The format at a glance
| Part | Situation | Speakers | Typical tasks | What makes it hard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everyday transaction: a booking, enquiry or registration | 2 | Form, note or table completion | Names and numbers spelled out, corrections mid-sentence |
| 2 | Everyday monologue: a tour, a talk about local facilities, a radio item | 1 (sometimes introduced by a host) | Multiple choice, map or plan labelling, matching | Spatial language; every option gets mentioned |
| 3 | Education or training discussion: students with a tutor | 2–4 | Multiple choice, choose TWO, matching, flow-chart | Opinions change; you must track who says what |
| 4 | Academic lecture | 1 | Note, table or summary completion | No pause in the middle; ten answers in a row; academic vocabulary |
Each recording is played once. There is time to read the questions before each part and, in Parts 1–3, halfway through. Part 4 runs straight through, so you preview all ten questions at the start. On computer you type answers as you listen and have 2 minutes at the end to check them. The recordings last about 30 minutes in total.
The preview routine (every question set)
Spend preview time on the questions, not on instructions you already know.
- Read the limit and the task. ONE WORD ONLY? ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER? Choose TWO?
- Predict each gap. Decide the word class (noun, number, adjective), singular or plural, and the meaning category: a day, a price, a material, a job.
- Mark the anchor and the paraphrase. Names, numbers and headings usually stay the same in the audio; ordinary keywords are usually paraphrased (cost → you’d be paying).
- Reduce each multiple-choice option to 2–3 distinguishing words, so you can hear the difference quickly.
- Read one question ahead. The next question is your safety net if you miss this one.
The distractor patterns
| Pattern | What you hear | Defence |
|---|---|---|
| Correction | It’s on the 14th — no, sorry, the 16th. | Write nothing final until the sentence ends |
| Rejected option | We thought about the coach, but it’s far too slow, so it’ll be the train. | Listen for but, actually, in the end, to be honest |
| Changed plan | The class used to be on Mondays; it’s moved to Thursdays. | Answer the current arrangement unless the question asks about the past |
| Near numbers | fifteen versus fifty; double four; oh for zero | -teen is stressed at the end, -ty at the start |
| Everything mentioned | All three options come up in the conversation | The right one survives; the others are dismissed, qualified or belong to someone else |
| General then exception | Most rooms have a projector, apart from the annexe. | Check which case the question asks about |
Part-by-part strategy
Part 1: aim for 10 out of 10
- Names are spelled letter by letter. Write each letter as you hear it, and watch for double and easily confused letters such as A/E/I, B/V and G/J.
- Numbers come in chunks: phone numbers in groups, prices with pence or cents, times with quarter to and half past.
- Part 1 often opens with a worked example. Its answer is given to you and is not one of the 40 questions.
- Don’t repeat words already printed around the gap. If the form shows a currency sign or Road, write only the missing part.
Part 2: maps, plans and options
- Orient yourself in the preview. Find the entrance or You are here, the compass and the labelled landmarks. The labels come in question order, so trace the speaker’s route as they describe it.
- Location language decides these questions: opposite, adjacent to, at the far end, on your left as you come in, just past, in the north-east corner.
- In matching tasks, the deciding detail usually comes right after the item is named.
Part 3: track opinions, not facts
- Note speakers’ names in the preview. Questions ask what someone thinks, prefers, is worried about or agrees with.
- Agreement and disagreement are often indirect: I suppose so, but… is partial agreement, and That’s one way of looking at it often signals disagreement.
- Choose TWO: the letters can go in either order and each correct letter earns one mark. Expect four or five options to be discussed; two are confirmed.
- Views change during the discussion. The answer is the view the speaker ends with.
Part 4: ten answers without a break
- Preview all ten questions at the start and use the note headings as a map of the lecture.
- Signposts move you on: Turning now to…, Another factor is…, To take an example…. If you hear a new heading’s topic, jump to it.
- Answers are mostly nouns, often less common academic words. A word you recognise but misspell still loses the mark, so build a personal spelling list from your practice.
Question types: method and trap
| Type | Method | Main trap |
|---|---|---|
| Form, note, table, flow-chart and summary completion | Predict word class and meaning; write exactly what you hear | Plurals, word limits, misspelling |
| Sentence completion | The completed sentence must be grammatical | An answer that means the right thing but doesn’t fit the grammar |
| Short-answer questions | Answer the exact wh- word: where, which, how often | Giving a reason when the question asks for a time |
| Multiple choice | Match distinguishing ideas, not shared words | The option whose words you actually hear is often wrong |
| Matching | Keep the option list visible; options may be used more than once | Assuming each option is used once |
| Plan, map and diagram labelling | Follow the route from the starting point | Losing the starting point, then guessing every label |
Spelling and format rules
A misspelled answer, or one over the word limit, is wrong. British and American spellings are both accepted and capitals don’t matter. A number in figures counts as one word, and so does a hyphenated word.
The recovery rule
If you realise you have missed an answer, stop listening for it immediately. Move your eyes to the next question’s anchor word and listen for that. Enter a best guess for the missed question in the 2-minute check. Chasing a lost answer is how one mistake becomes three.
Practice method: the transcript loop
- Do one part under test conditions, played once.
- Mark it, then replay it with the transcript. For every miss, find the exact sentence that gave the answer and label the cause: prediction, distractor, spelling, limit, or lost place.
- Shadow or write out the sentences you missed until you can catch them at full speed.
- Add every misspelled word to your spelling list and review it with flashcards.
One part plus review takes about 25 minutes. Include a range of accents every week.
Common traps
Quick recap
- 37/40 is Band 8.5: your error budget is three answers.
- Preview every set: limit, word class, meaning, anchors, one question ahead.
- Know the distractors: corrections, rejected options, changed plans, near numbers.
- Part 1 is a perfect-score part; Part 2 needs orientation; Part 3 tracks opinions; Part 4 follows the headings.
- A missed answer is gone: move to the next anchor and guess it later.