--- title: "Speaking & Listening" description: "29 topics in English, in the order they build on each other." canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/areas/speaking-and-listening source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/areas/speaking-and-listening.md retrieved: 2026-10-19 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Speaking & Listening 29 topics in English, in the order they build on each other. Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/areas/speaking-and-listening - [Expressing & Justifying Opinions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressing-and-justifying-opinions-mt_S0hzjAeLSK): Articulate and justify answers, arguments, and opinions; participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, and debates - [Listening and responding](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/listening-and-responding-mt_mB7DVai-Uf): Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers; follow agreed-upon rules for discussion such as listening to others and taking turns speaking - [Exploring Ideas Through Talk](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/exploring-ideas-through-talk-mt_n6GhzDPllD): Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining, and exploring ideas; use strategies to build vocabulary through talk - [Asking Questions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/asking-questions-mt_f8n4txtLej): Ask relevant questions to extend understanding; ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify something not understood - [Group discussions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/group-discussions-mt_wwdRhPyz6s): Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions - [Describing Aloud](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/describing-aloud-mt_4A7FYmvVhA): Describe familiar people, places, things, and events with detail; speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly; give well-structured descriptions and explanations - [Reciting Poetry](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/reciting-poetry-mt_ZBMcX2oRor): Learn poems by heart and recite with appropriate intonation, adding visual displays to descriptions when appropriate, and producing complete sentences in spoken presentations - [Engaging Listeners and Valuing Viewpoints](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/engaging-listeners-and-valuing-viewpoints-mt_sXRHr7tfS5): Gain, maintain and monitor the interest of listeners when speaking; consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on others' contributions; begin to select appropriate language for different situations - [Preparing for and Explaining in Discussions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/preparing-for-and-explaining-in-discussions-mt_yrMniCJu_S): Come to discussions prepared, draw on preparation and known information, and explain ideas in light of the discussion - [Reporting & Recounting](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/reporting-and-recounting-mt_ds2TOtP8I1): Report on a topic or recount an experience with organised facts and descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace - [Identifying Reasons Behind a Speaker's Points](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/identifying-reasons-behind-a-speakers-points-mt_iodbOOmEQs): Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points, evaluating whether the reasoning is logical and the evidence is relevant - [Paraphrasing What You Hear](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/paraphrasing-what-you-hear-mt_-DuXzMVVXQ): Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, capturing the key ideas accurately in one's own words - [Adapting Speech to Context](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/adapting-speech-to-context-mt_bkvB7QYKwg): Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation while adjusting tone, vocabulary, and style for different audiences - [Building on Others in Discussions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/building-on-others-in-discussions-mt_LNYTNpJOGT): Pose and respond to specific questions in discussions, making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others - [Drawing Conclusions from Discussion](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/drawing-conclusions-from-discussion-mt_Cc-QHVo747): Review the key ideas expressed in discussions and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussion - [Evaluating a Speaker's Argument](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/evaluating-a-speakers-argument-mt_on7FHCDmi-): Summarise the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, evaluating the logic and relevance of the support - [Multimedia Presentations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/multimedia-presentations-mt_VtqvUORa8K): Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes - [Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/summarising-spoken-and-media-presentations-mt_A4YUbzUFan): Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally - [Advanced Collaborative Discussions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/advanced-collaborative-discussions-mt_4oegcJcRlQ): Take part in demanding group discussions: arrive prepared with evidence from reading or research, follow agreed rules and roles, pose questions that connect several speakers' ideas, and qualify or justify views when new evidence emerges - [Speaking Formally and Giving Presentations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/speaking-formally-and-giving-presentations-mt_z07UNAIsNc): Use Standard English confidently in formal and informal spoken contexts. Give short speeches and presentations expressing your own ideas clearly, keeping to the point, and adapting register and vocabulary to the audience. - [Multimedia in Presentations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/multimedia-in-presentations-mt_7LrPGIbf8Z): Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations with intent: choose clips, images, charts and sound that clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest rather than decoration - [Performing Scripts & Poetry](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/performing-scripts-and-poetry-mt_ylFTYS80d1): Improvise, rehearse, and perform play scripts and poetry — using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness, and action to generate language, explore meaning, and add impact to performance - [Formal Debates](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/formal-debates-mt_Yrjn8jAt1c): Participate in formal debates and structured discussions — presenting a position with supporting evidence, responding to others’ points, summarising and building on what has been said, and following rules of discussion - [Weighing a Spoken Argument as You Hear It](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/weighing-a-spoken-argument-as-you-hear-it-mt_eSTvUWJufm): A speaker sets the pace, so the listening has to keep up: hold the line of argument, note the step that was asserted rather than shown, and keep a question in reserve until the speaker has finished making the case. - [Speaking to a Brief and Taking Questions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/speaking-to-a-brief-and-taking-questions-mt_ykCrDCiVIy): Prepare and deliver a formal spoken presentation to a set brief, then answer unrehearsed questions from listeners without abandoning the position taken. - [Seminar Discussion on Shared Reading](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/seminar-discussion-on-shared-reading-mt_pezM0VweIi): Talk about a text everyone in the room has read: bring a reading rather than an opinion, quote to make a point rather than to fill time, and change position out loud when somebody shows you something you missed. - [Child Language: How Speech Develops](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/child-language-how-speech-develops-mt_GC3OSei4tC): Follow how children get from single words to grammar: what they overgeneralise, what the people around them do, and what an error reveals about the rule a child has built. - [Discourse Analysis: How Conversation Is Organised](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/discourse-analysis-how-conversation-is-organised-mt_MKUDTyGxXP): Read a transcript of real talk for its structure: how turns get handed over, how a topic opens and is dropped, how speakers repair themselves, and who does the work of keeping it going. - [Gathering and Transcribing Language Data](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/gathering-and-transcribing-language-data-mt_fxbiLHyXW4): Collect real language to work on: a sample that fits the question, transcribed consistently, with permission from the people whose speech is being used.