6 ESSENTIAL TIPS TO PASS THE LISTENING TEST - CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EXAMS

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

➡️ My Online Cambridge exam preparation courses: ttp-exam-academy-ben.thinkific.com/

[@aniaposz]

The problem with the C1 listening part is actually not the struggle to understand the audio but terribly little time given to read the questions before listening and even less time before the next audio. In other words, you have no time for even a basic refletion, no time to really think again, because you've got the next recording coming up in just a few seconds. I have no idea why there is so little time, it serves absolutely no purpose apart from frustrating the examinees. The point of the listening paper is to get the examinees to choose the right answer in line with what they've just heard. How are they supposed to do so without the chance to read the questions properly? I have no problem whatsoever understanding science or politics podcasts on BBC, yet I find the C1 listening almost impossible to do due to the above reasons.

[@niigolover]

I wholeheartedly agree

[@zascandil174]

Right on the money!

[@fabianarolando9782]

I agree with you, Anna!

[@giog8]

I always said this .

[@brysphu]

You made an excellent point, that's exactly what I think.

[@Sadiya.Roziya.official]

1. Listen to boring podcasts and radio programmes 2. Listen to everything in English 3. Read the questions carefully 4. Eliminate! 5. Don't be easily tricked! 6. Stay focused! Bonus tip. Practice with sample papers.

[@AB-ny7zm]

I usually understand 100% of what i'm hearing when taking some Listening practise tests, but man, I just find it so difficult reading questions and options while listening. It's not a matter of language. I can't do that even in my own mother tongue. Will have to put some hours in there. (By the way, thank you so much for all your tips, Ben. Top-notch content).

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Yes, it's all about practise!

[@krimon4e8]

I just want to say thank you for your channel and wonderful tips! 🙏 My method to cope up with the listening part is to try to listen to the extracts without looking at the questions. Because when you're both listening and searching for the answer, you get distracted and may not hear the whole statement, therefore be easily misled. So, when the extract is finished, I take a look and then give my answer.

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Interesting method, Kristine. Thanks for sharing!

[@tryhardsampo7285]

I have tried that too and do agree with you. It works. cheers for your tip and good luck to all of you

[@oxygen9284]

Totally agree! I've been always saying this, impossible to do both things at the same time here, you immediately get distracted, so, yes, it's one of the most important tips for listening 🌞

[@laurakumar4409]

I grew up among English natives and i have been pretty confident abt my english but this listening comprehension made me question my whole existence

[@marccosta7376]

Wish all the speakers in the listenings had your pronunciation hahah Working hard for getting this damn C2 certificate!

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

😂

[@kingaslaby6498]

I had my exam last week. Surprisingly the speaking part was the most enjoying one and the listening most challenging!! And the reason was the speed of it. There was literally no time to think or go back to the question at any time. I felt a bit dissapointed because I had spent most time preparing for listening 🙊

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Yes, that's the big challenge with the listening part... to be able to catch the important information whilst also reading the questions. If you prepared well, I'm sure you've done ok. Let us know the results when you get them!

[@kingaslaby6498]

Enjoyable not enjoying, lol I definitely will let you know in June when the results are out 👍

[@kingaslaby6498]

Passed with 176 points 👍

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Excellent... well done!!! You should be proud of yourself!

[@kingaslaby6498]

@@tothepointenglishwithben. I am 👍 Thank you for your help Ben. I wouldn't have passed without your useful tips! Knowing the structure of the exam is 10% of success I think 😉

[@6h42am]

won't lie to you guys I'm having the exam in about 2 hours from now and my first concern is actually getting to the place unharmed since my dumbass went partying yesterday and not only do I still feel tipsy but the hungover will simply kill me if it begins during the listening part. anyway to those taking the assessment today or tomorrow or at any point time in the near future i'm wishing u massive amounts of luck and confidence 🤞🤞

[@pineapplegang9972]

Bruh you're parents probably payed for it and you go partying the night before

[@6h42am]

@@pineapplegang9972 I got C2 score, they're satisfied🙂

[@seowl02]

god damn I wish I had your confidence. I have mine in about a week and I'm so scared for the essay and use of english part but also the reading comprehension because I can't find any mock tests online

[@lokiluvr222]

@@6h42am king shit

[@DanielRodriguez-do3ib]

If you passed tipsy, i can pass sober hahaha good for you! Congrats

[@kingaslaby6498]

