Pi Leo Academy · Year 4 English

Speaking and listening

100 questions and practical tasks · Victorian Curriculum English Version 2.0 · Level 4

Questions only — answer key not included.

Circle one option for multiple-choice questions. Use the response spaces or extra paper for longer work.

Adult listening scripts are on separate pages at the end of the questions. Keep those pages with the adult reader.

Name: ________________________________   Date: __________________

Adult listening scripts

Keep these pages separate from the learner’s questions. Read each script aloud while the learner listens. Questions that name an external recording require that resource instead.

Question 1 · Listening for practical information

Tomorrow's garden session will begin beside the library instead of at the oval. The path near the oval is being repaired, so we need to use the other entrance. Bring your hat and water bottle. We will collect the gardening tools together after the teacher checks the group. If it rains, the teacher will explain the indoor activity in the morning.

Question 2 · Retelling a heard sequence

Sofia wanted her paper bridge to hold a toy car. Her first flat bridge bent in the middle, and the car slid off. She watched a classmate fold paper into a zigzag shape. Sofia tried adding folds to her own sheet, then placed the car carefully on top. The bridge held. She wrote in her notebook, 'Changing the shape helped more than adding another layer of tape.'

Question 3 · Listening to different viewpoints

Ben said, 'I think our animal display should use large drawings. People can see them from the doorway, and everyone in the group can draw one.' Asha replied, 'I would prefer a small model because visitors could look at it from different sides. We already have spare card for building it.' Their teacher asked them to find a plan they could both support.

Question 4 · Listening to sequenced instructions

To prepare the class display cards, first fold each sheet in half. Write the project title on the front, leaving room beneath it for a picture. Put the author's name inside the card, not on the front. Finally, place the finished cards in the blue tray. We will add the pictures after the teacher has checked the titles.

Question 5 · Inferring feelings from a heard account

Before her talk, Freya folded and unfolded the corner of her notes. She stared at the floor when her name was called. After the first sentence, she looked up and saw her partner smiling. Her voice became clearer. When she finished, she placed the notes on the desk and grinned as she returned to her seat.

Question 6 · Summarising an event notice

The class invention exhibition is on Friday afternoon in the hall. Visitors can arrive from three o'clock, and the display closes at four. Please enter through the door near the office. Models may be viewed but should not be touched unless a student demonstrator invites you. Everyone is welcome to ask the inventors questions about their designs.

Question 7 · Listening for roles and responsibilities

During our group investigation, the recorder writes down the observations the group agrees on. The materials manager collects the equipment and checks that it is returned. Everyone still helps with thinking and testing; these roles do not give one person control of the whole investigation. At the end, the recorder and materials manager help the group check that both the notes and the equipment are ready to hand in.

Question 8 · Evaluating a heard recommendation

First review: 'The Tunnel Map is the best book ever. Everyone will love it because it is amazing.' Second review: 'I recommend The Tunnel Map to readers who enjoy puzzles. Each chapter ends with a clue, and the illustrated map helps readers follow the characters' route. The opening is slow, so readers who want immediate action may need patience.'

Question 9 · Finding a main idea in a spoken text

A class seed library lets families share spare seeds. Each packet needs a clear plant name and the date the seeds were collected. Seeds should be kept dry in labelled containers. Before anyone takes seeds home, the teacher checks that the plant is suitable and that the packet information is clear. The library works best when people take only what they can use and add useful information for the next grower.

Question 10 · Explaining a heard decision

Noah planned to draw the school garden from the far side of the oval. When he arrived, the class was using that part of the oval for sport. He could have waited until the lesson ended, but his drawing session would be nearly over. Instead, he chose a bench near the library with a smaller view of the garden. He decided to draw one planter carefully rather than rush a picture of the whole space.

Question 11 · Extending a heard discussion

Ruby said, 'I like the idea of a class puzzle table, but unfinished puzzles could take up all our spare space.' Isaac replied, 'We could put a board underneath the puzzle and move it onto a shelf when the table is needed.' Ruby answered, 'That could work if the board fits safely on the shelf.' The class agreed to measure the shelf before deciding.

Question 12 · Responding to a poem heard aloud

The kettle clicks, the windows gleam, The kitchen curls with cloudy steam. Rain taps the roof, then taps once more, While warm light pools across the floor.

Question 13 · Listening to conditional directions

When you arrive at the art display, check whether the green sign is on the table. If the sign is there, leave your model beside it and wait for the teacher. If the sign is missing, keep the model with you and go to the classroom door. Do not place models on the floor because people need a clear path through the room.

Question 14 · Listening to an interview

Interviewer: 'What do you enjoy about helping in the school garden?' Volunteer: 'I enjoy seeing students notice new growth. Last week, someone spotted the first flower before I did.' Interviewer: 'What is difficult?' Volunteer: 'Remembering that each group needs time to learn the tools. It is quicker to do a job myself, but more useful to show students how and let them practise.'

