PSLE English Learning Guide · Guide 44 · Listening Comprehension workshop
Return to the PSLE Learning Guide · Listening Comprehension owner · Previous: Sequence and Changed Information
A picture can contain every noun you heard and still be the wrong answer.
Suppose the audio says, “Place the red bag under the chair beside the door.” Three picture options may all contain a red bag, a chair and a door. The answer depends on the relationships: under the chair and beside the door.
The 2026 PSLE English Language syllabus states that graphic representations are used for the first seven Listening Comprehension items. Each text is read twice, and candidates are given time to read the questions before the first reading. This guide owns one narrow job: translate spoken relationships into a visual state, then choose the picture that matches all decisive details.
The skill is not “spot the word”. It is “reconstruct the scene”.
Choose the graphic-listening difficulty you actually have
If all the pictures contain the same objects, begin with relationships. If left/right/front/behind cause errors, use position. If the audio describes movement, use direction and final location. If counts are confused, use quantity. If an earlier picture state is later changed, use update the image. If two options remain, use difference-first verification.
Relationships · Position · Direction · Quantity · Update · Final two · Main practice · Independent practice
Listen for the relationship between objects
Audio:
“The umbrella is leaning against the bench.”
Wrong picture may show an umbrella under the bench.
Another wrong picture may show it beside the bench without touching it.
The noun pair is the same. The spatial relationship differs.
Before the audio begins, scan the options and ask: What changes between these pictures?
If the only difference is umbrella position, position is likely to be the decisive detail.
Read the options by differences, not by inventory
Weak preview:
“All three pictures have a table, two books and a cup.”
Stronger preview:
A: cup left of books.
B: cup right of books.
C: cup between books.
Now the listener knows what relationship to listen for.
Question-reading time can therefore be used to identify discriminating features without guessing the answer.
Position words need a reference object
left of something.
right of something.
in front of something.
behind something.
between two things.
under, above, inside, outside, beside, opposite.
Do not store “left” by itself. Store:
lamp left of books
Otherwise, a later object can steal the relationship.
Left and right depend on the described viewpoint
In ordinary diagram or picture tasks, “to the left of the door” usually describes the positions as represented or from the stated observer viewpoint.
If an audio text says, “As you face the stage, the exit is on your right,” the phrase as you face the stage sets the viewpoint.
Do not silently switch to the speaker’s body direction if the text gives another orientation.
When viewpoint is unspecified in original practice, avoid constructing ambiguous options.
Position can form a chain
Audio:
“The box is beside the chair, and the chair is in front of the noticeboard.”
Do not automatically conclude that the box is also directly in front of the noticeboard. It may be offset.
The text directly gives:
box ↔ beside chair
chair ↔ in front of noticeboard
Only infer the box’s wider position if the picture geometry and wording support it.
Movement questions require a starting point and an end point
Audio:
“The boy walks past the fountain and stops at the second bench.”
A wrong picture may show the first bench.
Another may show the boy still walking past the fountain.
The correct state is the final state after movement: second bench.
Mark:
start → path → final
Route words combine sequence and direction
Audio:
“Turn left after the staircase, then take the first door on your right.”
The first left turn does not tell you which door to choose. The second instruction matters.
Build the route in order:
stairs → left → first door right
Do not let the word left dominate the final choice if the option difference concerns the door.
Quantity questions hide inside pictures
Audio:
“Place three notebooks on the table and one in the drawer.”
Total notebooks = four.
But the picture must show the distribution:
3 on table + 1 in drawer
An option with four on the table contains the correct total but wrong arrangement.
Store number + noun + place together.
Grouping matters as much as count
Audio:
“Two pupils stand beside the poster while the other three wait near the door.”
The correct picture requires five pupils distributed 2 + 3.
A picture with five pupils all beside the poster matches the total but not the grouping.
Colour, size and type are relationship labels too
Audio:
“Put the smaller blue box beneath the shelf.”
You need:
box + blue + smaller + beneath shelf.
Do not choose a large blue box just because colour matches.
Do not choose a small red box just because size matches.
Graphic listening is often intersection: several features must be true at once.
Update the picture when the speaker corrects a plan
Audio:
“At first, we placed the sign beside the lift. It was difficult to see there, so we moved it opposite the staircase.”
OLD picture: beside lift.
FINAL picture: opposite staircase.
The earlier location remains a distractor because it was genuinely spoken.
Guide 43 develops changed-information tracking in detail.
Planned movement is not completed movement
Audio:
“We will move the table beside the window after lunch.”
If the question asks where the table is now, the future location is not current.
If it asks where the table will be after lunch, the future location matters.
Question time controls the visual state.
Pictures can represent stages rather than positions
Audio:
“First fold the card, then cut along the dotted line, and finally open it.”
Options may show:
A. folded card.
B. cutting stage.
C. final opened result.
If the question asks “Which picture shows the final result?”, choose C.
If it asks “What should the pupil do after folding?”, choose the cutting stage.
Negative wording can reverse a visual choice
Audio:
“Do not place the bag under the table. Leave it on the chair.”
The first location is mentioned precisely to reject it.
Listen for not, instead, except, no longer, rather than.
A heard noun or location is not automatically a positive instruction.
Comparatives can determine the picture
Audio:
“The second tower is taller than the first but shorter than the third.”
Order:
first < second < third
The correct graphic must preserve relative height, not exact measured height.
Draw a tiny ordering arrow if needed.
When two options remain, name the exact difference
Option B and C both show:
red bag under chair, chair beside door.
Difference:
B: two books on chair.
C: one book on chair.
Now use the second reading to listen only for the book count.
Do not reprocess every detail equally.
