How Babies And Children Learn - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Trainer 2 Academic Listening Test 2 · Part 3 · Questions 21–30
Audio
Questions
Questions 21–22 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 23–24 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 25–26 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 27–30 Matching
What comment does the speaker make about each of the following events?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to questions 16-20.
You may use any letter more than once.
A. Babies understand cause and effect.
B. Babies like physical exercise.
C. Babies like their actions to be copied.
D. Babies are excited by surprises.
E. Babies recognise basic grammar.
F. Babies like to help other people.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q21 | — | — | |
| Q22 | B / E | Actually, they learn by interacting with their parents and other caregivers – that’s the best approach But what’s important is that they investigate their own environment. They should examine the objects around them and experiment. So they discover information for themselves. And they don’t get that sitting in front of a film |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that the best way for babies to learn is by having social time with their parents and other adults who look after them. It also says that babies need to explore their surroundings and play with objects to learn, which is something they cannot do while simply sitting and watching a movie. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the students believe videos are not the best way to learn because babies need to look at and touch the things around them and spend time with adults. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and E because the students discuss two main drawbacks of learning videos compared to real-life learning. First, Daniel states that babies learn much better by talking and playing with parents or 'caregivers' (adults) rather than looking at screens. Second, Maia explains that babies need to 'investigate' and 'examine' objects in their world to learn things on their own. Since watching a video is a passive activity, it prevents them from exploring and discovering new information through play. |
| Q23 | — | — | |
| Q24 | B / C | Really? I’d thought there’d be more exceptions It’s amazing the research has produced so much specific information, just from studying presents! I hadn’t expected that. The results cover so many different aspects of baby behaviour |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows Maia's surprise in two ways: first, she did not know that almost all babies behave in the same way (thinking there would be more babies who are different), and second, she was shocked by how much detailed information the researchers found from looking at something as simple as presents. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Maia was surprised because the study discovered a lot of exact details and showed that almost every baby acts in the exact same manner. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B and C because Maia expresses surprise twice during her conversation with Daniel about the research on babies and gifts (presents). First, when Daniel explains that almost every baby prefers the wrapping paper over the gift regardless of gender, Maia says she thought there would be more 'exceptions' (babies who act differently), which supports choice C. Second, she uses the word 'amazing' to describe the 'specific information' (detailed findings) that the research produced, noting that she 'hadn’t expected' the results to cover so many different parts of how babies act, which supports choice B. |
| Q25 | — | — | |
| Q26 | A / D | the researchers deliberately selected teachers who all had the same education. They’d been trained to use a style that focused on play and social interaction. So because of that, the experiment was standardised across all the schools, that’s really important.Daniel: Yeah, I agree, that was a great idea Well, follow up testing showed that the classes had a long-term benefit, yes.Daniel: Wow, that’s remarkable, especially considering some of the children were so young.Maia: I think so too |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Maia and Daniel thought it was very smart and important for the teachers to use the same play-based teaching method, and they were also very surprised to find out that the young children remembered what they learned for a long time. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the students were impressed by how long the children remembered what they learned (long-term effects) and the fact that every teacher was taught the same way (same training). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A and D because both Maia and Daniel express positive surprise or strong agreement regarding these two specific details of the Spanish experiment. When discussing the teachers, Maia emphasizes that they "all had the same education," which was "really important," and Daniel agrees it "was a great idea" (supporting Choice D). Later, when Maia mentions that the children showed a "long-term benefit," Daniel calls this result "remarkable" and Maia says she thinks so too (supporting Choice A). Keywords like "remarkable," "great idea," and "important" signal their impression of these facts. |
| Q27 | C | Well, I read about Dr Pritchard’s study. In her experiment, babies were given toys to play with. And their caregivers sometimes repeated the same movements as the baby, and sometimes did something different. And Dr Pritchard monitored the baby’s electrical brain activity. The results showed that babies were happiest when parents or caregivers imitated their behaviour | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in this study, adults sometimes copied the babies' movements. By checking the babies' brain activity, the researcher found that the babies felt the most happy when the adults imitated (or copied) what they did. Answer Explanation: The answer means that babies enjoy it when adults do the same actions or movements that the babies are doing. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because Maia describes Dr Pritchard’s study, which looked at how babies feel when adults reproduce their actions. She mentions that babies were happiest when their caregivers imitated them. The word "imitated" is a synonym for "copied," which is why C is the correct choice. |
| Q28 | F | No, what they often did though, was pick up the pen. They wanted to give someone assistance if they could, if they thought someone else had a problem | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that when researchers dropped something, the children would pick it up to help the person who had a problem. Answer Explanation: The answer means that children in this study showed a desire to be helpful to others. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is F because Daniel describes a study where three-year-olds would pick up a pen that a researcher dropped. He explains that the children did this because they wanted to give someone "assistance," which is a synonym for help, especially when they saw that person had a "problem." |
| Q29 | A | Professor Michelson did a study where babies had to push buttons. Some buttons switched on a light and some didn’t. And after a little experimentation, the babies nearly always pushed a button that switched on a light.Daniel: You mean, they knew the light would come on?Maia: Professor Michelson thinks so. He believes they recognised that a certain thing would happen, as a result of a certain action | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript talks about an experiment where babies pushed buttons to make lights turn on. It explains that the babies realized that a specific action they took would result in a specific thing happening. Answer Explanation: The answer means that babies could see that doing one thing made something else happen. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because Maia describes an experiment where babies pushed buttons to turn on a light. She explains that the babies learned which button to press to get the light. This shows they understood that a specific result (the effect) happened because of a specific action (the cause). Key phrases that signal this include "as a result of" and "certain thing would happen." |
| Q30 | E | This showed that babies as young as 16 months have some knowledge of how language is structured. In a simple sense, they seemed to know the function of nouns and verbs | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that very young babies already have an idea of how to put language together because they know what nouns and verbs do. Answer Explanation: The answer means that babies recognize the simple rules of how sentences are made. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is E because Daniel describes a study from the United States involving 16-month-old babies who already understand the difference between nouns and verbs. Since nouns and verbs are the building blocks of language, knowing their function means the babies recognize basic grammar and understand how language is structured. Keywords here include language is structured and nouns and verbs, which are synonyms for grammar. |
Transcript
Maia: So, Daniel, shall we compare a few ideas for our assignment on how babies and children learn?
