VOA · Ask a Teacher
Beginner · A2learner speed4:132024-09-04public domain
In Ask a Teacher, real learner questions about English grammar and usage get short, clear answers. Episodes are only a few minutes long and use simple classroom English — a gentle entry point if you are new to dictation practice.
Hit "Start dictation practice" — all 4 minutes are already sliced into sentences, so practice starts immediately. No wait.
Replay each sentence as many times as you need — beginner episodes use short sentences and simple vocabulary.
Switch to Dictation mode, type each sentence, and get a word-by-word diff with your accuracy score.
01Hello!
02This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Yutaro in Japan about how to summarize what you hear or read.
03Dear Teacher, I enjoy listening to VOA Learning English every night.
04I have a question about summarizing.
05How do I summarize a speech, paper, or other text I've listened to?
06I have to improve my summary skills to pass the upcoming entrance exam.
07Thank you for writing to us, Yutaro.
08I'm happy to answer this question.
09Summarize is the verb form of the word summary.
10A summary briefly explains the main ideas of a piece of writing or a speech, but does not include all the details.
11It is often only one or two paragraphs long.
12Being able to summarize is a useful skill to have, not only for passing exams, but also for working in professions.
13To summarize well, you need to separate the main ideas from less important details.
14You can use the following method to do this.
15First, read or listen to the material one time without writing any notes.
16This will help your mind focus on understanding the ideas.
17Next, read or listen again.
18But this time, write notes and be sure to identify the main ideas along with some details.
19You can mark main ideas by putting a star next to them, underlining them, or using a colored pen to mark them.
20Next, take a separate piece of paper and try to write only the main ideas.
21Then, decide which details are necessary to include, so that the main ideas are clear.
22Remember, in a summary, you cannot include every detail.
23This is sometimes difficult to do at first and requires careful thought.
24If you can, let a few hours pass between the time when you first take notes and the time when you write the main ideas.
25This is a good way to see if you can remember and organize the main points in your mind.
26You can also try the following method to prepare a summary.
27Try to explain the material as if you were talking about it with your friends or family.
28In those situations, you would naturally just focus on the main ideas and possibly add a few important details.
29Practice explaining the ideas by speaking out loud.
30When you speak, you will probably discover the things you can explain clearly and those things you need to check again.
31Finally, you can write the summary, keeping in mind the way you presented the main ideas when you spoke about them.
32For our readers and listeners, do you have a question about American English?
33Send us an email at learningenglish at voanews.com.
34And that's Ask a Teacher.
35I'm Andrew Smith.
36I'm Andrew Smith.
37I'm Andrew Smith.
38I'm Andrew Smith.
39I'm Andrew Smith.
40I'm Andrew Smith.
41I'm Andrew Smith.
42I'm Andrew Smith.
// transcribed with Whisper AI — reading it is easy; catching it by ear is the skill
Practice it by ear
