Listening: At What Age Should Kids Get a Phone?

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B2 | Listening from video | 12 min

At What Age Should Kids Get a Phone?

Watch the whole video. You can watch more than once. Then answer the questions below. (5:45)

Choose the best answer.

1. What is the main idea of the conversation?

____ Banning phones in schools clearly improves grades and mental health.____ Phone bans are spreading, but their real benefits are still unclear.____ Parents should delay smartphones until their children finish school.

2. What will English schools be expected to do from September 2026?

____ Ban phones in lessons only, but allow them at lunch.____ Let pupils use phones at break times, but not in class.____ Keep phones out of use for the whole school day.

3. What did the 2025 study of about 1,200 English teenagers find?

____ Strict schools showed no real difference in mental health, sleep or grades.____ Strict schools showed clearly better grades but worse sleep.____ Strict schools showed clearly lower mental health scores.

4. What do the speakers advise parents to think about when choosing a first phone?

____ Whether the child's friends already own phones and use group chats.____ Whether the child is ready to cope with school, sleep and social pressure.____ Whether the child has already finished primary school.

True, False or Not Given? Choose Not Given if the video does not say.

5. Teachers helped to write the new guidance for schools in England.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

6. France has extended its school phone ban to high schools as well.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

7. The 2015 study found that the highest-achieving students gained the most from phone bans.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

Complete each sentence with the words you hear.

A NUMBER from the video.

8. Roughly ____ percent of countries have a nationwide ban on phones in school, according to UNESCO.

A NUMBER from the video.

9. Pupils at schools with strict rules used their phones for about ____ fewer minutes while they were at school.

A NUMBER from the video.

10. One research team collected information from more than ____ young adults.

At What Age Should Kids Get a Phone?

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