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理工系大学院生のための学術英語

Academic Listening

Academic Listening #3: Take Notes on the Shape

中級 / Intermediate2 分

Academic Listening · Part 3 of 7

Stop writing sentences. Let the page show the structure of the talk instead.

Once you can hear signposts, change what your pen does. Most students write horizontally, in sentences, and fall behind by the third minute. Instead, let the page show the structure.

Keep the left third of the page narrow and the right two-thirds wide. When you hear an orientation or sequence signpost, start a new line on the left and write a label of two or three words. Everything the speaker then says goes on the right, in fragments, abbreviations and arrows — never in full sentences.

SIGNPOST → LABEL WHAT WAS SAID 3 aims1 structure · 2 defects · 3 diffusion 1. structureunit cell → lattice, 7 systems cubic = simplest, a = b = c 2. defectsvacancies ↑ with T not the same as impurities recap3 mechanisms — listen, don’t write ★ ★ emphasis  ·  ↰ contrast  ·  fragments only, never sentences

The left column is written entirely from signposts. Even when the right column has holes, the left column tells you where the holes are.

When you hear emphasis, star the line. When you hear contrast, bend an arrow back to what it contradicts. When the summary arrives, stop writing altogether and listen, then use the last minute to fill your gaps.

This also protects you in the moments when you understand nothing at all. If you have lost the thread but you caught “That brings me to the third mechanism”, you still know where you are and you can rejoin. Comprehension is not all or nothing, and keeping your place is a separate skill — one that is very trainable.
Next · Part 4 of 7Practice — Name the SignpostFive short recordings. Decide what job each phrase is doing. ← Part 2: The Five Signposts

Academic Listening series, Shimane University.

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