6. Fact or Opinion?
"Nine out of ten dentists prefer
PureWhite toothpaste. Smart dentists
are right. Your teeth will be white... with
PureWhite toothpaste."
8. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
1. Try to understand the purpose
2. Distinguish between fact and opinion
3. Evaluate and judge for yourself
9. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
• Important points
• Sequence
• Summarize
• Can you retell the story in your own
words?
10. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
What are you listening to?
– Debate/discussion
– Argument
– Speech
– Lecture
– News report
Argument versus Fact
What do YOU think?
11. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
• In English - make the point first
• Next comes 'evidence' to prove the point
• Summarize the point again at the end
• Write a short speech to practice
12. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
• Conclusions?
• Do you agree/disagree?
• Evidence
• Be critical
13. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
Let’s listen!
What is the situation?
What information is important?
How would you solve it?
14. Evaluate and Judge for Yourself
Tim's car broke down last Tuesday and now he has no choice
but to buy a new one. He is at a car dealership, deciding what to do.
Tim doesn't have much in his savings and doesn't know a lot about
cars, but he's determined to find a reliable car to get him to his new
job.
A salesperson has just informed Tim of all the advantages of
the car he is looking at and has offered a discounted price. Tim likes
how the car looks and thinks the sales woman is very nice, but is this
enough for him to trust her? Should he buy the car and hope for the
best, or ask for an expert opinion? His new job starts in four days, so
he doesn't have much time to waste. What would you tell Tim to do?
15. Conclusion
Use the skills you learned
• Go outside
• Listen
• Think
• Evaluate!
So, it is your job to evaluate and judge for yourself. The first sentence seems like a fact, but we do not know what choice the dentists were given.
The dentists may have been given a choice between PureWhite toothpaste and mud for all we know! That is why purpose is so important. If the purpose is to persuade, the sentences that sound like facts need to be listened to carefully...and critically.
Whenever you listen critically, it is important to evaluate and judge for yourself.
Before you can intelligently evaluate and judge for yourself, it is important to understand the purpose of what is being said.
In order to understand the purpose, it is critical that you distinguish fact from opinion.
Only after doing these things can you evaluate and judge for yourself... and respond accordingly. Go out and buy PureWhite toothpaste now! ... or not.
In order to improve your listening skills, it is important to pick out the most important points. What information is crucial to the story? You must also understand the order of the story; what comes first, what happened next? Summarise the main points in your mind. To test your understanding, see if you can retell the story in your own words.
