Module 6 · Listening & Speaking Strands · Lesson 21
Listening Part 4 Many Voices
Multiple matching from monologues
Warm-up · Section 1
4 minGet talking
Theme: 'Why I changed careers.' If you heard five real people on this theme, what FIVE different INTENTIONS could they have? (E.g. to justify, to warn, to celebrate, to regret, to advise.)
Speaker A says 'It was challenging.' Speaker B says 'It was challenging.' Same words — how do you know they mean opposite things?
Listen to ONLY a speaker's opening line: 'Look, I'll be honest with you.' What's their likely INTENTION across the next 30 seconds?
Grammar focus · Section 2
8 minReporting attitude and stance — the grammar of paraphrase
Quick rule
P4 options paraphrase the speaker using REPORTING + STANCE verbs: 'admits', 'acknowledges', 'regrets', 'plays down', 'warns against', 'is surprised by'. Learn the verbs and you can hear the speaker through the option.
Examples
Speaker: 'Look, yes, the first year was rough — but honestly, every career change is.' → ACKNOWLEDGES initial difficulty while playing it down as normal.
Speaker: 'I'd think very carefully before doing what I did.' → WARNS others against following her path.
Speaker: 'Even I'm amazed it worked out.' → expresses SURPRISE at her own success.
Trap watch — speaker said 'I love it now' but the option 'celebrates the success of her decision' may be wrong if she's actually GRUDGING.
Quick check
Question 1.Speaker: 'Honestly? I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.' Best paraphrase:
Question 2.Speaker: 'I won't pretend the pay cut wasn't real — but it's worth it.' Best paraphrase:
Question 3.Which P4 option is the LEXICAL-OVERLAP trap if the speaker said 'training was intense'?
Question 4.Speaker: 'I keep waiting to feel like a fraud — and it hasn't happened.' Best paraphrase:
Question 5.Why does P4 paraphrase rather than quote?
Vocabulary · Section 3
6 minWords & phrases to own
to acknowledge
to admit something that's true, often reluctantly
e.g. She acknowledges that the first year was financially difficult.
Use it now
Use 'acknowledges' to paraphrase a real opinion of yours.
↻ Recycled in listening · speaking
to play (something) down
to minimise its importance
e.g. He plays down the risk, but the figures suggest otherwise.
Use it now
Think of something you tend to play down. Why?
↻ Recycled in listening · speaking
to warn against
to caution others not to do something
e.g. She warns against romanticising career change.
Use it now
Warn against one common piece of bad advice you hear.
↻ Recycled in listening
to express surprise at
neutral reporting frame for 'I can't believe…'
e.g. He expresses surprise at how quickly his confidence returned.
Use it now
Paraphrase: 'Honestly, I can't believe how much I love it.' → He…
↻ Recycled in listening
to regret (doing)
to wish you hadn't done it
e.g. She regrets not making the change five years earlier.
Use it now
Distinguish 'regret doing X' (did it, wishes she hadn't) vs 'regret not doing X' (didn't, wishes she had).
↻ Recycled in listening · speaking
with hindsight
looking back, knowing what we know now
e.g. With hindsight, the warning signs were obvious.
Use it now
Apply 'with hindsight' to a decision in your life.
↻ Recycled in listening · speaking
Pair / group discussion
- Which of today's verbs would HARDEST to spot in a real speaker — and why?
- Which two would you find easiest to USE yourself in Speaking Parts 3/4?
Complete each stem about yourself
- The speaker acknowledges ______.…
- He plays down ______, despite ______.…
- She warns against ______.…
- With hindsight, ______.…
Rank & justify
Rank by how directly each one signals the speaker's STANCE (not just the topic).
- acknowledges
- warns against
- plays down
- mentions
- describes
Quick write (60 seconds)
Paraphrase a 30-second opinion you've held this week using ONE of today's stance verbs.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3 minHearing stance through stress — where the emphasis falls
When a P4 speaker really means it, the stress lands on the EVALUATIVE word, not the noun. 'It was CHALLENGING' (genuine difficulty) is stressed differently from 'It was challenging' (dismissive). Train your ear for stress placement and you'll hear stance before you parse meaning.
- Genuine: 'It was REALLY HARD || I won't pretend it wasn't.'
- Dismissive: 'It was a bit hard || but you know.'
- Surprised: 'I keep WAITING to feel like a FRAUD || and it HASN'T happened.'
- Warning: 'I would think VERY carefully || before doing what I did.'
Reading · Section 5
8 minFive mini-transcripts on one theme — 'Why I changed careers' (close read for stance)
Working transcripts · for paraphrase practice
Five mini-transcripts on one theme — 'Why I changed careers' (close read for stance)
Read each short transcript. For EACH speaker, note (a) why they're speaking and (b) the main thing they want you to take away.
