8.1. Listening on Exam Day
Walk through the Listening half hour as it will actually happen.
The short version
Make sure you can hear clearly before the recording starts.
The recording controls the clock, not you.
After the last recording you get two minutes to check.
Use the final minutes to fill every blank.
Listening comes first
Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting. Listening comes first, so you have not warmed up on anything else when the first recording plays. Speaking may be on another day. What follows takes you from that moment to the end of the Listening test.
You wear headphones. Check the sound level before the recording starts, and tell the invigilator if you cannot hear clearly.
You type or click each answer as you listen. Use the pauses to reread what you have typed. You can highlight words in the questions.
During each part
- 1In the pause before each set of questions
About 30 seconds. In Parts 1 to 3 the questions come in two halves, with a pause before each half. Part 4 has one pause and no break in the middle. Classify every gap in the set. Find the start on a map. Read choice stems.
- 2While the recording plays
Write the detail that stands after any correction: speakers often give one answer and then change it. If you miss one, take the next. Questions follow the recording, so the next answer is still ahead of you.
- 3In the pause after the part
Check plurals and spellings for the part you have just heard. Then turn to the next part's questions.
After the last recording
- 1In the two minutes
Recheck names and plurals. Fill every blank with a guess. The test closes when time ends.
- 2Do not
Rethink Part 4 from memory, or change an answer because it 'felt' wrong. What you heard is better evidence than what you feel now.
Quiz time1 question
Check
Choose the best use of the last two minutes.
You are checking your answers at the end. Question 7 is blank, and the date you typed for question 15 now feels wrong. What should you do?
Recap
Before the recording starts, make sure you can hear clearly, and tell the invigilator if not.
Use every pause on the questions that are coming.
Use the two minutes at the end for names, plurals and blanks.
Next: quick answers to the questions that come up most.