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Section Title: Immigrate to Canada

Home » Immigrating to Canada » Skilled Worker Class » Will You Qualify?

Canadian Language Benchmark 8

Listening: High Level

Global Performance Descriptor

  • Learner can comprehend main points, details, speaker’s purpose, attitudes, levels of formality and styles in oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts.
  • Can follow most formal and informal conversations, and some technical work-related discourse in own field at a normal rate of speech.
  • Can follow discourse about abstract and complex ideas on a familiar topic.
  • Can comprehend an expanded range of concrete, abstract and conceptual language.
  • Can determine mood, attitudes and feelings.
  • Can understand sufficient vocabulary, idioms and colloquial expressions to follow detailed stories of general popular interest.
  • Can follow clear and coherent extended instructional texts and directions.
  • Can follow clear and coherent phone messages on unfamiliar and non-routine matters.
  • Often has difficulty following rapid, colloquial/idiomatic or regionally accented speech between native speakers.

Performance Conditions

  • Tasks are in a standard format, with items to circle, match, fill in a blank, and complete a chart.
  • Learner is adequately briefed for focused listening.
  • Communication is face to face, observed live, or video- and audio-mediated (e.g., tape, TV, radio).
  • Speech is clear at a normal rate.
  • Instructions are clear and coherent.
  • Listening texts are monologues/presentations and dialogues (five to 10 minutes), within familiar general topics and technical discourse in own field.
  • Topics are familiar.
  • Presentation/lecture is informal or semi-formal with the use of pictures, visuals (10 to 15 minutes).
  • Learner is briefed for focused listening.
  • Speech is clear, at a normal rate.

Competency Outcomes and Standards

I. Social Interaction
What the person can do
Identify stated and unspecified details about mood, attitude, situation and formality in discourse containing expression of and response to formal welcomes, farewells, toasts, congratulations on achievements and awards, sympathy and condolences.
Examples of tasks and tests
Community, Study, Workplace: Listen to videotaped casual dialogues, audiotaped and phone conversations containing expression of and response to formal welcomes, farewells, toasts, congratulations on achievements and awards, sympathy and condolences.
Identify specific factual details and inferred meanings.
Respond to questions, circle or check items, write in appropriate blanks, as required in the task.
Performance Indicators
Identifies specific factual details and inferred meanings in video- and audio-mediated listening texts/discourse.
Identifies situation, relationships between participants and speaker’s purpose.
Identifies some attitudinal nuance, emotional tone and register of the text.
II. Instructions
What the person can do
Follow an extended set of multistep instructions on technical and non-technical tasks for familiar processes or procedures.
Examples of tasks and texts
Community, Study, Workplace: Follow first aid or other emergency instructions by phone.
Follow instructions on the phone to install Internet software or other software on computer.
Performance Indicators
Follows instructions and completes a task.
III. Suasion (getting things done)
What the person can do
Identify stated and unspecified meanings in extended warnings, threats, suggestions and recommendations.
Evaluate the validity of a suggestion or proposed solution.
Examples of tasks and texts
Community, Study, Workplace: Listen to a teacher/supervisor evaluating someone’s performance; list specific details, suggestions and advice that are mentioned.
Listen to public announcements, commercials and infomercials that contain extended warnings, suggested solutions to problems or recommendations. Respond to questions according to task format (e.g., true/false, circle the correct answer, etc.).
Performance Indicators
Identifies main intent, main idea, factual details, words and expressions and inferred meanings in suasion oral texts as required.
Identifies functional value of utterances as warnings, threats, suggestions or recommendations.
Evaluates the validity of a suggestion or a proposed solution for a specific context.
IV. Information
What the person can do
Identify main idea (which is not explicitly stated), organization and specific details in extended oral presentations.
Identify facts, opinions and attitudes in conversations about abstract and complex ideas on a familiar topic.
Examples of tasks and texts
Community, Study: Listen to a presentation on basic personality types, learning styles or lifestyles. Identify main idea, details and transition points in the presentation.
Listen to a conversation about public services (e.g., transit, library) or about ice climbing in the Rockies.
Identify facts, opinions and attitudes in the discourse by answering comprehension questions.
Performance Indicators
Identifies the component parts of the presentation (e.g., introduction, etc.).
Identifies phrases and sentences that mark topic introduction, topic development, topic shift and conclusion.
Identifies main idea, which is not explicitly stated, and extracts detailed information from the text.
Identifies facts, opinions and attitudes in conversations about abstract ideas.
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Last Updated: 2002-06-28 Return to top of page Important Notices