Listening comprehension
Recordings in Japanese, each heard twice, with the questions in English: the message, the details and the opinions, answered in English.
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Listening comprehension, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the listening paper works
Listening is Paper 1 and a quarter of the GCSE, worth 50 marks at both tiers: 35 minutes and 14 questions at Foundation, 45 minutes and 10 questions at Higher, each including 5 minutes' reading time, with four questions shared by both tiers. Every question is in English, and you answer in English or by choosing an option, never in Japanese. You hear each recording twice, and no dictionary is allowed.
Use the reading time to predict what you will hear
Read every question in the five minutes before the first recording, and note what each one asks for. Then think of the Japanese you might hear: a question about the weather primes you for はれ, あめ and さむい. Knowing what you are listening for makes the recording much easier to follow.
Make the most of the two hearings
On the first hearing, get the gist and jot quick notes, in English or Japanese. On the second, check the details and fill the gaps. If you got an answer the first time, use the second hearing to make sure of it.
Wait for the end of the sentence
Japanese puts the verb last, and its ending carries the key facts: 行きます (goes), 行きません (doesn't go), 行きました (went). A sentence can sound positive right up to its last word, so don't decide until you hear it end.
Pick out opinions and reasons
Opinions often come with すき, きらい, おもしろい or つまらない, and a reason usually ends in から. Keep listening after the opinion, because the reason may be a second mark.
Listen for a change of mind
Speakers sometimes mention one thing and then choose another, and が or でも (but) often signals the switch: ピザも すきですが、 今日は すしを 食べます。 The final choice usually comes after them.
Catch numbers, times and dates
Write numbers as figures the moment you hear them. Some sound alike: よっか (the 4th) and ようか (the 8th), or いち and しち, which is why seven is often said なな. Prices come in yen, such as さんびゃくえん.
Answer in clear English
Write your answer in English, not in Japanese or romaji. Give as many details as the question asks for, and no extra ones that could contradict your answer. Your English doesn't need to be perfect, but the meaning must be clear.
Listening comprehension key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gist
- The main point of a recording, without every detail.
- Detail
- A specific fact, such as a time, a price or a place.
- Opinion
- What a speaker thinks, often with すき, きらい or an adjective like たのしい.
- Time frame
- Past, present or future, shown in Japanese by the verb ending (ました or ます) and by time words like きのう and あした.
- Distractor
- Something mentioned that sounds like the answer but isn't, such as an option the speaker turns down.
- から
- Because, after a reason. What comes before it is often worth a mark.
- が and でも
- But. They often mark a change of mind.
- Reading time
- The five minutes at the start of the paper for reading the questions before the first recording.
Common mistakes in Listening comprehension
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Deciding on an answer before the sentence ends, and missing a negative such as ません.
The verb ending comes last and can turn the meaning round. Wait for ます, ません, ました or ませんでした before you write.
Writing the answer in Japanese or romaji.
Answers must be in English. If you caught a Japanese word, turn it into English before you write it down.
Writing down the first option you hear.
Speakers often change their minds after が or でも. Use the second hearing to check what they finally chose.
Mixing up よっか (the 4th) and ようか (the 8th).
Note dates as figures straight away, and say the days of the month aloud until each one sounds different to you.
Answering a question about the past with what the speaker usually does.
Check the question's time frame, then listen for the matching ending: ました for the past, ます for habits and plans.