Prepared by the teacher · Pre-listening
SPEAKER 1 (Mira, ex-lawyer) — 'I won't pretend the pay cut wasn't real, but honestly? It's worth it. I sleep. I see my daughter. I'd do it again tomorrow.'
SPEAKER 2 (Ben, ex-teacher) — 'Look, I'd think very carefully before doing what I did. The retraining was longer and more expensive than anyone told me. I'm fine — but I was lucky.'
SPEAKER 3 (Aïcha, ex-engineer) — 'Even I'm amazed it worked out. I kept waiting to feel like a fraud in the new role, and it just… hasn't happened. I belong here.'
SPEAKER 4 (Toma, ex-banker) — 'People romanticise this. They really do. Yes, my values align better now. No, I am not happier every day. Those are two different facts.'
SPEAKER 5 (Priya, ex-doctor) — 'With hindsight, I should have done it five years earlier. The only thing I regret is the wasted years pretending I was fine.'
Question 1.Mira's main intention is to:
Question 2.Ben's main point is that:
Question 3.Aïcha primarily expresses:
Question 4.Toma's main point is that:
Question 5.Priya's dominant feeling is:
Listening · Section 6
8 minListening Part 4 — full sitting (5 speakers × 2 matching tasks)
Notes
Pre-listen brief (Listening P4 sample)
- ▸TASK 1 — INTENTION: match each speaker to ONE of (A) justify a decision, (B) caution others, (C) express surprise, (D) qualify a common myth, (E) express regret about timing.
- ▸TASK 2 — MAIN POINT: match each speaker to ONE of (A) the cost is real but worth it, (B) good outcome partly luck, (C) belonging arrived quietly, (D) values ≠ daily happiness, (E) the wasted years were the real loss.
- ▸First listening: focus ONLY on Task 1 (intention).
- ▸Second listening: focus ONLY on Task 2 (main point).
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.
Show transcript
Speaker 1 — Mira (English, f, 40s):I won't pretend the pay cut wasn't real — it was, and it took a year for the bank account to stop being a problem. But honestly? It's worth it. I sleep now. I see my daughter. I get home before bedtime. I'd do it again tomorrow, even with the cost. People want me to say I regret the years in law. I don't. They paid for the transition.
Speaker 2 — Ben (English, m, 30s):Look. I'd think very carefully before doing what I did. The retraining was longer and more expensive than anyone told me, and I had savings I'd been quietly building for a decade. I'm fine — but I was lucky. If you don't have that runway, please don't romanticise it. The cost is real and the fall is real and a lot of people I retrained with didn't make it through.
Speaker 3 — Aïcha (French, f, 30s):Even I'm amazed it worked out. I kept waiting to feel like a fraud — you know, walking into the new role, sitting in meetings, certain that someone would point at me and say 'she shouldn't be here.' And it just… hasn't happened. Somewhere in month four I noticed I'd stopped waiting. That was the moment I knew I belonged.
Speaker 4 — Toma (Czech, m, 40s):People romanticise this. They really do. Yes, my values align better now. Yes, I respect the work. But I am not happier every day. Some days I miss the certainty of a salary that paid for everything. Those are two different facts and the career-change articles online keep mashing them together. Value alignment is a long-term thing. Daily happiness is a daily thing. Don't expect one to deliver the other.
Speaker 5 — Priya (Indian, f, 50s):With hindsight, I should have done it five years earlier. The change itself? Fine. Hard, but fine. The thing I regret is the five years I spent pretending I was fine in medicine when I wasn't. Those are the wasted years. Not the retraining, not the pay cut. The years of telling myself the problem was me, when actually the problem was the fit.
Question 1.TASK 1 — Speaker 1's intention is to:
Question 2.TASK 1 — Speaker 2's intention is to:
Question 3.TASK 1 — Speaker 3's intention is to:
Question 4.TASK 1 — Speaker 4's intention is to:
Question 5.TASK 1 — Speaker 5's intention is to:
Question 6.TASK 2 — Speaker 1's main point:
Question 7.TASK 2 — Speaker 2's main point:
Question 8.TASK 2 — Speaker 3's main point:
Question 9.TASK 2 — Speaker 4's main point:
Question 10.TASK 2 — Speaker 5's main point:
Visual stimulus · Section 7
3 minThe Listening P4 two-task grid — what your answer sheet actually looks like
Two parallel matching tasks share five speakers. Each task has 8 options; only 5 are used. The unused options are the lexical-overlap traps.
Notes
P4 answer sheet — schematic
- ▸Speakers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (down the page) — same five speakers, both tasks.
- ▸Task 1 options A–H — only 5 are correct (INTENTION).
- ▸Task 2 options A–H — only 5 are correct (MAIN POINT).
- ▸Listen 1: complete ONLY Task 1. Listen 2: complete ONLY Task 2.
