Listening - LanguageCert General SELT
Listening is the first domain of the LanguageCert General SELT written paper. It tests whether you can follow everyday spoken English - announcements, voicemail, service calls, short talks - at the CEFR level you have chosen (A1 to C1). The questions, not the audio, set the difficulty.
How the tasks are built
- Each recording is heard twice, and questions follow the order of the audio.
- Expect multiple-choice items with three options, matching tasks (for example, five speakers to statements), and note or form completion with a stated word limit such as 'no more than three words'.
- Gaps test information, not grammar: a number, a time, a place, a reason.
Working the audio
Before each recording, use the pause to read the stems and underline the question word and any limiting word ('first', 'now', 'except'). During the first listening, mark a provisional answer. During the second, check it against the whole recording - speakers often revise what they said.
Worked example
Stem: 'The Bristol train now leaves from platform ___.' Audio: 'We are sorry to announce that the Bristol service will depart from platform 6, not platform 4 as previously advised.' The phrase 'not platform 4' is a distractor; 'now' and 'will depart' signal the change. Answer: 6.
Traps that cost marks
Writing the first figure you hear. Copying words that exceed the word limit - anything over the limit is marked wrong. Misspelling a common word. Ignoring a speaker's correction ('Actually, make that Tuesday'). Confusing similar-sounding numbers such as 13 and 30, or 15 and 50.