LISTENING LESSON 4: CAN YOU SHOW ME THE WAY?

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

● understand and apply Spatial and Directional language;
● practice identifying distractors;
● deal with Map labeling tasks.

Exam
Info

In the IELTS Listening test, you may have to listen to the instruction of a speaker and label a
map. Here are some examples of this task.

It is important to understand spatial and directional languages used in this task, as they
guide you to the correct answers.

A Spatial language
❶ Complete the following sentences with the words / phrases given in the
boxes below.
Map 1
in the north of • in the northeast of • in the southwest of
• in the northwest of • in the southeast of • to the south

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 1. B is located ____________in the north of______ of the Croft Valley Park.
2. H can be found ______in the southeast of __ of the park.
3. There is a lake located in the southwest of the old museum.
4. A is situated _____ in the northwest of _____________ of the park.
5. You can find C ______northeast ____________ of the park.
6. _________to the south_________ of the park, there is G.

Exam
Tip

For a large area, e.g. a park, a city, etc., people often use cardinal directions, which can go
with either the preposition in or to, to locate a place.
Eg1. to the west of the city, to the east of the park, in the southwest of the recreational
ground, etc.
The difference between in and to in this context lies in the fact of whether a place is part
of a bigger one or not. If yes, use in. If not, use to.
Eg2. A is situated in the southwest of the park. (A is part of the park)
Eg3. There is a lake located to the south of the old museum. (The lake is not part of the old
museum)

Map 2
facing • in the middle / center of • behind • between • next to / by • in front of

1. The entrance is ________in front of__________ the reception desk.

2. The reception desk is ________behind __________ the entrance.
3. The pool is ________ center of__________ the sport’s center.
4. The gym is _______in front of___________ the swimming pool.
5. The pool is _______between___________ the reception and the gym.
6. The seating area is _________next to / by_________ the pool.

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Map 3
opposite • across the road • on the same side
• to the left / on the left-hand side • to the right / on the right-hand side

1. The chemist is ___________________ a supermarket.

2. They are going to build new houses ___________________ from the school at point
G.
3. There is a supermarket ___________________ of the road as the library.
4. From the junction between School Road and High Street, walk till the end of
High Street and the library is ___________________.
5. The school is ___________________ of School Road.

B Directional language
➋ Each sign illustrates a word or phrase used to give directions. Match the
pictures with the words in the box.
go past • go straight ahead / straight on • turn left • turn right

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 • take the second right • take the second left • cross the bridge • go round the roundabout

1. _________________ 2. go past 3.cross the bridge 4.turn right

5.take the second 6.take the second 7. _turn left 8. go round the
right left roundabout

C Common places in Map labeling tasks

➌ Match the places given in the box with the pictures below.
bridge • park • river • pond • crossroads • traffic lights • roundabout • zebra crossing

➍ Look at the map below and complete the tasks that follow.

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1. There is a foreign tourist who wants to get around the city. He / She asks the local
for the way to reach the places he / she wants to visit.
In pairs, one plays the role of the tourist, while the other plays that of a local
resident. The tourist tells the place he / she is looking for, and the resident needs
to use spatial and directional language to show him / her the way.
Here is an example.
Tourist: Excuse me. Can you show me the way to the hospital, please?
Resident: All right. Go straight ahead to the roundabout, and then turn left.
The hospital is at the end of King’s Road on the right-hand side.
2. Two friends who have lived in the city for a long time are playing the City Guessing
game, in which one of them is going to tell the direction to a particular place, while
the other has to make a guess based on the city map.
In pairs, one plays the role of the direction teller, while the other plays that of the
guesser. The first person has to direct his / her partner to a certain destination,
using spatial and directional language, and the other has to look at the map, follow
the direction and find out the needed place.
Here is an example.
Direction teller: You have to go straight ahead, past the traffic lights, and
then turn right to Green Street. It is at the end of this street on your right-
hand side.
Guesser: All right. Is it the factory?
Direction teller: Great. That’s it!

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 D Strategies for Map labeling tasks

➎ Look at the following map. In 2 minutes, imagine how you can go to

different places, using spatial and directional language.

