The
Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English Examination
The Listening Test - Paper 4 (1 hour 15 minutes)
By Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)
The CAE
listening test is in four parts. There is a separate answer sheet for this
paper and you will have time at the end of the test to write your answers on this answer sheet.
The texts
may be phone messages, instructions, news, public announcements, news,
advertisements, speeches, interviews, quizzes or transactions.
BEFORE THE TEST
As with the
reading test, there is little revision that you can do immediately before the
test. Your success in the listening test will depend on how many tapes and
videos you have borrowed and listened to throughout your preparation for the
CAE exam. You should have experience of a variety of different accents. During
your preparation for the test you should have done exercises on a variety of
songs, watched videos without subtitles and with closed captions (if possible).
You should have tried to watch films on the television with the SAP switched on
(if possible), and if you have cable tv at home, you should regularly watch
news broadcasts on CNN and especially on BBC World (most of the texts that you
will hear in the test will be in British English). You should borrow the course
cassettes from your teacher and review the listening exercises in your course
book, so that you can become accustomed to the type of exercises included in
the CAE listening paper.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF YOUR NOTEBOOK TO REVISE:
Homophones
(words which sound the same but are spelt differently) and homonyms (words
which sound the same and are spelt the same but have a different meaning). Also
check your 'Pronunciation - words and silent letters' pages carefully, so that
you will be able to recognise words which are pronounced differently than they
are spelt. Revise all vocabulary areas before the test; understanding what is
being said during the exam will depend on your range of vocabulary and ability
to recognize grammatical structures.
Make sure
that you revised all the functions on Viv's functions worksheet and found the
appropriate section in your course book where they are covered.
THE TEST
The
listening test is in four parts and has a total of between thirty and forty
questions. It will take about 45 minutes to complete the test and each listening
text will be heard twice. You will only be penalized for incorrect spelling if
the word has been spelt out on the tape.
Part 1 - Sentence completion / note taking (8 -
10 questions)
You will
hear a monologue of approximately two minutes. It may be an announcement, radio
broadcast, telephone message, speech, lecture etc. You have to fill in the
missing information to complete sentences. You will here the tape twice.
Part 2 - Sentence completion / note taking (8 -
10 questions)
This part
is very similar to part one. The monologue will be of around two minutes
duration and may include more than one speaker. HOWEVER, YOU WILL ON LY HEAR
THIS DIALOGUE ONCE!
Part 3 - Sentence completion / multiple choice
(6 - 12 questions)
There will
be a conversation between two or three speakers and it will last for around
four minutes. It may be one of the speaking types in part 1 or may be an
interview or a meeting. You will hear the conversation twice and have either
complete sentences or answer multiple choice questions.
Part 4 - Multiple matching / multiple choice
(10 questions)
You will
hear five short extracts (maybe involving more than two speakers) lasting
approximately 30 seconds. You may have to identify the speakers, interpret the
context or recognise the function of what is being said, choosing from a list
with eight possibilities. Alternatively, there may be ten three option multiple
choice questions. There are two tasks to complete and you will hear the tape
twice.
EXAMINATION TECHNIQUES:
While listening
to the instructions on the tape, read the questions carefully and try to
predict what you are going to hear. You can use a highlighting pen to highlight
key words in the questions.
Try to
answer as many questions as you can the first time you hear the text. You can
then confirm or correct your answers when you hear the text for the second
time.
You will
probably hear words which you don't understand during the listening text. DON'T
PANIC! As in the reading test, focus on the context and try to work out the
general meaning. From the context you should be able to hear if the word is a
noun, adjective, adverb or verb. This information should give you an idea about
what it may be.
In multiple
choice questions, look out for 'red herrings'.
In multiple
choice questions, there are often two answers which are similar, one which
looks correct and is usually a 'red herring' - this means an answer which looks
correct at first sight (it may include words taken from the text) but it is
there to distract you, and one answer which is completely wrong. The correct
answer will usually be found as one of the two similar answers. (See example
below)
a) Looks correct. (Red Herring)
b) Similar. (Possible)
c) Looks incorrect. (Wrong)
d) Similar. (Possible)
In part two
of the test, make sure that you remember that you will only hear the taped
dialogue ONCE. Therefore, it is even more important that you read the
task that you will have to complete carefully, highlighting important words
with a highlighting pen.
Don't
expect to hear the answer clearly on the tape. You may be expected to interpret what was said and to put the answer in your own words.
FINALLY!
Good luck in the interview! Don't forget that the examiners are on your side, if you speak half as well as you can speak in class, you'll pass the interview.