Listening comprehension
Short recordings and longer ones: picking out 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 a quarter of the GCSE with either board. AQA sets it as Paper 1: about 35 minutes and 40 marks at Foundation, 45 minutes and 50 marks at Higher, including five minutes' reading time at the start and two minutes' checking time at the end. Section A is comprehension (32 marks at Foundation, 40 at Higher), with every question in English, answered in English or by ticking, choosing or matching. Section B is the dictation. Pearson Edexcel sets it as Paper 2: 50 marks at both tiers, 45 minutes at Foundation and an hour at Higher, each with five minutes' reading time, with 40 marks of comprehension before a 10-mark dictation. You can make notes at any time, and there is no dictionary.
Use the reading time to predict what you will hear
Read every question in the five minutes before the first recording. Underline the question word (who, when, why) and the detail asked for, then think of the Spanish you might hear: a question about the weather primes you for hace sol, llueve and hace frío. Knowing what you are listening for turns a stream of sound into a search.
Make the most of hearing each recording more than once
In AQA's Section A every recording plays twice, and in Edexcel's three times, with pauses built in. On the first hearing, get the gist and jot rough notes in English or Spanish; on the second, check the details and fill the gaps. If an answer came on the first play, use the next to confirm it.
Pick out the overall message, key points, details and opinions
Questions ask for the gist (what is the speaker mainly talking about?), a detail (a time, a price, a place) or an opinion and its reason. Opinions are flagged by phrases like me encanta, no me gusta nada, creo que and lo malo es que. Listen on after porque as well: the reason is often a second mark.
Listen for the time frame and the negatives
One short word can change an answer. No and nunca turn a yes into a no, while ayer, ahora and mañana place the action in time, as do verb forms like fui, voy and iré. A question about last weekend is answered by the past tense, not by what the speaker normally does.
Expect distractors and changes of mind
Speakers often mention an option and then settle on another: Quería ir al cine, pero al final fuimos a la playa means they went to the beach. Pero, sin embargo, al final and ahora prefiero signal the switch, so wait for the end of the sentence before you commit.
Be quick with numbers, times and prices
Numbers come fast, and pairs like seis and siete or trece and treinta are easy to mix up. Write numbers as digits the moment you hear them, and know how times are said: a las ocho y media is half past eight. Prices are often in euros, as in doce euros cincuenta.
Answer in clear English, with just enough detail
A mark is given when your answer communicates your understanding, so English spelling is not the point, but the meaning must be unmistakable. If the question asks for two details, give two. Keep to what was asked, because an extra detail that contradicts your answer can cost the mark.
Listening comprehension key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gist
- The overall message of a recording: what it is mainly about, without every detail. A gist question can be answered from the general sense of what you hear.
- Distractor
- Something mentioned in a recording that sounds like the answer but is not, such as a plan the speaker then changes. Listen to the end before you choose.
- Time frame
- When something happens: past, present or future. Time words such as ayer or mañana and the verb ending tell you which.
- Cognate
- A word that looks like its English meaning, such as el hospital or interesante. Spoken, a cognate can sound quite different from English, so listen for the shape of the word.
- Opinion
- What a speaker thinks of something, which may be positive, negative or mixed. Phrases such as me encanta, odio and no está mal carry it.
- Porque
- Because: the reason that follows it is often worth a mark of its own in an opinion question.
- Pero and sin embargo
- But and however: they signal a contrast or a change of mind, which is where many answers hide.
- Nunca
- Never. Placed before a verb, as in nunca como carne, it turns the whole sentence negative.
Common mistakes in Listening comprehension
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Writing down the first option you hear and missing the change of mind that comes after it.
Speakers often turn one option down before giving their answer. Wait for pero, al final or ahora, and use the second playing to confirm what was finally chosen.
Answering a question about the past with what the speaker usually does.
Check the time frame of the question, then listen for the matching verb and time words: el sábado pasado fui answers a past question, normalmente voy does not.
Missing a short negative such as no, nunca or nada, so the answer says the opposite.
Negatives are short and easy to lose at speed. Note each one as you hear it, perhaps with a cross, and read your answer back against your notes.
Writing two possible answers to be safe, or adding details that contradict your answer.
Give exactly the number of details the question asks for. If you are torn between two, choose one: an answer that includes something contradictory can lose the mark.
Mixing up numbers that sound alike, such as seis and siete or trece and treinta.
Write numbers as digits the moment you hear them, and practise the teens and the tens until they are automatic: trece is 13, treinta is 30.