Listening Comprehension (リスニング)
Listening comprehension opens the Yamaguchi English paper and tests whether you can catch the main idea, specific details such as times, prices and places, and the speaker's intention across short dialogues and monologues. Most parts are played twice, so the first listening should confirm the situation and the second should verify details you have already noted. The audio is not paused for you to think; preparation before each item is where marks are won.
What the items ask
- Picture or choice items: choose the picture that matches the dialogue.
- Detail items: time, date, price, number, place, or means of transport.
- Response items: choose the best reply to a short utterance.
- Longer monologue or announcement: fill a table or answer two connected questions.
Core technique
- Before the audio starts, read the question and underline the question word: when, where, who, why, how much.
- Predict the vocabulary that will appear (station, gate, ticket, changed, cancelled).
- Note only numbers, names and symbols, not full sentences.
- Listen for correction signals: actually, but, changed to, instead. The first number you hear is often a distractor.
Worked example
A: The bus leaves at 8:30, right? B: It was 8:30, but they changed it to 8:15 because of the traffic. A: Then we should meet at the west gate at 8:00. B: OK. Question: What time will they meet? Options: 8:00, 8:15, 8:30, 8:45. Reasoning: the question asks the meeting time, not the bus time. 8:30 is the old bus time, 8:15 is the new bus time, and 8:00 is when they meet at the west gate. Answer: 8:00.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing down the first number heard instead of the corrected one.
- Missing negatives and weak forms: can't, don't have to, isn't, won't.
- Confusing similar sounds: thirteen/thirty, west/east, walk/work.
- Choosing a true statement that does not answer the question asked.