike leaning, so we had to make some

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modifications. What we chose was what's called a CVT, a continuously varying transmission,

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the sort of transmission that you see on many scooters.

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He uses the abbreviation CVT and follows with the full form of the word 'a continuously

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varying transmission'. He also provides an explanation of CVT - the sort of transmission

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that you see on many scooters:

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What we chose was what's called a CVT, a continuously varying transmission, the sort of transmission

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that you see on many scooters.

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Recognising these signposts alerts you to the use of technical terms or abbreviations

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in a talk or tells you that the speaker will follow with a definition or explanation.

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The next clip is of a man talking about a grand house. What words indicate a cause of

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something?

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Martindale hall was built in 1879. It was built for a 21 year old sheep farmer, a young

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man called Edmund Bowman Junior who had a rather inflated impression of his importance

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in the world and decided he wanted to live a lifestyle with servants and a grand house.

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He unfortunately lost the place after a decade, about 11 years due to a drought.

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'Due to a drought'. A drought is a severe lack of rain, which meant that he couldn't

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make any money. 'Due to' means 'because of' or 'as a result of'. Like these phrases, it

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signals an explanation or a cause.

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What word in the next clip tells the listener the speaker is about to talk about a result

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or outcome?

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We treat it as our home and the guests treat it as their home therefore it's just like

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a house that you live in. It responds and stays happy.

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Therefore. The guests treat it as their home therefore it's just like a house you live

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in. It's not like a museum.

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'Therefore' is an important word to listen for in more formal contexts such as lectures.

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It tells you that the statement you are about to hear is a result, or caused by, the first

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statement.

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The less formal word 'so' can be used instead of therefore. Listen for it in this clip:

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Diesel engines are more fuel efficient so you'll go much further on a tankful of diesel

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than you would on a tankful of petrol.

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We could also say 'you'll go further on a tankful of diesel because diesel engines are

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more efficient.' Notice the different order.

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Some signpost words tell you that more is going to be added to what is first said.

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You can say 'in addition':

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In addition to our TV show, Study English has a website.

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Or you can say 'as well as':

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As well as a TV show, Study English has a website.

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Listen for another phrase like these:

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Not only is it a museum during the day but when we shut we then have house guests who

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come and use all the artefacts.

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The house is a museum and a guesthouse.

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Not only is it a museum, it is also a guesthouse.

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It's important to know when a speaker is about to give an example. Often they'll say 'for

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example', but they can also say 'for instance', like this:

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Being a private nature reserve we've got all sorts of critters that live here in the wide

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range of habitats that we have. So for instance come night time there's the possums, owls,

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bats.

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Let's listen for one more signpost word, even though.

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It's used in the next clip to talk about stick insects and needle bugs:

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Even though they live in different places and eat different things, they look very similar

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because they both use the same trick to survive.

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Even though. Even though they live in different places, they look the same.

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This phrase is used to show that what follows is surprising, or unexpected.

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For instance, you could say 'even though the weather was bad, we still enjoyed ourselves'.

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That's all for now.

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