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IELTS Listening Task Type 3 (Plan, Map, Diagram Labelling) Activity –
teacher’s notes
Description
An activity to help students orient themselves spatially and practise the language expressing spatial
relationships and directions, in preparation for sample task type 3.
Time required:
Additional
materials
required:
sample task (3 copies for each student)
OHT of library plan
OHT of rooms A – I (or both on the same OHT with a piece of blank
paper to cover up the room list at first)
Note: This resource does not require audio (there is one piece of
text for Teachers to read aloud to class or record in advance).
Aims: to practise giving and following directions and understanding spatial
relationships in order to raise awareness of the skills needed to
complete task type 3 and completing a sample task.
Procedure
1. Show the plan of the Town Library on an OHT to the whole class (cover up the options A – I at this
stage). Ask students where they think a tour of the library might start.
2. Practise the basic language of directions with the class (turn right, left, go straight on, go through, go
past, opposite, etc) using the plan. For example, ask students for the directions from the entrance to
the seminar room. Correct as necessary.
3. In pairs, students practise giving and following directions using the library plan to go to the other
labelled rooms: library office, fiction library area and non-fiction library area.
4. Show the list of rooms A – I on the OHT (or uncover it on the first OHT) and explain that some of
these will be used on the recording to label rooms 11 – 15 and that they will follow the order of the
recording.
5. Hand out the sample task to half the students (Student A) and ask these students to label the rooms
in any order they like using the list of rooms A – I. Hand out the sample task to the rest of the
students (Student B). Student A should gives a tour of the library to Student B, using the language
from step 1. Student B listens and fills in their plan appropriately, then shows their plan to Student A
to see if it is correct. Go round the class and monitor and take note of any good examples of
language used. Hand out another set of the sample tasks to all the students and the students repeat
with their roles reversed.
6. Write the examples of good language used on the board, e.g. don’t go through the first door, but …..
; turn sharp right ….. ; just past the ….. there’s a …..; you’ll see ….. in front of you, etc. Drill the
pronunciation, draw attention to the form and elicit an example of how it could be used.
7. Students now do the sample task 3. Hand out a new copy of the sample task to each student.
Explain that in the test candidates should write on the question paper but then transfer their answers