➏ Listen and read the transcript below at the same time and choose the
correct answers for each question. Provide the reason why the other option
is incorrect. 🔊16
Well, since we managed to extend the recreation ground, we’ve spent some time
talking to local people about how it could be made a more attractive and useful space.
If you have a look at the map up on the screen, you can see the river up in the north,
and the Community Hall near the entrance from the road. At present, cars can park
between the Community Hall and that line of trees to the east, but this is quite
dangerous for pedestrians so we’re suggesting a new car park on the opposite side of
the Community Hall, right next to it. We also have a new location for the cricket pitch.
As we’ve now purchased additional space to the east of the recreation ground, beyond
the trees, we plan to move it away from its current location, which is rather near the
road, into this new area beyond the line of trees. This means there’s less danger of
stray balls hitting cars or pedestrians.
Question Reason why the other option is wrong

1. Where will the new car park be?

A. G
B. C

2. Where will the new cricket pitch

be?
A. I

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 B. F

Exam Tip Map Labeling tasks

When dealing with this type of listening task, you can follow the steps below.
STEP 1: Identify the starting point
STEP 2: Follow the directions of the speaker by recognizing spatial and directional language
STEP 3: Beware of distractors
STEP 4: Choose the correct answer

E Practice
❶ You are going to hear a guide talking about the proposed layout of the
recreational ground. Listen and label the map below. 🔊16

Question Reason for your answer Distractor

1. New car park

2. New cricket pitch _____

3. Children’s playground rier,

straight location,

3. Skateboard ramp
_southerst ___long side

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 river

5. Pavilion ___football, left

river tress_

6. Notice board _roand and_

___right

➋ Listen to the recording again and complete the second and third columns
above where you provide the reasons for your answers and identify
distractors. 🔊16

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➌ You are going to hear a guide talking about the proposed layout of a city.
Listen and label the map below. 🔊17

Question Reason for your answer

1. Science Museum _________B

CONCERN SAINT GEORGE ROAND

2. National Park Museum __________A WEST OF Science MuseumScience Museum

3. Car Park _________E

QUEEN STREET AND SOUTH KING STREET

4. Shopping Mall ______C____

TIMBER ROAD SOUUTH CORNWELL

5. Primary School __________

➍ Listen to the recording again and complete the second column of the table
above where you provide reasons for your answers. 🔊17
➎ You are going to hear a guide talking about the layout of a farm. Listen
and label the map below. 🔊18

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 Questions Reasons for your answer

1. Scarecrow __________

2. Maze __________
OOPPSITE NEW BARN

3. Cafe __________ SIDE PATH WALK ALONG

4. Black Barn __________

5. Covered picnic area __________

6. Fiddy House __________

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➏ Listen to the recording again and complete the second column of the table
above where you provide reasons for your answers. 🔊18

F Homework
Exercise 1: Look at the following map. Listen to the tour guide introducing
the activity camp to a group of teenagers. Label the map with which activity
they can do in each place. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each
activity. 🔊10

1. _______________
2. _______________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________
6. _______________

Exercise 2: You will hear someone giving a talk about plans for a new forest
center. Label the map. Choose the correct letter A-M and write the answers
next to questions 1-8. 🔊11
Pine Woods Centre
1. tickets on sale here _____________
2. picnic field _____________
3. barbecue area _____________
4. Tree Tops Challenge _____________
5. playground for young children _____________
6. indoor play area _____________
7. sheep _____________

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 8. goats _____

Exercise 3: Listen to the recording for Exercise 2 again and provide

explanations for your answers. 🔊11
Q Reasons for your answer

Exercise 4: Listen to a guide about the layout of the Fiddy Working Heritage
Farm and label the map below. 🔊12
1. Scarecrow _________

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 2. Maze _________
3. Café _________
4. Black Barn _________
5. Covered picnic area _________
6. Fiddy House _________

Exercise 5: Listen to the recording for Exercise 4 again and provide

explanations for your answers. 🔊12
Q Reasons for your answer

Exercise 6: [DAILY DICTATION CHALLENGE] Access the link via the QR code
below. You are going to listen to several short recordings extracted from a
Cambridge IELTS Test. Type what you hear and click Check to check your
answers.

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NOTE: You should do dictation for at least 30 minutes / day.
QR Code

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Exercise 7: [NOTE-TAKING CHALLENGE] Watch this video and note down the
key points in it. Use Cornell note provided below:

Questions/Main ideas Notes: important information

Conclusion

Then write 150-200 word essay to summarize the video based on your notes:
_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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