- ▸Three unused options per task = lexical-overlap distractors. Don't tick them just because you heard the keyword.
Discuss in pairs
Identify, from the grid, where you'd most likely get distracted on a real sitting — and why.
Exam skills · Section 8
3 minCPE Listening Part 4 — Multiple Matching
Strategy
- 1.Underline the EIGHT options for Task 1 BEFORE the audio. Don't pre-read Task 2 — it pollutes Task 1.
- 2.First listening: Task 1 ONLY. Tick a tentative answer for every speaker; don't leave gaps.
- 3.Between listenings (~30s): glance at Task 2 options and identify which speaker is likely which.
- 4.Second listening: Task 2 ONLY. Confirm Task 1 only if you hear a clearer signal.
- 5.Trap watch: any option that uses a word the speaker used VERBATIM. The right answer paraphrases the STANCE.
- 6.Never leave a blank. Best guess if necessary; you're not penalised.
Example
Speaker 1 said 'I won't pretend the pay cut wasn't real… but it's worth it.' → INTENTION: justify a decision. MAIN POINT: the cost is real but worth it.
Practice · Section 9
7 minFill in the blank
Question 1.The speaker ____ that the first year was difficult.
Question 2.He ____ the risks, but the figures suggest otherwise.
Question 3.She ____ against romanticising the transition.
Question 4.____ hindsight, she'd have made the change earlier.
Question 5.He expresses surprise ____ how quickly his confidence returned.
Question 6.She regrets ____ the change five years earlier.
Writing · Section 10
4 minPut it in writing
Your task
In 4 minutes, write a 50-word 'stance paragraph' on a decision in your life. Use AT LEAST TWO of today's stance verbs (acknowledges / plays down / warns against / expresses surprise at / regrets / with hindsight).
- • 50 words (±10) — tight.
- • At least two stance verbs.
- • Written in the THIRD person (as if you were the P4 option-writer paraphrasing yourself).
Before you submit
- ☐ Third-person voice ('The speaker acknowledges…').
- ☐ Two stance verbs visibly present.
- ☐ A clear INTENTION + a clear MAIN POINT.
- ☐ No exact-word lexical-overlap traps.
Show model answer
The speaker acknowledges that moving abroad cost her three years of senior progression, but plays down the loss as a fair price for the language and the friendships. With hindsight, she warns against treating a foreign year as a career pause; for her, it was the most generative phase she's had. (50 words)
Speaking · Section 11
6 minMake it a real conversation
Speaking — 6 minutes. You are the SIXTH speaker on the 'Why I changed careers' panel. In 90 seconds, deliver a P4-grade monologue: one clear INTENTION + one clear MAIN POINT. Partner/teacher then paraphrases YOU using a stance verb. If they get it right, you've spoken P4-cleanly.
After the partner paraphrases you, decide together: did the paraphrase match your INTENTION, your MAIN POINT, or both?
Was your stance audibly clear in 90 seconds?
Both matched
P4-grade clarity.
Intention matched, main point fuzzy
Add a sharper takeaway sentence.
Main point matched, intention fuzzy
Frame the first 10 seconds more clearly.
Neither
Slow down; lead with the stance, not the story.
Useful phrases
- I won't pretend ______ wasn't real, but ______.
- Look, I'd think very carefully before ______.
- Even I'm surprised that ______.
- People romanticise this — ______ and ______ are two different things.
- With hindsight, ______.
- The thing I regret isn't ______; it's ______.
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Stretches if time allows. All work 1:1. ~18 min total
Homework · Section 12
Take-homeTake it home
Find a short multi-voice podcast or radio segment (3–5 voices on one theme). For each voice, write ONE stance-verb paraphrase. Note any lexical-overlap traps you noticed.
Expand the stance-verb bank to 15 items. Add: claims · concedes · downplays · is sceptical of · is convinced that · is reluctant to · denies that · accepts that · suspects that.
Rewrite 5 direct quotations as third-person stance paraphrases. (a) 'I love it, honestly.' (b) 'I wouldn't recommend it.' (c) 'I can't believe it worked.' (d) 'The pay cut was real.' (e) 'I wish I'd done it sooner.'
Re-watch today's transcripts and write a 120-word reflection: which speaker did you find HARDEST to paraphrase, and why? What did that tell you about your own listening?
Recap · Section 13
Wrap-upWhat you've learned
- P4 is paraphrase practice — the right answer maps STANCE, not vocabulary.
- Stance verbs to learn cold: acknowledges · plays down · warns against · expresses surprise at · regrets · with hindsight.
- Two tasks, two listens: Task 1 (intention) on listen 1; Task 2 (main point) on listen 2.
- The lexical-overlap option is the classic trap. If the option REPEATS the speaker's word, suspect it.
- Never leave a blank.