Choosing between two dictation answers in a listening task
A B1-level candidate is doing a listening task where each answer must be one word or a short number. In item 7 the recording says: "Тръгваме в седем и половина, но заради ремонта на пътя стигаме чак в девет без петнайсет." The candidate first writes "седем и половина", then hears "девет без петнайсет" and writes that instead, then crosses both out and writes "осем". The rubric says the item tests the time of arrival, and the recording is played twice. The candidate has 45 seconds of transfer time left and two more items to check. He tells his teacher he panicked because he heard three numbers and assumed the last one he understood must be wrong.
1. What is the correct answer to item 7, and what does the candidate's behaviour reveal about his listening strategy?
Read the worked answer
Correct answer: 8:45 (осем и четвърт / девет без петнайсет).
Reasoning:
- The prompt asks for the arrival time, not the departure time. "Тръгваме в седем и половина" is departure and is a distractor.
- "стигаме чак в девет без петнайсет" is the arrival. "чак" signals the relevant, surprising piece of information.
- "осем" is not in the recording at all; the candidate invented it under time pressure.
The strategy problem is not vocabulary but selective attention to the task rubric. He heard three time expressions and treated them as competing options rather than as departure vs. arrival. A stronger routine: read the rubric first, underline the key word (arrival), and while listening write the number next to the keyword it belongs to, not in a single undifferentiated slot. The second hearing should be used to confirm the keyword match, not to re-collect numbers.
2. He has 45 seconds and two unchecked items. Should he spend time re-deciding item 7? Justify with reference to exam mechanics.
Read the worked answer
No - leave 8:45 and move on.
Reasoning:
- The answer is already correct, so re-deciding carries only downside risk (he has already shown a tendency to overwrite correct answers under panic).
- Each remaining item is worth the same as item 7. Spending 20 seconds on a settled item costs roughly half his remaining transfer time and endangers two items.
- In a twice-played listening paper, the recording is gone; further deliberation adds no new evidence, only doubt.
A defensible rule for the candidate: after the second hearing, only change an answer if you can name the specific word in the recording that supports the change. "I feel unsure" is not a reason. This converts panic into a checkable criterion and protects correct answers during transfer time.