English Second Language·Listening skills · NSSCO 6.1

Listening skills & the five Paper 2 tasks

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Paper 2 is the Listening paper — you don't read a text, you listen to a recording and answer questions on what you hear. It is worth forty marks and lasts about fifty minutes, and here is the kind fact that changes everything: every recording is played twice. In this lesson we learn the strategies good listeners use — read the questions in the pauses, predict, listen for key words, take quick notes and stay calm — and then we walk through each of the five tasks, one at a time, so you know exactly what to expect.

What you'll learn in this lesson

By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 6.1):

  • Describe what Paper 2 (Listening) is: listening to recordings and answering questions, worth 40 marks in about 50 minutes
  • Explain that every recording is played twice, and use each listening for a different job (catch, then check)
  • Use the pauses to read the questions first, predict what to listen for, and listen for key words and the gist
  • Take quick notes while listening and stay calm if an answer is missed, using the second listening to catch it
  • Identify the five tasks and their marks: short extracts, gap-fill, matching, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions
  • State the answer length allowed by each task and answer with only the number of words asked for
  • Apply exam tips: spell gap-fill answers correctly, write while listening, and use the second listening to check
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Listening skills & the five Paper 2 tasks · NSSCO English Second Language · namstudy