[originaltext]M: Tell me, Sally, why do you think that opportunities for indepe

M: Tell me, Sally, why do you think that opportunities for independent learning are important for students who have access to class instruction of good quality, and on a regular basis?
W: Well, there are so many who haven’t, aren’t there? Many people who are fully capable to study, and would like to undertake it just can’t go, they just can’t get to classes for one reason or another. They can’t afford it, independent learning is much less expensive, or they have family to look after so that they can’t just leave home, and they may be disabled, and may not be able to use public transport, also they just hate the competitiveness that develops in classroom, or they had really bad experiences in their early educational life.
M: Yes. That is true, but what is the value of independent learning to the majority of students who are already enrolled in classes?
W: Well, they seem to want it. You really learn, after all, on your own. You need extra practice, don’t you? Yes, they, or at least some of them, do want to learn from it.
M: Tell me how you set about identifying the strengths and the weaknesses of individual students.
W: We use a set of tests designed by colleagues. We’re still in process of evaluating their usefulness, but students don’t seem to resist the tests as stressful, and so far, the recommendations based on the results seem to have been found helpful. Accuracy in diagnosing weaknesses is our most difficult problem. None of the means we have so far used seems any more accurate than the students’ own account of where they think their difficulties lie.
M: Can you tell me of any materials you recommend to someone who is concerned, for example, about the pronunciation of English?
W: So many of them are! A lot of them say that native speakers just don’t understand them! There are some very good practice books. There’s a blue one we use that seems very good, and it has a tape, let me see that must be two tapes, and it’s very useful indeed. I can’t remember the exact title but I’m afraid something to do with English pronunciation. I wish I could think of who wrote that book, but it’s been around a long time and it’s very good.
M: Yes, well, thank you very much, Sally.
W: Well, can I go now? Don’t you want to ask me anything more? Because I’ve tried to be informative. Thank you very much. I hope I’ll hear from you soon.
Questions 6 to 10 are based on what you have just heard.
6. Why can’t some people get to classes?
7. What’s the value of independent learning to the majority of students?
8. What’s the most difficult problem in identifying student’s strengths and weaknesses?
9. What does Sally fail to recollect about the book to help students’ pronunciation?
10. Why does Sally want to talk more?