A useful note records a problem, a constraint or a decision—not every word.
A useful listening note preserves a relationship: who has a problem, what prevents an easy solution, and what the speakers finally decide. Verb forms add another important distinction: whether an event belongs to the past, has a present consequence or continues over a period.
What the six listening tasks ask you to follow
The six parts move from everyday exchanges toward more formal information and competing opinions. In problem solving, two people identify a difficulty and consider a response. Daily life conversation and listening for information also use dialogue, but the purpose may be a shared plan or an explanation from someone with relevant knowledge. The questions themselves need careful attention: understanding the conversation does not automatically mean understanding what an individual question asks.
A news item presents an event through one speaker, with more formal, descriptive language and sentence-completion answers. A discussion involves three people whose facts, opinions and reactions must be kept separate; names and clothing can help identify them. In viewpoints, one narrator presents several people's positions on an issue. One voice therefore does not mean one opinion. The vocabulary in these later tasks can be less familiar than in ordinary conversations.
The six parts contain 38 scored questions, distributed 8, 5, 6, 5, 8 and 6, with a short introductory practice item for checking equipment. Aim for approximately 33–35 correct answers when working toward level nine, with particularly strong accuracy in the first three parts. Treat this as a practice target: score conversion depends on the difficulty of the test form. The later tasks still matter. For the earlier dialogue questions, plan on about 30 seconds per answer and follow the timer for the particular task.
Understand the relationship, not just the familiar word
Three kinds of understanding recur throughout the tasks. General meaning connects several details into an account of the situation. Specific information concerns a name, role, address, date, time, location or price. Inference draws a supported conclusion from the context. It requires more than recognizing one word in an option.
The introductory situation helps establish expectations. A furniture shop suggests products and returns; an office suggests work details; a bus driver and passenger suggest routes or directions. Those expectations prepare attention and vocabulary. They do not supply an answer before the conversation begins.
Elimination is useful when an option is unrelated to the topic or conflicts with a detail. The remaining choice still needs evidence. The correct answer may paraphrase a benefit rather than repeat the speaker's wording. Conversely, an incorrect option may contain a familiar word from the recording. Clarifications introduced by actually or in fact deserve attention because they can correct an earlier impression.
A next-action question asks for the next action supported by the exchange. An additional step might be sensible in real life without being justified by this conversation. Likewise, a suggestion is not yet an agreement. When one speaker corrects another, retain the corrected detail rather than treating the first statement as final.
For an attitude question, identify exactly what the feeling concerns. In the missing-button example, appreciation for a free repair and hope about arriving before the deadline concern different things. Gratitude about the repair does not answer a question about confidence in the journey.
Notes should keep the conversation moving
Divide the page into two sides and label them by role, such as staff and customer. Keep each speaker's information on the same side and, where possible, in the order it appears. This prevents a customer's request from being mistaken for the staff member's offer, or one person's price or appointment from being assigned to another.
Write enough to recover the meaning while continuing to listen. Short forms, keywords and familiar symbols are sufficient: an upward arrow can indicate a higher price, a dollar sign can stand for money, and dates and quantities can be written as digits. The notes are private working material, not a spelling or grammar exercise.
After writing a short note, return attention immediately to the next spoken sentence. Continuing to think about the point already written can make the next detail disappear.
Numbers deserve particular care because a forgotten price or date is difficult to reconstruct. Detailed descriptions and useful adjectives can also distinguish one item from another. A question asked by a speaker, together with the response it receives, often captures an important exchange. Polite phrases such as my apologies usually matter less in the notes than the information around them. No fixed rule identifies every detail that will be tested; a number is not unimportant merely because a previous practice set did not ask about it.
A Cancelled Robotics Club
Read a conversation between a man and a woman.
Conversation
Woman: Good morning, Lakeview Elementary, Joanne speaking.
Man: Hi, my daughter's in fourth grade, and we just got a letter saying the robotics club is cancelled. Is that right? She came home in tears yesterday.
Woman: I'm afraid it is, and I'm really sorry. The teacher who runs it is starting her leave a month early, and nobody else on staff knows how to use the kits.
Man: That's too bad! She's talked about nothing else since September. But there's another problem. The club ran until 5:30 on Wednesdays, and that's the earliest I can actually get there. My office is across town, and I don't finish until 5:00.
Woman: Okay. Have you looked at our after-care program? It's run by an outside company, but it's right here in the gym. The kids can stay until 6:00, and you pay the company directly, $15 a day.
Man: Can I sign her up for just one day a week?
Woman: Yes, you can book single days. Just call them by Friday for the following week.
