Overview of the Listening Module
The Listening Module takes about 30 minutes to complete. It consists of four recorded sections. Each section contains 10 questions. So, there are 40 questions in all.
Since the recording is played only once, your success depends on knowing what information to listen for.
You don’t need any specialist knowledge to understand any of these records. However, you should be able to deal with a variety of topics, voices and accents. Sometimes you might even hear non-native accents like Spanish or German.
The Listening Module tests your ability to manage the following skills.
- Listening for specific information
- Understanding the speaker’s opinion
- Listening for main ideas, supporting information and other details
We have already seen that there are four sections in the Listening Module. Each of these sections may have up to three types of questions.
Before each recording is played, you will hear a short introduction about the speaker(s) and the situation. You are then given time to read the questions. Note that the questions always follow the order of the information presented in the recording.
After each section you will get 30 seconds to check your answers.
Section 1
The first recording section usually deals with a social situation. The kinds of questions that are most likely to be asked in this section are short answer, multiple choice and form completion.
This section tests your ability to listen for specific information such as names, prices etc.
Examples of conversations you may have to listen to in section 1 are given below.
Making an appointment to meet a colleague, doctor or friend
Asking a passer-by for directions
Checking into a hostel
Answering the questions of officials at an airport
Section 2
The second recording section usually concerns social and training needs.
You will hear a monologue on a non-academic topic. The kind of questions that are asked in this section include sentence / note / flow chart / table completion. This section tests your ability to listen for main or supporting ideas.
Examples of conversations you may have to listen to in section 2 are given below.
A speech on healthy eating
A radio program about the cultural / historic monuments in a city
A talk about enrolment procedures at a sports club
