Listening: A Voicemail Taking and Leaving Messages
A voicemail taking and leaving messages is a B1 listening text in the asynchronous phone genre. The audio covers several voicemails — left by a friend rearranging plans, by a colleague forwarding information, by a service provider confirming an appointment. Learners practise identifying caller, purpose, and required action from a one-way message with no opportunity to ask for clarification.
This worksheet builds B1 listening comprehension through voicemail messages.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- Three short voicemail audios (~1–2 minutes each) with annotated transcripts
- Pre-listening vocabulary box with voicemail conventions
- Message-form completion: caller, purpose, action required, callback number
- Multiple-choice on each voicemail’s main point
- Production task: write a short voicemail message of your own
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes
Common challenges: No-feedback listening at B1 — voicemails don’t pause and can’t be asked to repeat. Phone-specific phrases: This is X calling for…, Just wanted to let you know that…, Give me a call back when you can. Callback numbers and email addresses spoken aloud need careful tracking.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B1, in intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Maps onto Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening Part 1 and B2 First (FCE) Listening. Part of the Phone & Customer Service collection — the natural next step is A Customer Service Call, which extends phone listening into service-handling.