Man: Great. And what about the $120 I paid for the club?
Woman: You've got two choices. The first is a refund, which goes back the same way you paid, so it shows up on your card in about ten business days. The second is a credit on your family's school account. You can use that for field trips, hot lunches, or any club we run this year. And if robotics starts again in the spring, you'd be first on the list. The only thing it can't be used for is after-care, since that isn't ours.
Man: Hmm . . . I'll take the money back, then.
Woman: Sure, I'll put that through today.
Man: Thanks. Oh, and if robotics does come back, how will we hear about it?
Woman: It'll be in the monthly newsletter, which goes home in the kids' backpacks on the first Monday of each month.
Man: Backpacks? That's not good! Half of what goes in there never comes out again. Is there any way to get it by email?
Woman: (laughs) You're not the first to ask. Just send me a message from the address you'd like us to use, and I'll add you to the list.
Man: Perfect! Okay, I think that covers everything. Thanks so much for your help!
Questions
Read each question and compare all four choices before consulting the worked answers.
1. Why is the man calling the school?
- A. to complain about a teacher
- B. to ask about the school newsletter
- C. to sign his daughter up for after-care
- D. to find out about a cancelled activity
2. When can the man usually get to the school on Wednesdays?
- A. around 6:00
- B. around 5:00
- C. around 5:30
- D. around 3:30
3. Why does the man mention where his office is?
- A. to ask for a later pickup time
- B. to explain why he can't run the club himself
- C. to explain why he can't arrive any sooner
- D. to request a refund for the club
4. Why does the man probably choose the refund?
- A. The refund comes back right away.
- B. He needs money for after-care.
- C. The credit runs out this month.
- D. His daughter has lost interest.
5. Why does the man ask for the newsletter by email?
- A. He thinks paper notices get lost.
- B. He is rarely home on Mondays.
- C. His daughter does not have a backpack.
- D. He wants news more than once a month.
6. What does the woman's reply about email suggest?
- A. The email list is already full.
- B. She is annoyed by the question.
- C. Other parents have made the same request.
- D. The school will stop paper newsletters.
Worked answers and evidence
1. Answer: D
Evidence:
Hi, my daughter's in fourth grade, and we just got a letter saying the robotics club is cancelled.
- A: He never criticizes the teacher; her leave is simply the reason the club stopped.
- B: The newsletter comes up only near the end, as a follow-up question.
- C: He only learns about after-care during the call, after the woman suggests it.
- D: Correct — He got a letter "saying the robotics club is cancelled" and calls to check whether it is true.
2. Answer: C
Evidence:
The club ran until 5:30 on Wednesdays, and that's the earliest I can actually get there.
- A: 6:00 is when after-care closes, not when he arrives.
- B: He finishes work at 5:00, but his office is across town.
- C: Correct — The club ended at 5:30, and "that's the earliest I can actually get there."
- D: Nothing is said about 3:30.
3. Answer: C
Evidence:
The club ran until 5:30 on Wednesdays, and that's the earliest I can actually get there.
My office is across town, and I don't finish until 5:00.
- A: He never asks the club or the school to stay open later; the woman is the one who suggests after-care.
- B: The club stopped because no one on staff knows the kits, but he never offers to run it.
- C: Correct — The club ended at 5:30, "the earliest I can actually get there," because "My office is across town" and he works until 5:00.
- D: He asks about his money later, as a separate question.
4. Answer: B
Evidence:
The kids can stay until 6:00, and you pay the company directly, $15 a day.
The only thing it can't be used for is after-care, since that isn't ours.
- A: A refund takes "about ten business days" to appear on his card.
- B: Correct — He will pay the after-care company $15 a day, and the credit "can't be used for" after-care, so he takes the money back.
- C: The credit can be used for anything the school runs "this year."
- D: She has "talked about nothing else since September," and he wants to hear if the club returns.
5. Answer: A
Evidence:
It'll be in the monthly newsletter, which goes home in the kids' backpacks on the first Monday of each month.
Half of what goes in there never comes out again.
- A: Correct — The newsletter "goes home in the kids' backpacks," and he says "Half of what goes in there never comes out again."
- B: Monday is just the day the newsletter is sent home; he says nothing about his own Mondays.
- C: His comment about backpacks shows she has one.
- D: He is happy with a monthly newsletter; his worry is how it reaches him.
6. Answer: C
Evidence:
You're not the first to ask.
- A: She says "I'll add you to the list," so it is not full.
- B: She laughs and helps him at once, so she is not annoyed.
- C: Correct — She says "You're not the first to ask," so other parents have asked for email too.
