Reading - LanguageCert General SELT
Reading in the LanguageCert General SELT checks how well you extract meaning from short real-world texts: notices, adverts, emails, timetables, and at higher levels longer articles and opinion pieces. You are tested at your chosen CEFR level, so the same skills - skimming, scanning, and reading closely around a gap - appear throughout.
Task types and what they reward
- Multiple choice on a short text: the correct option paraphrases the text; wrong options recycle its words.
- Matching: headings to paragraphs, or notices to situations.
- Gap-fill: choose a word that fits both meaning and grammar; collocation decides it ('make a decision', not 'do a decision').
Method
Skim first for topic and purpose, then read the questions and scan for the relevant lines. In gap-fill, read the whole sentence and the sentence before it. Decide the part of speech the gap needs before you look at the options.
Worked example
Text: 'The pool is closed for repairs until 3 May. Members may use the leisure centre in Norton instead.' Question: What can members do before 3 May? Options: A swim at Norton pool, B use the Norton leisure centre, C get a refund. Option A reuses 'pool' and 'Norton'; the text offers the leisure centre, not the pool. Answer: B. The trap is matching words rather than meaning.
Traps
- Choosing an option because it repeats vocabulary from the text.
- Missing 'NOT' or 'EXCEPT' in the stem.
- Spending too long on one item - every question carries the same mark, so move on and return.
- In gap-fill, ignoring grammar: a plural or past tense may rule out a tempting word.