Main original graphic-choice set
Because this page is text-only, each “picture” is described precisely. A tutor can sketch the options or convert them into simple cards. The scripts and options are original eduKate material.
Item 1: Position
Audio: “The water bottle is on the floor beneath the left side of the bench.”
Picture A: bottle on bench.
Picture B: bottle under left side of bench.
Picture C: bottle under right side of bench.
Answer: B.
Decisive features: under + left side.
Item 2: Quantity and grouping
Audio: “Two red folders are on the table, and one blue folder is on the chair.”
A: two red on table + one blue on chair.
B: one red + one blue on table + one red on chair.
C: three folders on table.
Answer: A.
Item 3: Changed location
Audio: “We first put the poster beside the door, but it is now opposite the staircase.”
A: beside door.
B: opposite staircase.
C: above staircase.
Answer: B.
Item 4: Direction
Audio: “After the fountain, turn right and stop at the first shelter.”
A: first shelter on right after fountain.
B: second shelter on right.
C: first shelter on left.
Answer: A.
Item 5: Sequence
Audio: “Place the paper inside the envelope before sealing it.”
A: sealed empty envelope beside paper.
B: paper inside open envelope.
C: paper taped outside envelope.
Question: Which picture shows what should happen before sealing?
Answer: B.
Item 6: Negative instruction
Audio: “Do not leave the umbrella beside the door. Put it in the stand near the window.”
A: umbrella beside door.
B: umbrella in stand near window.
C: umbrella on floor near window.
Answer: B.
Item 7: Relative size
Audio: “The green box is larger than the yellow box but smaller than the blue box.”
A: green largest.
B: yellow < green < blue.
C: blue < green < yellow.
Answer: B.
Option-difference map
Before listening, reduce each item to one contrast:
1: left vs right vs on top.
2: colour distribution.
3: old vs final location.
4: right/left + first/second.
5: stage of process.
6: rejected vs required location.
7: size ordering.
This preview gives listening a target.
Use the second reading as a difference detector
If Item 4’s final two options are both on the right, listen for first or second shelter.
If Item 2’s final two options contain the same total number of folders, listen for colour and location distribution.
If Item 3’s final two options both contain the same poster and staircase, listen for beside/opposite and the update signal.
One discriminating feature can settle the item.
Minimal notation for graphic items
L / R = left/right.
↑ / ↓ = above/below or increase/decrease when unambiguous.
2R T + 1B C = two red folders on table, one blue on chair.
old D → new St = old door location to new staircase location.
Use notation only if it makes listening easier. Writing a private code that takes longer than the audio is counterproductive.
Beware the “heard word” distractor
Audio mentions door and window.
A picture with the object at the door may feel familiar because door was heard first.
But the sentence says:
“Not beside the door; put it near the window.”
Familiarity is not evidence.
Reconstruct the relationship.
Graphic detail still sits inside a spoken text
Even when a question asks for one visual arrangement, the wider spoken context can help.
If the text is giving safety instructions, an option that blocks an exit may conflict with a later sentence.
If the text describes a changed route, an earlier location may be obsolete.
Do not isolate one phrase so strongly that the rest of the audio disappears.
Independent original set
Item A
Audio: “Place the small plant between the two taller plants.”
A: small plant left of both tall plants.
B: small plant between two tall plants.
C: small plant in front of one tall plant.
Answer: B.
Item B
Audio: “Three pupils are waiting inside the shelter, while two are standing beside the bicycle rack.”
A: 3 shelter + 2 rack.
B: 2 shelter + 3 rack.
C: all 5 shelter.
Answer: A.
Item C
Audio: “The trolley was beside the lift earlier, but it has been moved to the wall opposite the office.”
A: beside lift.
B: opposite office.
C: inside office.
Answer: B.
Item D
Audio: “After passing the noticeboard, take the second door on the left.”
A: first left door.
B: second left door.
C: second right door.
Answer: B.
Item E
Audio: “The black bag is heavier than the blue bag but lighter than the red bag.”
A: blue < black < red.
B: black < blue < red.
C: red < black < blue.
Answer: A.
Graphic-listening error ledger
Object match only. Identify relationship.
Correct total, wrong distribution. Store number + type + place.
First location chosen. Track update.
Direction but wrong ordinal. Store first/second/third.
Negative instruction ignored. Mark rejected state.
Future plan chosen for current-state question. Check time.
Two options remain vague. Name their exact difference before second reading.
Parent and tutor guide: draw crude pictures, not beautiful ones
This skill does not require artistic drawing.
Use circles, squares and arrows.
Say: “red circle under square, blue triangle beside square”. Ask the pupil to select or sketch the arrangement.
Then add one changed instruction: “Actually, move the red circle above the square.”
Later combine quantity, direction and sequence.
The goal is rapid relation-building, not artwork.
The Listening Graphic Choice card
What differs between the options? Which relationship should I listen for? What is the reference object? What is the final state? Did a negative or correction cancel an earlier picture? Does the quantity and grouping match? What single feature separates my final two options?
Choose the picture that reconstructs the spoken scene, not the picture containing the most familiar words.
Batch 11 routes
41 Reading Aloud Pronunciation · 42 Reading Aloud Expression · 43 Listening Sequence & Changed Information · 44 Listening Graphic Choice
Return to the PSLE Learning Guide · Broader Listening owner
Sources and boundaries
Official assessment reference: SEAB: PSLE formats examined in 2026 and the linked English Language 0001 syllabus. The syllabus states that graphic representations are used for the first seven Listening Comprehension items, each text is read twice, and candidates receive time to read questions before the first reading.
Teaching boundary: Every script, option description, sketching routine and answer discussion here is original eduKate material. They are not official PSLE picture items, official distractor patterns or official note-taking instructions.