Unit 1: Active listening toolkit
Key words and fillers
Stressed content words carry the meaning. Fillers like "um" carry little content, but they tell you something is coming.
About 35 minLevel B1-B2
This is the free version of the lesson. Learners with a TOEFL iBT® course also get its video parts and their questions.
English speakers do not say every word with the same force. The words that carry the meaning (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, numbers, negatives) are stressed: longer, louder and clearer. Small grammar words (a, the, to, of, is, can) are quick and weak.
This is good news for listeners. If you catch the stressed words, you usually have the message, even when you miss the small ones.
Hear the message in the stressed words
- Full sentence: I need to finish my essay by Friday, so I can't come to the party.
- Stressed words: NEED ... FINISH ... ESSAY ... FRIDAY ... CAN'T COME ... PARTY
Real speech is also full of fillers such as um and uh, and small phrases such as like, you know and I mean. They carry little content, so they do not belong in your notes. But they are not useless. Watch the next video to find out what a filled pause like "um" can tell a listener.
Practice: find the message
Say this sentence aloud with the stress on the key words: "The library closes early on Sundays, so let's meet at the cafe instead." Which words did you stress?