I listened to lots of listening tests before the exam and did pretty well...but on the actual exam I got 170 points in FCE. I was pretty disappointed and now I kind of understood why it happened. The speed of the exam is very challenging, there is almost no time to think, you need to listen, read and literally chose the answer at the same time. Secondly what I found difficult is that listening to an audio in a room full of people is so different to listening to it through your headphones-that's what I did preparing for the exam. I've started preparing for the CAE exam and thinking of doing a computer based one as you can apparently use headphones 😉

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Many students have struggled with the listening this year. I think it's a good idea to take the computer based CAE exam. In my interview with exam expert Frank, he wholeheartedly recommends it for various reasons, not least the possibility of wearing headphones for the listening.

[@julianatheodoro6071]

I have the same problem as you, so i have decided to listen the audios on KZbin as If i was doing the exam.. pretty far away from the tv. I noticed how different it is.

[@rina-art1727]

I've failed my listening exam. I had 6 questions, 4 answers each, that equals to 24 sentences, and I had been given 45 seconds to read through them all. It's silly, as I love listening to podcasts, watching movies, and I have 0 problems understanding any of them. But I fail C1 level tests all the time. Because there is no time to think, there is no time to answer. I UNDERSTAND EVERY SINGLE WORD THEY ARE SAYING AND I FAIL, how the hell is that even a valid test method.

[@davids9993]

Hi Ben, I really liked your advice, especially the one of listening to things we are not really keen on, and I am saying that as I am sitting the CPE in May and downloaded an app called "Ivoox" and I am only listening to podcast I am interested in; however, I am going to follow to the letter your suggestions and from now onwards I will listen to topics I am not very interested in. My biggest problem in listening and reading is that, when I am in two minds about an answer, 99 per cent of times I choose the wrong one -not joking. Thanks a lot again

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

😆 Oh dear... fingers crossed your luck changes on the day of the exam! 🤞

[@LenarAfzaltdinov]

amazing! you have to start your own podcast

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Maybe...

[@fleurblanche7642]

English is super If only I were not busy acquiring one more language at C2 level it would have been super enjoyable for me. . Thank you for providing me with good English material Good night

[@lidijakutnjak3258]

Your videos are really useful. Thank you so much!

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

You're welcome 🙂

[@IqIllThousand]

Another tip I found quite interesting is to study collocations and phrasal verbs. By studying them, I increased my listening skills during CPE listenings, and I don't find them that quite complicated. For vocabulary there are various startegies so thata cognitive skills get highly receptive, therefore, your IQ may increase as well. With this, you increase speed reading; it envolves many good skills. Really nice tips by the way!! Thank you for taking the time to help 😄

[@matheusfts43]

Part 2 in the Proficiency exam is very challenging, it is hard to be focused and the accents of the speakers don't help. It is the only part I'm afraid of failing so far... I will be working on my concentration skills. Thank you again, Ben.

[@silvioluizrodriguesdasilva4606]

Hi there! How are you? Have you taken the exam? How was it?

[@羽柴真理子]

I will take Eiken(advanced English test in Japan) this year. Maybe it's different from Cambridge test, but your advice is helpful for any types of listening tests. If the sound is similar, it is a wrong answer. History is not my field. I will read the script first then listen. Maybe I am focusing on taking notes. I will concentrate on listening.

[@agnieszkanadolna7899]

Hi. Thank you for all your useful videos:) Could you please explain to me, regarding to the second part of the listening (gapped text): when shall I write just one word and when a short phrase? When it is enough to write just "a bus" instead of "a brand-new red bus"?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

It should be pretty clear whether you need to write one word or more but sometimes more than one answer is accepted. Eg. "(red) car" - here "red" is probably not essential but you won't lose points for writing it. However "car" is essential.

[@ICXCNIKA_33]

Yet another great video! Than you, Ben :)

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Glad you liked it 🙂

[@velkykopyto7021]

The audio usually contains some words from some of the answers and yes you have to understand the dialogue and not just listen for the keywords. That's why I don't think it's a good strategy to read the options during listening. Just concentrate, focus and than pick the right one.

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Interesting tip 👍

[@stefanokrivtzoff1593]

I´m sitting the proficiency next saturday after two years spent studying for it hahahaha

[@elodia7517]

How did it go?

