Listening: three parts, thirty questions, and the numbers-and-revision trap
The listening paper of EIKEN Grade 3 runs for about 25 minutes and carries 30 questions in three parts. It is played once only, at natural but controlled speed, with clear junior-high vocabulary. Because you cannot rewind, the skill being tested is prediction plus listening for the correction: you use the printed choices to know what to listen for, then you listen for the point where the speaker changes their mind.
The three parts
- Part 1 - pictures. A short dialogue, then a question read aloud, with three pictures in the booklet. Typically the question asks what a person is doing, where they are, what they will buy, or what time something happens.
- Part 2 - printed choices. A dialogue followed by a question and three short English options printed in the booklet. These often turn on a single detail: a day, a price, a person's name, a means of transport.
- Part 3 - longer real-life texts. Announcements, school notices, answering-machine messages and shop or station announcements, again with three printed options. These are the closest to the reading passages in content, so the question is usually what is the main point or what should the listener do.
Listen for the revision
Grade 3 dialogues are built around one standard move: a plan is stated, then corrected. "We'll meet at the sports center - actually, the courts are being cleaned, so let's meet at the park." The first version is a decoy; the words actually, instead, but, on second thought, not ~ but ~ mark the real answer. Numbers work the same way: "The bus is at eight … no, eight fifteen on Sundays."
Worked example
Recording: "Hi, Ken. It's Mika. About tomorrow's tennis practice - the courts are being cleaned, so we'll meet at the park at nine instead of the sports center. Bring a ball, not a racket. Call me if you can't come."
Question: Where will they meet? A) At the tennis courts B) At the sports center C) At the park
Reasoning: the courts and the sports center are both mentioned - the courts are unavailable, and the sports center is explicitly replaced by instead of. The final plan is the park. Answer: C.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing the first thing you hear instead of the corrected plan.
- Mixing up who does what when two speakers are named.
- Confusing similar-sounding times and prices (eight fifteen / eight fifty).
- Missing the question itself: the question, not the dialogue, tells you which detail matters, so read the options during the example and the pause.
If you lose one item, drop it immediately and read the next question's options; the recording will not wait.