1. Before you listen
Read the topic title. What words or situations do you expect to hear? Do not open the transcript yet.
2. Listen
First listen: focus on the general meaning. Second listen: listen for the detail you need to answer the question.
Plays: 0
3. Check your understanding
What hidden cost is emphasised?
4. Listen and read
Try the question before opening the transcript.
Digital platforms do not merely compete for money; they compete for attention, which is finite. A service can be free in monetary terms while still extracting value from the user's time and behaviour. This complicates ordinary ideas about consumer choice because the cost is partly invisible. The relevant question is not simply what people pay, but what they surrender in order to keep using a service.
5. Speaking follow-up
Answer these questions aloud in complete sentences:
- What is the main situation or argument in this listening?
- Which detail was most important for understanding the message?
- What is your own experience or opinion of this topic?