[@stefanokrivtzoff1593]

@@elodia7517 no idea just yet... but it was easier than otherwise anticipated

[@stefanokrivtzoff1593]

@@elodia7517 passed it !!!!

[@elodia7517]

@@stefanokrivtzoff1593 Congrats!! Same for me🤞🏽

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Well done, Stefano! The hard work paid off!

[@Krmly]

Stay focused: reading the possible answers and listening to the audio struggle me most, especially part 4.

[@fabianarolando9782]

Thanks four ypur tips! They are so useful for me!

[@ivancecilio]

thanks for your help with exams, It really helped me a lot.

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Glad to hear that!

[@xaturno]

Gracias! Muy buen video

[@Deskjet2772]

Listening test prove more your abilities to read, hear and take a decision at the same time than your listening skills

[@jeffersonjunio6231]

Hey Ben! How's going? I have two questions: 1 - What section in the IELTS listening part will/may they change accents? 2 - If they define an accent in the section 1, will they stick with it in the entire four sections, or will they change it down the line?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Sorry, I specialise in the B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency Cambridge exams. I don't have experience with IELTS

[@lisad5257]

Hi there! I'm currently preparing for the C2 proficiency, and my focus is now on the Listening part. I just wanted to ask you this: how many mistakes am I allowed to make to still be able to receive a "good" passing score in this part? See, I usually get 2-3 questions wrong in the whole Listening section (which I believe it's not too bad, considering that I've just started to practise today). Thank you!

[@albaaniaj1199]

What I consider really helpful when it comes to " the art of listening when someone is coughing right next to you " as my teacher puts it oftenly is watching movies in English on TV , no subtitles, no headphones whatsoever and what's always a must the background noise consisting of my mother doing the dishes . A while ago I came to the realization that it really has sharpened my listening skills and now whenever I hear people speaking English in public spaces my brain instantly gets triggered and pits itself in what I like to call " focused mode "😅. All in all it's a good way to get used to listening the language and grasping the message of a given extract . ( And yes I am actually practicing my writing skills while watching a video about how to pass the listening part of the exam , the evening before the said exam . Ironic ! 😂)

[@brasnicar88]

The example you gave with an extract about climate change, was really helpful! Thank you so much!

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Great, I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks

[@reginaceliafavareli7087]

Great tips! Thank you❤

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kamalsaib1858]

Extremely useful video thanks!

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Glad you found it useful 👍

[@mariadelmilagro2137]

Helpful as usual :) Thank you so much, Ben. Where can we find the podcasts you recommend (URL addresses)?👏🏼

[@LeylaFCakr]

Wonderful tricks for preparetion.

[@astrobola]

"you may not find particularly interesting", being generous

[@Oleo1236]

Love the video it's very imformative sorry typing error

[@piedadlorenserrano196]

Teacher, the answer is B.

[@Poehee77]

What I am struggling with in the listening exam is time. In my opinion there is not much time to read the questions carefully. Any tips in how to manage that in those 45 seconds you get?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Start reading the questions when the voice on the audio is giving the instructions. You should know what you have to do so you won't need to listen to the instructions.

[@AlCold8]

Hi, Ben! Funny as it may sound, I got really good scores on parts 2 and 4, but really bad results on parts 1 and 3 (CPE). Any advice on these last ones? I heard somewhere that writing as you hear may help; I tried it once but the audio was too fast for me to write everything down. Do you have a different aproach regarding these exercises? Thanks.

[@user-pc2uv9pt9b]

Amazing lesson☺️😇

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Glad you liked it 🙂

[@ronaldbarazorda7075]

Good video. Thanks a lot!

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Thanks 🙂

[@stepanbmw]

Good evening, Ben! In the listening paper, in part 2, I've came across the need to quote a word, like in "she uses the word 'charming' to describe...", but they are not printed neither in the paper nor in the key, hence I ambivalent about whether it is necessary to place them or not Could you give your opinion on this issue? Thank you in advance!

[@LuisaJurado-i9e]

I love you Ben

[@oguncavus2129]

thanks

[@najmehsalajegheh888]

Please make video for ielts listening, reading, thank you

[@feast4youreyes]

I'm taking fce exam tomorrow Sir

[@michaeltrub7965]

A tutor tolde me, that i shoud not look at the specifiy anwesers in part 4 of the listining test but rather read bouth questions and write down the anwsers to them, based on what I might hear in the audio. My question: after the part is played twice, is there still time to write my anwsers down on the anwser sheet?

