Listening - LanguageCert B1 Achiever
Listening is the first paper in the LanguageCert B1 Achiever written exam. It checks whether you can follow everyday spoken English: short exchanges, longer conversations and monologues. You hear each recording twice and have 30 minutes. The questions test gist, specific detail, purpose and simple inference - not word-for-word translation.
What to do before and during the audio
- Use the pause to read the question and options; predict whether you need a time, place, price, person or reason.
- Underline the question word (who, when, why) so you do not answer a different question.
- Listen for paraphrase: the audio may say ‘It’s a bit pricey’ while the option says ‘expensive’.
- On the second listening, confirm the evidence and check that the other options are wrong.
Worked example
Question: What time will the train leave? Options: A 10:15 B 10:45 C 11:05. Audio: ‘The 10:15 is cancelled. The next one is at 10:45, but we’re booked on the 11:05.’ Reasoning: 10:15 is cancelled; 10:45 is the next train but not the booked one; the question asks the train ‘we’ will take, so C is correct. The trap is choosing the first number or the nearest time.
Traps that cost marks
- Taking the first number you hear before a correction (‘sorry’, ‘actually’, ‘I mean’).
- Choosing an option because it contains the same word as the audio; B1 distractors often repeat vocabulary.
- Missing negative meaning (‘not included’, ‘closed’, ‘except’).
- Leaving a blank: always guess; there is no negative marking.