The Changed Exchange Meeting
You are a 9th-grade student at Kadriorg Basic School. In the listening section, you hear a recorded voicemail from Ms Liis Peterson, the language-exchange coordinator. You have 45 seconds to read the questions before the recording starts, and you hear the recording twice. The message says: 'Hi, it's Liis. The meeting about the spring exchange to Finland has moved. It was going to be Tuesday at 2 p.m., but the hall is booked, so it's now Thursday at 3.30 p.m. in room B12-not the library. Please bring your signed permission slip and 5 euros for the workbook. If you can't come, email me by Wednesday noon. Also, ignore the old handout; the new schedule is on the school website.' After the recording, you answer questions. Your friend Martin missed the message and asks you what to do.
1. What is the first practical thing you should check after hearing the message, and what should you do if the answer is no? Use details from the message.
Read the worked answer
First check whether you are free on Thursday at 15.30, because that is the new meeting time. The message gives a clear fallback: if you cannot come, email Ms Peterson by Wednesday noon. The deadline matters because it is the only stated way to excuse yourself; simply not attending would leave the coordinator without a reply.
A weak answer would say 'go to the library on Tuesday' because the first date mentioned is the old one. The contrast word 'but' signals the change, and 'now' confirms the new time. So the sequence is: check Thursday 15.30 → if free, plan to bring the slip and 5 euros to room B12; if not free, email by Wednesday noon.
2. Martin says he will go to the library on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and bring 5 euros. Identify two errors in his plan and explain the evidence for each.
Read the worked answer
Error 1: wrong day and time. The message says the meeting 'was going to be Tuesday at 2 p.m.' but 'it's now Thursday at 3.30 p.m.' Martin has kept the cancelled time.
Error 2: wrong place. The message says room B12 '-not the library', so the library is explicitly ruled out.
A third problem is that he remembers the 5 euros but not the signed permission slip, which is also required. The evidence is in the same message, so this is not a memory test; it is a test of filtering old information from new. Listeners should note the correction words 'but', 'now' and 'not'.
3. Why might a listener wrongly choose Tuesday, and what listening strategy would reduce that risk?
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Tuesday is mentioned first and sounds authoritative, so a listener who writes down the first date and stops listening will keep it. The correction comes later, after 'but', and the speaker does not repeat 'Tuesday' as wrong; she only says 'now Thursday'.
To reduce the risk, note both dates with a symbol: 'Tue 14.00 (old)' and 'Thu 15.30 (new)'. Listen for discourse markers such as 'but', 'actually', 'now' and 'not', and check the final version before answering. In this recording, the words 'has moved' at the start already warn that a change is coming.