- D: She offers to add him to a list, not to stop sending paper copies.
An intensive-listening routine that reveals the missing detail
Repeatedly playing a whole recording can leave the same gap unnoticed. Intensive listening has a more precise purpose: find what was missed, resolve its meaning and learn to hear it at the speaker's pace.
- Listen once and answer the questions. This establishes what can be understood without support.
- Listen again to investigate the errors. Locate the part that supports the answer rather than merely memorizing the answer letter.
- Collect and learn unfamiliar vocabulary. Replaying an unknown word many times does not necessarily reveal its meaning. Resolve that obstacle before concentrating on sentence-by-sentence recognition.
- Replay one sentence, stop and repeat it aloud. If it cannot be repeated, replay it. Continue until the sentence can be reproduced, then move to the next sentence. A vague sense of understanding is less revealing than actually saying the words.
- Listen to the complete passage again. Check whether the speed and overall meaning are now manageable.
- Read the passage aloud and record the reading. This builds familiarity with the pace and gives additional speaking practice.
The sequence keeps review active. Its value lies in identifying the specific detail lost on the first attempt, not in accumulating replays. The vocabulary stage remains essential; otherwise the same unknown words continue to interrupt understanding.
Use this routine even when the answer was correct. A correct choice can coexist with words or details that were missed, so reviewing only mistakes leaves those gaps unresolved.
Diagnose the error before doing another set
An incorrect answer can come from four different sources: an unfamiliar word or misunderstood statement in the recording; a misunderstood question; an unfamiliar word in an answer choice; or a careless choice despite understanding the material. These problems call for different attention during review.
For each error, identify which layer failed. A familiar word in a distractor can produce a careless mistake even when the correct answer is understood. A next-step inference may fail because an unsupported real-life assumption replaced the speaker's actual plan. Revisit the exact supporting sentence and any correction that preceded it. Vocabulary development remains important because the later listening parts demand more specialized language.
Returning a Winter Coat
Read a conversation between a man and a woman.
Conversation
Woman: Hi there, welcome in! What can I do for you today?
Man: Hi... Tina, is it? I hope you can help me. I bought this parka here back in November, and last weekend the zipper split right open at the bottom, so now it won't stay closed at all.
Woman: Oh no, and just when it's getting really cold! Let me take a look—yep, that's broken all right. Do you have your receipt?
Man: Sort of. I left it in the inside pocket, and then I washed the coat.
Woman: (laughing) Uh-oh.
Man: Yeah, it's a little grey ball now, but I brought it anyway, just in case.
Woman: That's okay. Did you pay with a card, by any chance?
Man: My debit card, I think.
Woman: Then we're in luck! When you pay by card, the sale gets saved in our system under that card number. I just tap your card on this machine, the screen pulls up everything you've bought here in the past year, and I can print you a fresh copy of the receipt. It doesn't work for cash, so that's the one time people are stuck. Okay—here it is, the Glacier parka, bought on November 12th.
Man: Wow, that's amazing! So can I get my money back?
Woman: Sorry, refunds are only for the first 30 days. But a zipper that breaks like that is a manufacturing defect, so I can swap it for a brand-new one.
Man: That's fine, actually, I love this coat. Before the zipper went, I waited half an hour for the bus one morning at minus 30, and I was perfectly warm.
Woman: That's what it's made for! Okay, let's see what we have in your size, a large?
Man: Large, yes, and the same dark green, if you've got it.
Woman: Hmm, green is gone, and so is black. The only large I have left is . . . bright yellow.
Man: Yellow? Wow, that's . . . bright.
Woman: It is! Otherwise, I can order a green one from our warehouse, but that usually takes about three weeks.
Man: Three more weeks with a coat that won't close, in January? No, I'll take the yellow.
Woman: Great, I'll go grab it from the back and print the exchange slip.
Man: Thanks so much, Tina. You've been a huge help.
Questions
Read each question and compare all four choices before consulting the worked answers.
1. What does the man want?
- A. to get a copy of a receipt
- B. to exchange a coat for a larger size
- C. to deal with a broken zipper
- D. to buy a warmer coat
2. Which purchases can the woman look up?
- A. card purchases from the past year
- B. cash purchases from the past month
- C. card purchases from the past 30 days
- D. any purchase with a receipt
3. Why can't the man get a refund?
- A. Too much time has passed.
- B. The coat was bought on sale.
- C. He paid with a debit card.
- D. The receipt can't be read.