Question 15 · Distinguishing a heard fact from an assumption

When Finn reached the drawing table, his blue pencil was gone. He saw Lara holding a blue pencil and thought she had taken his. Before speaking, he noticed that Lara's pencil had a silver stripe, while his had a yellow end. He looked beneath his paper and found his own pencil there. He was glad he had paused before making an accusation.

Question 16 · Adapting heard information for a younger listener

Our book exchange shelf is for complete books that owners have permission to give away. Bringing a book does not mean you must choose another one immediately. You can wait until something interests you. Before taking a book, show the teacher so the class can record the change. Books that need repair should go to the separate repair tray instead of the exchange shelf.

Question 17 · Joining a discussion of a story

The story ends when a child gives a lost model back to its owner instead of keeping it for a competition. Aiden says, 'I liked the ending because the child was honest even though it meant losing a chance to win.' Mei says, 'I agree the choice was fair, but I wanted to know whether the owner thanked the child. The ending felt a little sudden to me.'

Question 18 · Listening for changes and unresolved decisions

Our class podcast will now be recorded on Tuesday instead of Monday because the quiet room is unavailable on Monday. The topic is still favourite local places, and each pair will still prepare a one-minute segment. We have not yet chosen the order of speakers. Bring your draft notes on Monday so we can practise and decide the order together.

Question 19 · Summarising and questioning an explanation

When our class tested paper aeroplanes, we changed only the wing shape between the first and second design. We used the same paper and launched them from the same marked line. We repeated each test three times because a single throw might be unusually strong or weak. These choices helped us compare the designs more fairly, although different people throwing could still affect the result.

Question 20 · Discussing a title after listening

Every lunchtime, Leila walked past the empty planter outside the classroom. One day she asked whether the class could use it. The teacher agreed, and students brought suitable seedlings with permission from home. Some watered, some made labels and others checked the soil. A month later, the planter was full of leaves. Leila said it no longer felt like her idea alone; it belonged to everyone who had helped.

Question 76 · Understanding and using spoken emphasis

Adult: Read these two versions, stressing the capitalised word naturally, without saying the capital letters aloud. First: 'MIA returned the library book on Tuesday.' Second: 'Mia returned the library book on TUESDAY.' Pause between versions. Then invite the learner to choose another word to emphasise in the same sentence.

Question 77 · Evaluating and improving spoken clarity

Adult: First read the notice quickly in one continuous rush; then read it at a natural pace with pauses after the event name, time and practical instructions. Do not make either reading uncomfortable or excessively loud. Text: 'The paper-plane challenge begins at lunchtime on Thursday. Meet at the covered area beside the hall. Bring one sheet of scrap paper. Wait for the teacher before launching your plane.'

Question 78 · Separating an announcement from a response

Announcement: 'The library will open at lunchtime on Wednesdays for a four-week trial. Students may read quietly or borrow books. The trial will be reviewed after four weeks.' Student response: 'I think this is an excellent idea because some readers prefer a quiet space. I hope it will continue every day after the trial.'

Question 79 · Updating understanding after a correction

Original message: 'Place completed maps in the red tray before lunch. Write your name on the back.' Correction: 'The red tray is now being used for another class. Put your maps in the green folder on the teacher's desk instead. The deadline and name instruction are unchanged.'

Question 80 · Comparing incomplete spoken accounts

Mason says, 'I saw the class ball beside the drinking taps just after lunch. I did not see who put it there.' Lina says, 'I saw a ball near the library door later in the afternoon, but I could not see its label.' Both agree that the class ball was missing when equipment was packed away.

Question 81 · Joining and extending a group discussion

Ava says, 'Our group keeps talking at the same time, and we lose the ideas.' Yusuf replies, 'We could take turns holding a card to show who is speaking.' Chloe adds, 'That might help, but we also need someone to jot down the main ideas before we forget them.' Ava asks the group what they should try first.

Question 82 · Recognising and using appropriate formality

Request one: 'Hey, could you pass the tape? I need to fix this corner.' Request two: 'Excuse me, would you please pass the tape when you have finished with it? Thank you for your help.' Adult: Read both naturally and ask the learner to compare the wording, without assuming a person's identity from their voice.

Question 83 · Combining two heard information sources

Garden report: 'The class checked the garden taps after lunch for five days. On two days, a tap was still dripping, and the teacher arranged for it to be checked.' Poster group report: 'After the initial check, we made a reminder beside the taps asking users to turn them off gently and report a leak. We have not yet repeated the five-day check.'

Question 84 · Discussing evidence-based predictions

Mara found an envelope tucked behind a book on the class shelf. It had no name on the front, only a drawing of the school clock. Inside was a small map with the library circled. The bell rang before Mara could look more closely. She placed the envelope safely on the teacher's desk and went to join her group.

Question 85 · Using feedback about structure and delivery

My first draft explained our model before telling listeners what it was for. One partner suggested moving the purpose to the beginning. Another partner said I spoke too quickly when listing the materials. I can improve the order of my notes, and I can also practise pausing between items. Both suggestions would help, but they address different parts of the presentation.