Daniel: Good idea, I’ve started the reading. One thing I read about was these ‘learning videos’.
Maia: Oh yeah, I read about learning videos. The baby watches a short film with some basic vocabulary, maths and science, and they learn as they watch – that’s the idea. Certainly, babies will pay attention to videos for long periods of time.
Daniel: Yeah, but there’s been research to show that babies don’t learn effectively from screens. Actually, they learn by interacting with their parents and other caregivers – that’s the best approach.
Maia: Mmm, it’s interesting. Another issue with learning videos is that babies ought to have play time.
Daniel: You mean in a group?
Maia: Not necessarily, it can be alone, actually. But what’s important is that they investigate their own environment. They should examine the objects around them and experiment. So they discover information for themselves. And they don’t get that sitting in front of a film.
Daniel: That’s a good point. Then, I also thought I’d write about the ‘present research’ in my assignment.
Maia: Oh yeah, I read a bit about the present research. And it’s true, isn’t it? When you give a baby a present or gift, some of them are more interested in the wrapping paper than the present itself.
Daniel: But it’s not some of them. The research shows that pretty much every baby prefers the paper to the present, whether male or female – it’s just a human characteristic.
Maia: Really? I’d thought there’d be more exceptions.
Daniel: Apparently not. It seems that playing with the paper, or ribbons, or box, stimulates the baby’s senses. They touch everything, climb into the box, put the ribbon into their mouths. And brain scans have shown that sight, sound, touch, smell and taste are all stimulated in this way.
Maia: It’s amazing the research has produced so much specific information, just from studying presents! I hadn’t expected that. The results cover so many different aspects of baby behaviour.
Daniel: Yeah, exactly. But it shows us that babies learn by playing.
Maia: So we shouldn’t stop wrapping up babies’ presents.
Daniel: No, definitely not!
Maia: Then I also read about babies and second languages. There was a really interesting bilingual experiment in Spain. They tried teaching English to a group of 280 Spanish children in different preschools.
Daniel: So the research subjects were in different schools?
Maia: Yes, but the researchers deliberately selected teachers who all had the same education. They’d been trained to use a style that focused on play and social interaction. So because of that, the experiment was standardised across all the schools, that’s really important.
Daniel: Yeah, I agree, that was a great idea.
Maia: The subjects were aged between 7 months and 3 years old. And the children were given a one-hour English lesson for 18 weeks.
Daniel: Did they seem to enjoy the lessons?
Maia: I don’t have any information on that. But at the end of the experiment, each child could produce an average of 74 English words or phrases.
Daniel: But did they remember them?
Maia: Well, follow up testing showed that the classes had a long-term benefit, yes.
Daniel: Wow, that’s remarkable, especially considering some of the children were so young.
Maia: I think so too. It really shows how babies and small children can learn through playing.
Daniel: Yeah, I wonder if other schools will try the same thing in future.
Maia: It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Daniel: So, Maia, let’s discuss some more ideas about how babies learn. What other research have you read about?
Maia: Well, I read about Dr Pritchard’s study. In her experiment, babies were given toys to play with. And their caregivers sometimes repeated the same movements as the baby, and sometimes did something different. And Dr Pritchard monitored the baby’s electrical brain activity. The results showed that babies were happiest when parents or caregivers imitated their behaviour.
Daniel: Maybe that could be used as a teaching tool?
Maia: Yeah, absolutely.
Daniel: Then I read about a study of 3-year-olds. This was interesting. The researchers experimented by doing things like dropping a pen or knocking something off a desk.
Maia: And did the children do the same thing?
Daniel: No, what they often did though, was pick up the pen. They wanted to give someone assistance if they could, if they thought someone else had a problem. So I think that shows how babies are more likely to learn by working with caregivers and teachers, rather than in isolation.
Maia: Then have you heard of Professor Michelson?
Daniel: Is he a linguist?
Maia: You’re thinking of someone else. Professor Michelson did a study where babies had to push buttons. Some buttons switched on a light and some didn’t. And after a little experimentation, the babies nearly always pushed a button that switched on a light.
Daniel: You mean, they knew the light would come on?
Maia: Professor Michelson thinks so. He believes they recognised that a certain thing would happen, as a result of a certain action. So maybe that has implications for learning.
Daniel: Interesting. I also looked at a study in the United States. This showed that babies as young as 16 months have some knowledge of how language is structured. In a simple sense, they seemed to know the function of nouns and verbs. And the researchers believe this is linked to the way they learn the meaning of new words.
Maia: Oh, really? Amazing they start so young. I’d like to read about that…