IB MYP Language Acquisition – Criterion A – Listening to spoken multimodal texts Revision Notes

For full explanations and a worked advert transcript, read the Criterion A study guide first.

These revision notes cover Criterion A: Listening for IB MYP Language Acquisition, aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023). They suit MYP years 4 and 5 at the emergent, capable and proficient levels; there is no SL/HL split. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – and this page covers a skill named by one of the brief’s four criteria. Your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications for your school’s tasks.

Test yourself afterwards with the Criterion A practice questions. Course links: IB MYP Language Acquisition hub and printable checklist.

What the brief states

• Criterion A is Listening: interpreting and constructing meaning from spoken multimodal text, including how images and other spatial aspects work with the oral text to convey ideas, values and attitudes.
• Four equally weighted criteria (A-D), each with eight achievement levels (1-8) in four bands.
• On-screen examination: three tasks; Criterion A, B and D are worth 24 marks each. Distribution may vary by no more than three marks from the blueprint.
• Speaking (Criterion C, 24 marks) is a separate, teacher-marked, IB-moderated examination.
• Three proficiency levels for eAssessment: emergent, capable, proficient.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Spoken multimodal text	Speech combined with other modes: images, on-screen text, music, sound, gesture
Explicit information	Stated directly in the recording
Implicit information	Suggested; you infer it from evidence
Convention	A usual feature of a text type (a podcast sign-off, an advert slogan)
Register	How formal or informal the language is
Audience	Who the text is for
Purpose	What the text aims to do: inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, warn
Attitude	The speaker’s feeling or opinion towards the topic
Paraphrase	The same idea in different words
Distractor	Information that sounds like an answer but is not the right one

Method in steps

Before listening (use all the reading time)

1. Read every question. Underline the key word in each.
2. Predict the answer type: number, name, place, reason, attitude.
3. Look at any still image or title. Guess the text type and audience.

First listen: get the gist and the facts 4. Note the text type, the speakers and the topic. 5. Jot explicit answers in the order you hear them. Use abbreviations. 6. Mark doubts with “?”.

Second listen: go deeper 7. Check every “?” item. Listen for corrections (“sorry, I mean…”). 8. Note tone, word choice and what the visuals do at each point.

After listening: write 9. Answer explicit questions briefly and precisely. 10. For inference, audience, purpose and speech-image questions, use point – evidence – explanation.

Speech and images: three links

Link	Test question	Sentence frame
Reinforce	Does the image show what is said?	“The image of … reinforces the words ‘…’, which makes the message …”
Add	Does the image give new information?	“The caption adds …, which the speaker never says, so the audience …”
Contrast	Do image and speech seem to disagree?	“The words ‘…’ contrast with the shot of …, which creates humour/criticism because …”

Sound counts too. Music can reinforce a mood, add a sense of place, or contrast with the words for irony.

Conventions of spoken text types

Text type	Look and listen for
Advert	Hook, “you”, slogan, call to action, logo, upbeat music
Podcast	Show name, host and guest, questions, fillers, sign-off
News report	Headline first, neutral tone, figures, reporter’s name, place caption
Interview	Question-answer turns, follow-up questions, speaker names on screen
Announcement	Chime, who it is for, key details repeated
Voicemail	Caller’s name, reason, key details, request to call back

Always add why: “The chime gets attention before key information.”

Worked reminder

Source A – original transcript written for Marlbridge. A school radio announcement with a slide on screen.

[Chime.] “Good morning, everyone. A change to tonight’s winter concert: it now starts at half past six, not six o’clock. Doors open at ten past six. Parents, please use the north gate, as the car park is closed for repairs.” [Slide: a map with the north gate circled in red.]

• Explicit: new start 18:30; doors 18:10 (20 minutes before the start); use the north gate.
• Distractor: “six o’clock” is the old time.
• Implicit: the car park is closed, so parking will be difficult; parents should allow extra time.
• Speech and image: the circled map reinforces “north gate” and adds its location.
• Audience: students and parents (“everyone”, “Parents, please…”). Purpose: to inform and instruct.

Must-know distinctions

• Explicit vs implicit. Explicit: “The tickets are free.” Implicit: “Bring your own chair” suggests there is no seating.
• Describe vs explain. “There is a red circle on the map” describes. “The red circle draws attention to the gate so parents do not go to the closed car park” explains.
• Audience vs purpose. Audience answers who; purpose answers why. Give evidence for each.
• Tone vs content. A speaker can say something positive in a sarcastic tone. The tone changes the meaning.
• Reinforce vs add. Reinforce repeats the message; add gives new facts.
• Quoting vs paraphrasing. If the task says “quote”, copy the exact words. Otherwise, your own words are fine and often clearer.

What the question word asks for

Question word	What to write
State, list, identify	A short, precise answer; no explanation needed
Infer, suggest	A point with evidence from words, tone or visuals
Explain	Point, evidence, and why or how it works
Analyse	Break the text into modes and show how they work together
Respond, connect	Link one idea from the text to your own experience, with a reason

Applying this in your target language

• Keep a paraphrase bank: pairs of words that mean the same (for example, target-language words for “start/begin”, “shut/closed”, “free/no charge”).
• Learn correction and contrast markers: the target-language equivalents of “actually”, “however”, “I mean”.
• Practise numbers, times and dates aloud; they are common explicit-information items.
• Answer in the language the task asks for.

Quick self-test

1. What makes a spoken text “multimodal”?
2. How many marks does the brief give Criterion A in the on-screen examination?
3. A voicemail says: “Let’s meet at the library – actually, no, the café opposite.” Where do you meet?
4. Name the three ways an image can relate to speech.
5. A speaker says “Great, another rainy sports day” in a flat voice. What attitude is suggested?
6. Give two conventions of a podcast.
7. An announcement says the bus leaves at 07:45 and students must be at the gate 15 minutes earlier. What time must they arrive?
8. What is the difference between audience and purpose?
9. A news clip says “hundreds of volunteers”; the caption says “620 volunteers”. Which link is this?
10. Why should you read the questions before the recording starts?
11. Name the three proficiency levels the brief uses for eAssessment.
12. What structure should you use for inference questions?

Answers

1. It combines speech with at least one other mode, such as images, on-screen text, music or gesture.
2. 24 marks.
3. The café opposite the library (the self-correction gives the answer).
4. Reinforce, add, contrast.
5. Disappointment or sarcasm: “great” is used ironically, shown by the flat tone.
6. Any two: show name, greeting, host introduces guest, questions and answers, informal fillers, sign-off.
7. 07:30.
8. Audience is who the text is for; purpose is what it aims to do.
9. The caption adds a precise figure the speech does not give.
10. To predict answer types and know which details to listen for.
11. Emergent, capable, proficient.
12. Point – evidence (words, tone or visuals) – explanation.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing the first time, place or price heard, when the speaker later corrects it.
• Copying a whole sentence when the question asks for one detail.
• Inference with no evidence: “she is happy” with no words, tone or visual quoted.
• Describing what is on screen without linking it to the speech or the effect on the audience.
• Naming a convention but not explaining why it is used.
• Treating music and captions as background, so “add” and “contrast” links are missed.
• Giving an audience with no evidence, or confusing audience with purpose.
• Answering in the wrong language, or paraphrasing when asked to quote.

Next steps

Try the Criterion A practice questions. For how listening compares with the other criteria, see the criteria in practice revision notes and the assessment revision notes.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023), published by the IB. The brief names Criterion A: Listening and the 24-mark on-screen examination allocation for comprehending spoken multimodal texts. All texts here are original.