4. Why does the man mention waiting for the bus?
- A. to complain about the bus service
- B. to explain how the zipper broke
- C. to justify accepting an exchange
- D. to ask for a warmer model
5. How does the man feel about the yellow coat at first?
- A. excited
- B. relieved
- C. furious
- D. unimpressed
6. Why does the man choose the yellow coat?
- A. It costs less than the green one.
- B. He can't wait for an order.
- C. Green is no longer made.
- D. He prefers bright colours.
Worked answers and evidence
1. Answer: C
Evidence:
I bought this parka here back in November, and last weekend the zipper split right open at the bottom, so now it won't stay closed at all.
- A: A new receipt is printed only so the coat can be handled.
- B: He wants the same size, large.
- C: Correct — His parka's zipper "split right open," and he has brought the coat back to have the problem dealt with.
- D: He loves how warm his coat is; it is broken, not too cold.
2. Answer: A
Evidence:
When you pay by card, the sale gets saved in our system under that card number.
I just tap your card on this machine, the screen pulls up everything you've bought here in the past year, and I can print you a fresh copy of the receipt.
- A: Correct — A card sale "gets saved in our system," and the screen shows "everything you've bought here in the past year."
- B: She says "It doesn't work for cash."
- C: 30 days is the limit for refunds, not for finding a sale.
- D: The point of the system is that no paper receipt is needed.
3. Answer: A
Evidence:
Okay—here it is, the Glacier parka, bought on November 12th.
Sorry, refunds are only for the first 30 days.
- A: Correct — "refunds are only for the first 30 days," and he bought it on November 12th, while it is now January.
- B: Nothing is said about a sale price.
- C: Paying by card is what lets her find the sale.
- D: She prints a fresh copy, so the washed receipt doesn't matter.
4. Answer: C
Evidence:
That's fine, actually, I love this coat.
Before the zipper went, I waited half an hour for the bus one morning at minus 30, and I was perfectly warm.
- A: He does not complain; the story is about staying warm.
- B: The bus story happened "Before the zipper went."
- C: Correct — After the refund is refused, he says the exchange is "fine" because he loves the coat, and the bus story shows how well it works.
- D: He is happy with how warm this model is.
5. Answer: D
Evidence:
Wow, that's . . . bright.
- A: Nothing in his reaction sounds excited.
- B: He wanted dark green, so hearing that only yellow is left is not a relief.
- C: He is not happy, but he stays calm and polite.
- D: Correct — He repeats "Yellow?" and pauses before calling it "bright," which shows he does not much like it.
6. Answer: B
Evidence:
Three more weeks with a coat that won't close, in January?
No, I'll take the yellow.
- A: No price difference is mentioned.
- B: Correct — An order takes "about three weeks," and he won't spend that long in January with a coat that won't close.
- C: Green can still be ordered from the warehouse.
- D: He asked for dark green and was unsure about yellow.
Verb forms tell you when an event matters
Grammar contributes directly to listening comprehension. A verb phrase can distinguish a finished event, a current activity, a regular habit, a plan and an earlier action that still matters now. It also helps readers understand the same relationships and gives speakers and writers more ways to express them accurately.
| Form | Play | Do |
|---|---|---|
| Base | play | do |
| Third-person simple present | plays | does |
| Simple past | played | did |
| -ing form | playing | doing |
| Past participle | played | done |
The past and participle are identical for some verbs and different for others. Lived serves both roles for live, whereas did and done cannot be interchanged. Check an unfamiliar verb rather than applying one pattern to every word.
Compare the same activity across time: The children play PC games every day describes a habit; The children are playing PC games describes a current activity; The children played PC games yesterday places it in a finished past period. The children will play PC games and The children are going to play PC games refer to the future. Going to can put the emphasis on an intended action. For example, The children are going to play PC games presents what they intend to do, and I'm going to… can introduce something the speaker is preparing to do next. Will also refers to future events; it does not by itself mean that the event is uncertain. Neither form has a fixed percentage of certainty.
Agreement and the complete verb phrase matter together. I am a teacher uses the appropriate form of be; the past forms are was and were. She will study English requires the base form after will, without an extra s. The same applies after would. She is going to be my student includes both the agreement in is and the base form be.
Continuous forms use be + -ing: I am teaching; she is studying; we are studying English together. I was teaching at eight p.m. yesterday is past continuous, while I will be moving to Calgary is future continuous. Compare these with I have been a teacher for ten years and She has studied English for five years, which connect an earlier period with the present.
The present perfect: an earlier action with a present connection
The form is have/has + past participle. I, you, we and they take have; he, she and it take has. Both choices need checking: You have met him before and She has lived here for three years combine the correct helper with the correct participle.
