CAE Listening Tips

Tips for the Cambridge Advanced Listenings

PART 1 LISTENING CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED TEST

Part 1 is a multiple choice section. You hear people talking to each other and you have two questions about what you hear. There are three short recordings, which means a total of 6 questions to answer.

PART 2 LISTENING CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED TEST

Part 2 is called 'sentence completion'. Someone talks about a topic for about 3 minutes. You have to show you understand what he says by filling in the gaps of 8 sentences. 
You should use your preparation time to predict answers? 

Well, we haven't heard the recording yet, but we can already eliminate some of those answers. Be sure to read the whole sentence and make sure your answer fits grammatically!

This is a classic case of Cambridge distractors! By mentioning three different types of objects, things, people, places they make it easy for weak students to make a mistake. Look and listen closely to two of the possible answers.

PART 3 LISTENING CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED TEST

Part 3 is another multiple choice activity (like part 1), but this time there's only one recording and it's quite long - up to 4 minutes. The format is often an interview. There are 6 questions. 
GENERAL TIPS

You hear the answers in the order of the questions. In other words, the first answer comes at the start of the recording and the last answer is at the end.

As soon as part 2 is over, turn to part 3 and start reading the questions. This is the section with the most text so the more time you can spend reading, the better. Start by reading the question stems and if you have time, go back and start reading the choices. Underline key words.

As always, Cambridge use distractors in this section. Be very suspicious of 'exact match' phrases. If option C uses the word 'plenty' and one of the speakers uses the word 'plenty', it's probably not the answer.

Eliminate answers that are clearly wrong. Often it's possible to eliminate 3 of the 4 choices, so you can get the answer even if you don't know the meaning of a certain word.

There will be words you don't know. You have to develop the skill of guessing what words mean based on context.

PART 4 LISTENING CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED TEST

Part 4 causes such chaos and confusion in class. This is the most tricky part


Some students do Task One when listening the first time and Task Two when the recording is replayed. That works for some people but I don't recommend it. It's not the optimal method. For most students, I'd advise doing both tasks simultaneously, But paying a bit more attention to one side than the other and then the second time you listen try doing it the another way round.

After part 4 is repeated, you get 5 minutes to copy your answers from the question paper to the answer sheet. If you have any blank spaces at this point, just guess. You never lose points for incorrect answers.

Be very, very careful to put your answers in the right spaces. It's an easy mistake to make.

DISTRACTORS

Cambridge uses distractors to lead weaker students in the wrong direction. If you underline a key word in the answer and you hear that exact word in the recording, it's probably not the answer! 

LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES

One of the best ways to improve (and to learn about distractors) is to read the transcript of the recording after you've done the exercise. In my experience, students never do this, and it's a real shame. Not only will you learn some vocabulary and grammar by studying the transcript, but you'll see which of Cambridge's traps you fell into.

Otros Consejos y Trucos para aprobar tu examen de Advanced de Cambridge

Desde English Examination Institute hemos creado los mejores consejos para ti. Nuestros cursos desarrollan en profundidad todos estos consejos además de incluir recursos y prácticas continuas para que puedas dar lo mejor de ti mismo en la prueba. Los consejos para los exámenes estarán en inglés ya que presuponemos que si usted tiene nivel para acceder a un curso de ADVANCED CAE tiene el nivel suficiente para entender nuestras recomendaciones. Vamos allá!!!

CONSEJOS PARA LA PARTE DE SPEAKING

CONSEJOS PARA LA PARTE DE USE OF ENGLISH

CONSEJOS PARA LA PARTE DE READING

CONSEJOS PARA LA PARTE DE LISTENING

CONSEJOS PARA LA PARTE DE WRITING

ESTRUCTURA DEL EXAMEN DE ADVANCED

INFORMACIÓN ADICIONAL PARA CAE

NUESTROS CURSOS DE PREPARACIÓN DE ADVANCED (CAE)

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