Listening Framework – A Complete Listening Skills Series by Compass Publishing

Listening Framework is a comprehensive English listening skills series published by Compass Publishing, designed to support learners from Pre-A1 to B2+. More than a traditional listening course, Listening Framework provides a structured learning program that helps students understand the internal structure of listening passages and develop strong analytical comprehension skills through systematic note-taking strategies. This approach makes it an ideal choice for learners preparing for school assessments, international exams, and real academic listening tasks.

The series is divided into clear levels to suit different stages of learning. Listening Framework Basic (Basic 1–3: Pre-A1 to A2) focuses on building foundational listening skills using familiar, real-life topics. Listening Framework Elementary (Elementary 1–3: A1+ to B1) expands learners’ ability to understand longer texts and more varied situations. For higher-level learners, Listening Framework Intermediate (A2+ to B2) and Pre-Advanced (B1+ to B2+) introduce academic topics and exam-style listening tasks similar to Cambridge YLE, TOSEL, TESOL, and TOEFL iBT.

One of the key strengths of Listening Framework is its strong emphasis on note-taking. Each unit teaches learners how to use sketch note-taking and organized note-taking to capture key ideas while listening. Instead of listening passively, students learn how to identify main ideas, details, organization, and connections between information. At higher levels, learners practice advanced note-taking methods and apply them directly to test-style questions, helping them become confident and independent listeners.

Each Student Book unit follows a clear and effective structure. The Words to Know section introduces essential unit vocabulary with clear illustrations and dictionary-style definitions. Listening Focus presents the topic and targeted comprehension skills for the unit. Learners then apply these skills in Task 1 and Task 2, which include a balanced mix of monologues and dialogues from different sound sources and question types. This gradual progression helps improve both listening fluency and accuracy.

Special sections such as Fine Tune and Global English further strengthen listening performance. Fine Tune activities train learners to distinguish similar sounds, stress, and pronunciation, while Global English exposes students to both American and British accents, as well as different expressions of the same idea. This prepares learners for real-world English and international exams.

The series also includes Unit Tests and regular Reviews, allowing students to revisit and consolidate what they have learned. Workbooks are closely linked to the Student Books and include writing-based performance tasks, making Listening Framework suitable for classroom assessment as well as self-study.

To support teachers and learners, Listening Framework provides a full set of additional resources, including MP3 audio, transcripts, lesson plans, word lists, tests, answer keys, and writing worksheets. These materials make lesson planning easy and ensure consistent progress.

In summary, Listening Framework by Compass Publishing is a well-structured, level-spanning listening course that combines real-world topics, exam preparation, and powerful note-taking strategies. It is an excellent solution for learners who want to build confident, accurate, and exam-ready listening skills from beginner to advanced levels.