[@miguelmelo8735]

What can we do to learn information by heart during the listening? I don't find hard listening the audio C2 OU C1 but MEMORIZE SOME EXCERPT is hard during the exam, can you give US some tip?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

You don't need to learn by heart in the listening

[@Oleo1236]

Lpve the video it's very imformative

[@creativegrg]

I've seen many videos uploaded by you and if my guess is right , you are a huge football fan,aren't you? 😅💗

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

I'm a huge West Ham fan! I like football but not as much as I did when I was younger.

[@creativegrg]

@@tothepointenglishwithben. Oh yeah!!💖💥

[@judotomek]

Hi Ben, thanks to your some advises I have just passed the FCE...I'll promise I focus on the all topics you share 😁. Btw, shall you sometimes focus on the grammar or writing part, please

[@lucajaywalker2137]

May I ask you something?

[@judotomek]

@@lucajaywalker2137 of course, you do

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Congratulations on passing the FCE! Are you planning to take the CAE now? I have already made a video on grammar for the Use of English and a couple on Writing. You can find them on my channel homepage. 🙂

[@Jenny-pj8gf]

Congratulations!!! (One year later) with what score!?

[@fleurblanche7642]

Listen and listen all sorts fishing for details, catching the details

[@aavillaf]

Hi! I'm preparing myself for the C1 exam and I've been wondering if during this part of the test could we have a paper in which we can annotate main points or is it prohibited to write during this part?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

You can write on the question sheet

[@Sadiya.Roziya.official]

Is it listened 2 times or one time in C1 exam? I'm just baffled, answer please

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

You will hear the audio twice

[@atikhossaindip]

Me with ADHD 🙂

[@mostafadarwesh-if2vk]

I'm always listening to boring stuff because I'm listening to you..... Sorry man I'm joking you're great keep going

[@瓦伦蒂娜-r1j]

Is there some podcast in particular someone wants to recommend?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

I've just released a video on podcast recommendations

[@АбудалиКанатулы-ф1ц]

Ohh man thank you, you explained very nicely, but I think I cannot pass my pet exam

[@montesierra717]

The C2 level exam sounds extremely intimidating.

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

It is tough

[@montesierra717]

@@tothepointenglishwithben. Do you know the percentage of passing grades for this exam?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

gradestatistics.cambridgeenglish.org/2019/proficiency.html

[@montesierra717]

@@tothepointenglishwithben.The certificate should include residency in the UK and a British passport (como mínimo).

[@naitomea14]

Whaaaattt you have two times to listen to the audio???? Okay, I see, this should be easy, if you read the question carefully. In the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) you have even in N5 (easiest one - about A1) only a one time chance and 30sec. to give an answer (and read the next question). That's a challange xD

[@Ryan.D.A6th]

Tomorrow is my real real exam and it’s listening and im not prepared at all😰

[@IblameAlexx]

Good luck!

[@SSAENS-yj3jw]

Ben I just got my results and I passed with a B - only one more point to get A 😂😭😭😭

[@annacastellino8724]

Hi Ben, is there a contact where I can address to?

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

[e-mail]

[@noellemassa7187]

ai giải thích dùm đang diễn gì vậy?

[@TheLittlechicthings]

The person Who unliked this video is a very sad person, sorry.

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

I couldn't agree more 😆

[@qbce]

My exam is tommorow

[@danielac8497]

You are not given enough time to read the question and the options so you end up reading them while you listen, which is something the great mayority of people can't do even in their native language! There is really no point in this, as all teachers' books recommend to tell students to listen questions and options carefully before listening.

[@Deskjet2772]

I tottally agree. The only strategy that works is to learn how listening to an audio, read and take a decision at the same time. We dont have time to reas, fact

[@FirstnameLastname-dz5zz]

I have the fce listening exam after about 30 minutes 😂 so wish me good luck

[@renatae7653]

tips=useful, but am i the only one that watches this video before an exam?

[@elvischrist8826]

You're not a native speaker, you're obviously S African

[@tothepointenglishwithben.]

Where are you from, Elvis Christ?

[@elvischrist8826]

@@tothepointenglishwithben. Your arse

[@elvischrist8826]

@@tothepointenglishwithben. Your cricket team is pure shite

[@Oleo1236]

Love the video it's very imformative sorry typing error