CAE

LISTENING TEST
TIPS

by Abigail Ureña
 GENERAL TIPS
ACCENTS

Sometimes students get used to hearing their

English teacher and think their listening skills are
really good. But then comes the exam, and
accents from all round Britain, America, New
Zealand, etc. Suddenly it's not so easy! Avoid
this by listening to English in all kinds of accents.
Where? Movies, TV shows, Podcasts,
Audiobooks.
 GENERAL TIPS
PREDICTING
Get used to predicting answers before you
listen. Read the question, underline the key
words, and then think what is the most likely
answer. It doesn't matter if you're right or not -
just predicting the answer helps you 'tune in' to
the recording.
 GENERAL TIPS
TIME MANAGEMENT

As soon as you are allowed to

open the test paper, turn to
section 1 and start underlining
key words in the questions.
 GENERAL TIPS
DISTRACTORS
Cambridge uses distractors to lead weaker
students in the wrong direction. If you underline a
key word in the answer and you hear that exact
word in the recording, it's probably not the
answer! Watch out for answers like 'The man lives
in China' when the speaker says 'I used to live in
China' or 'I always wanted to live in China'.
 GENERAL TIPS
LEARNING FROM MISTAKES
One of the best ways to improve (and to learn
about distractors) is to read the transcript of the
recording after you've done the exercise. Not only
will you learn some vocabulary and grammar by
studying the transcript, but you'll see which of
Cambridge's traps you fell into.
 GENERAL TIPS
CHALLENGE YOUR IDEAS
A common mistake students make is to pick
their answer and stick to it. You might be so
sure that you've found the right answer, but you
must be open-minded to the possibility you've
fallen into a trap. You hear the recordings twice
for a reason!
 CAE
LISTENING TEST
TIPS / PART 1
 CAE LISTENING PART 1
Part 1 is a multiple choice section. You
hear people talking to each other and
you have two questions about what
you hear. There are three short
recordings, which means a total of 6
questions to answer.
Here's a sample:
 CAE LISTENING PART 1

First we have to underline

keywords and predict what
the answer might be.
 CAE LISTENING PART 1

Remember that when you've

listened twice and checked your
answer to question 6,
immediately turn to part 2 and
start reading the questions!

For more information visit

https://cisl.edu/cae-listening-part-1-podcasts-cae-listening-practice/
PRACTICE
TIME