The Work Placement Podcast: Sorting Notes from a Listening Task
In the Hörverstehen section you hear a podcast twice. The transcript includes: Lena (16) asks Mr Okafor, a chef, about a two-week work placement. He says: 'We take students from Year 9, but only in the kitchen, not front of house. The placement runs Monday to Friday, 9 to 3, and we don't pay, but lunch is free. Last year three students came; two loved it, one left after two days because of the early start. If you want to apply, send a short email by 30 April; we'll reply within a week. Don't call-the phone is always busy.' Your notes read: 'Placement paid? No. Free lunch? Yes. Apply by phone? Yes. Apply by 30 April? Yes.' You must answer multiple-choice questions. One question asks: 'What is true about the placement?' Options: A) It is paid. B) Students work in the restaurant area. C) Lunch costs nothing. D) Apply by phone. Another question asks: 'Why did one student leave?' Options: A) low pay B) early start C) long hours D) no lunch.
1. Which option is correct for 'What is true about the placement?' Explain how the transcript eliminates each wrong option.
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The correct option is C) Lunch costs nothing.
- A is wrong because Mr Okafor says 'we don't pay' - that means no wages, not low wages.
- B is wrong because he says 'only in the kitchen, not front of house'. 'Front of house' is the restaurant area where customers sit, so students do not work there.
- D is wrong because he says 'Don't call-the phone is always busy'. The application route is email, not phone.
- C matches 'lunch is free': free means it costs nothing. The contrast word 'but' signals that free lunch is a benefit replacing pay, so it is easy to remember.
2. Your note 'Apply by phone? Yes' is wrong. What should the note say, and which words in the transcript prove it?
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The note should say 'Apply by email - not by phone'. The proof is the imperative 'send a short email by 30 April' followed by 'Don't call-the phone is always busy.' In listening tasks, negative imperatives ('Don't call') are often the exact place where a distractor is tested. The deadline detail is separate: 'by 30 April' is correct, but it does not tell you how to apply. Keeping those two facts in separate note lines prevents them from being confused under exam pressure.
3. A classmate thinks 'within a week' answers 'How long does the placement last?' Why is that wrong, and what is the correct answer?
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'Within a week' is the reply time after applying, not the length of the placement. The placement length is stated at the start: 'a two-week work placement'. The number 'two days' is also a distractor because it describes how long one student stayed before leaving, not the official duration. In multiple-choice listening, numbers are often repeated in different roles - duration, deadline, reply time, and how long someone stayed. Match each number to the noun it belongs to before choosing.