Three uses explain the examples. Rainie has broken her arm describes a past event whose consequence matters now. The girls have played tennis at the club since 2005 describes a continuing connection with a regular activity; it does not mean that they are playing at this second. I have already made several calls describes repeated completed actions up to now, without necessarily saying whether more will follow.
Time expressions help establish that connection: since I was a child, since 2012, for twenty years, for five years, ever, never, already, before, many times, so far and yet. Compare these with a finished past time such as yesterday, a week ago or last night. Examples include Have you ever been to Vancouver? No, I haven't been yet; She has already finished her homework; and Have you been there before?
Negatives put not after have or has: I have not ridden a bike in many years and She hasn't lost enough weight yet. Questions put the helper before the subject: Have you begun the meeting yet? Why has Tanya left the country? How much money have you spent so far? Here, so far means up to now.
Question tags retain the helper and match the subject. John has known her for a couple of years, hasn't he? and They have been in business since 1980, haven't they? have positive statements and negative tags. A negative statement takes a positive tag, as the worked examples illustrate.
Contractions such as haven't are natural in conversation. Full forms such as have not suit a more formal writing style; choose the register rather than treating contractions as impossible in all writing.
Present-perfect examples
Each sentence shows the subject, helper and participle working together. The questions and negative forms deserve the same checks as the statements.
| Example | Meaning and form |
|---|---|
| Daniel has seen that video clip at least twenty times. | Daniel is one person, so use has. The past participle of see is seen. |
| The workers have not had a break in four hours. | Workers is plural, so use have. It is negative, so add not. The past participle of have is had. |
| We have visited them regularly over the last few years. | We takes have. The past participle of visit is visited. Check the spelling as well. |
| Has Ella passed her driving test yet? | Ella is one person, so the question begins with has. Pass becomes passed. |
| Roger has been to Mexico several times since 2002. | Use has for Roger, and been is the past participle of be. The sentence describes several visits. |
| They haven't spoken to each other in ages, have they? | The statement is negative, so the question tag is positive. Speak becomes spoken. Match have in the tag to have in the main sentence. |
| Why has Matthew quit his job? | Matthew takes has. Quit is irregular: its past participle can remain quit. This is why you should check an uncertain verb in a dictionary instead of assuming that every verb takes ed. |
| Have the nurses gone on strike again? | The nurses are plural, so the question begins with have. Gone is the past participle of go. |
| Haven't they delivered the post yet? | This is a negative question. Use have with they and delivered as the past participle. The uncontracted alternative is Have they not delivered the post yet? |
| I have already told you the answer. | I takes have. Tell becomes told. Already goes in the sentence to show that this has happened. |
The present perfect continuous emphasizes the activity
The structure have/has + been + -ing draws attention to an activity continuing over a period: We have been sitting here for two hours and He has been working at this company since April.
Compare This is the third time I've written to you with I have been waiting for you since ten a.m. The first counts occurrences of writing before now; the second focuses on waiting that started earlier and is still going on. Keeping all three parts of the continuous form prevents errors caused by remembering only have or the -ing ending.
For both perfect forms, check the subject first, then have or has, then whether the meaning requires a participle or been + -ing. Negatives and questions change the arrangement but not the need for the complete verb phrase. A dictionary resolves uncertain participles more reliably than repeated guessing.
Perfect-continuous examples
These examples include duration, repeated activity, negatives and questions.
| Example | Meaning and form |
|---|---|
| Roger has been staying at his mother's house since his divorce. | Roger takes has, then been, then staying. |
| How long have the dogs been barking like that? | Dogs is plural, so use have. After the subject, use been barking. |
| I have not been following the football score. | Are we winning? The subject I takes have. This is negative, so use have not been following. |
| The students have been making plans for the school party for several weeks. | Students is plural. Use have been making. |
| Rachel hasn't been dancing at that studio for very long. | Rachel takes has. Add not, then been dancing. For very long describes the length of time. |
| Tim hasn't been reading that book since January. | I'm waiting to borrow it. The exercise is negative. Tim takes has not, followed by been reading. |
| The project manager has been pushing us to finish the work since Tuesday. | There is one project manager, so use has been pushing. |
| Have you been watching TV all morning? | You takes have. This is a question, so have comes before you. Then use been watching. |
| I have been travelling to Paris twice a month since the project started. | Use have with I, followed by been travelling. The sentence describes a repeated activity over this period. |
| Jenny has not been meeting customer deadlines since she arrived here. | The boss may fire her. Jenny takes has. For the negative continuous form, use has not been meeting. |