English Second Language·Listening skills · NSSCO 6.2
Listening for inference: tone, mood & attitude
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Some of the hardest marks in Paper 2 come not from what a speaker says, but from what they MEAN. In this lesson Miss Veronica shows you how to listen beyond the words — how to work out a speaker's purpose, hear their tone of voice, read their mood and attitude, and infer the meaning hidden between the lines. We'll practise with real conversations, separate fact from opinion, and learn to back every answer with a clue.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 6.2):
- Listen for a speaker's PURPOSE and identify whether they are informing, persuading, complaining, apologising, inviting, warning or thanking
- Explain how TONE OF VOICE changes meaning, and identify the clues (word choice, emphasis, pace, volume, pauses, sighs, laughter) that reveal it
- Describe a speaker's MOOD and ATTITUDE using precise words (e.g. approving, critical, enthusiastic, reluctant, sincere, sarcastic)
- Infer, or read between the lines, to work out what a speaker really means, and the situation, place and relationship between speakers
- Distinguish FACT from OPINION in spoken language, and recognise rhetorical questions, hesitation and a change of mind
- Answer higher-order why and how listening questions, always supporting the answer with evidence from what was heard
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