FCE (Cambridge First Certificate) Listening- Which Part?

Which part of Cambridge First Listening?

What do you know or what can you remember about all four parts of the Cambridge B2 First Listening test? Write descriptions below.

FCE Listening Part One	FCE Listening Part Two
FCE Listening Part Three	FCE Listening Part Four

Look at a whole Cambridge First Listening paper (if possible with the transcript and/ or answers) and add more descriptions to the table above.

 

Label the statements below with “1”, “2”, “3” and/ or “4” depending in which part(s) of the test they match. Some of the statements don’t match any part of the test, i.e. are not true about the exam, so should be left blank. Some others are true about more than one part of the exam, or even every part.

1. You can listen twice.
2. You can only listen once.
3. It is made up of short extracts.
4. You hear each extract once, and then all the extracts again.
5. It is just one long recording.
6. It includes a monologue or monologues (= only one speaker).
7. It includes dialogues (= more than one speaker, e.g. an interview or conversation).
8. It’s multiple choice (= choose the right option from A, B and C).
9. It’s a matching task.
10. You have to write words which should go in the gaps.
11. You don’t know what kind of task might be in this part, as it varies from test to test.
12. The questions are in the same order as the recording.
13. You can get half a mark for an answer which is almost correct.
14. There are often trick answers (= things which sound like the right answer but should be ignored or crossed off).
15. The thing which you are listening for will always be the same words as in the recording, but the words before and after it will often be in different words.
16. The thing which you are listening for will often be in different words in the recording.
17. You have time to read through the questions before the recording starts.
18. You should underline important words in the questions.
19. When you have underlined important words in the questions, it’s worth thinking about what different words might be used in the recording to say those things.
20. You can guess something about what the answer might be before you start listening.
21. You can sometimes guess what the answer is before listening.
22. You should write your answers on the answer sheet as you go along.
23. You should write your answers on the answer sheet after the whole test finishes.
24. You can lose marks with spelling mistakes.
25. You can lose marks with punctuation mistakes.
26. You can lose marks with grammar mistakes (“-s” with an uncountable noun etc).
27. You can lose marks by writing too much information.
28. You can lose marks by writing too little information.
29. You can lose marks by making mistakes with capital letters.
30. You have to write the answers in all capital letters on the answer sheet.
31. You just shade in a box to answer the question on the answer sheet.
32. You should use pen to write your answers on the answer sheet.
33. You should use pencil to write your answers on the answer sheet.
34. You can lose marks for guessing incorrectly, so it’s sometimes better just to leave a gap.
35. If you don’t know, you should guess, even if you have no idea.
36. If you don’t know, you should write something as you are listening to help you guess later.

Check your answers as a class or below.

Work in groups to write Cambridge B2 First-style Listening tasks that match the right criteria above to test other groups with. Your teacher will tell you which part or parts to write, and what text the questions should be based on.

Suggested answers

X = none of the four parts/ not in the test. ? = no information available, so we don’t know.

1. You can listen twice. – 1,2,3,4
2. You can only listen once. - X
3. It is made up of short extracts. – 1,4
4. You hear each extract once, and then all the extracts again. – 4
5. It is just one long recording. – 2,3
6. It includes a monologue or monologues (= only one speaker). – 1,2,3
7. It includes dialogues (= more than one speaker, e.g. an interview or conversation). –1,4
8. It’s multiple choice (= choose the right option from A, B and C). – 1,4
9. It’s a matching task. – 3
10. You have to write words which should go in the gaps. – 2
11. You don’t know what kind of task might be in this part, as it varies from test to test. – X
12. The questions are in the same order as the recording. – 1,2,3
13. You can get half a mark for an answer which is almost correct. – X
14. There are often trick answers (= things which sound like the right answer but should be ignored or crossed off). – 1,2,3,4
15. The thing which you are listening for will always be the same words as in the recording, but the words before and after it will often be in different words. – 2
16. The thing which you are listening for will often be in different words in the recording. – 1,3,4
17. You have time to read through the questions before the recording starts. – 1,2,3,4
18. You should underline important words in the questions. – 1,2,3,4
19. When you have underlined important words in the questions, it’s worth thinking about what different words might be used in the recording to say those things. – 1,2,3,4
20. You can guess something about what the answer might be before you start listening. – 2
21. You can sometimes guess what the answer is before listening. – X
22. You should write your answers on the answer sheet as you go along. – X
23. You should write your answers on the answer sheet after the whole test finishes. – 1,2,3,4
24. You can lose marks with spelling mistakes. – 2
25. You can lose marks with punctuation mistakes. – ?
26. You can lose marks with grammar mistakes (“-s” with an uncountable noun etc). – 2
27. You can lose marks by writing too much information. – X
28. You can lose marks by writing too little information. – 2
29. You can lose marks by making mistakes with capital letters. – X
30. You have to write the answers in all capital letters on the answer sheet. – 2
31. You just shade in a box to answer the question on the answer sheet. – 1,3,4
32. You should use pen to write your answers on the answer sheet. – X
33. You should use pencil to write your answers on the answer sheet. – 1,2,3,4
34. You can lose marks for guessing incorrectly, so it’s sometimes better just to leave a gap. – X
35. If you don’t know, you should guess, even if you have no idea. – 1,2,3,4
36. If you don’t know, you should write something as you are listening to help you guess later. – 1,2,3,4