Topics · Primary English · Listening Comprehension
Listening comprehension
A passage is read aloud twice and you answer multiple-choice questions on it. The whole difficulty is that you cannot go back and re-read — so the technique is about what you do before and between the readings.
- 20 exam papers analysed
- appears in 17% of P6 English papers
- ~2 min read
01 Use the time before it starts
The questions are printed in front of you before the reading begins. Read them first.
Knowing what you are listening for turns the passage from something to remember into something to search. You are not trying to hold it all — only the four or five things that were asked.
Underline the key word in each question, and glance at the options so you know what kind of answer to expect: a number, a name, a reason.
02 Between the two readings
Answer everything you are sure of straight away, while it is fresh.
Mark the ones you missed so the second reading has a target. Trying to check all of them again is how the ones you had get lost.
Do not leave anything blank at the end. It is multiple choice, so an unanswered question scores nothing while a guess might not.
Trust the first answer unless you actually hear something that contradicts it. Changing answers on a feeling costs more marks than it saves.
03 What the traps sound like
The options are written to catch particular mishearings.
A number mentioned in passing, not the one asked for — the passage says several, and only one answers the question.
A word that appears in the passage but in a different context. Hearing a familiar word in an option is not evidence.
A change of mind in the passage — “We were going to meet at four, but we made it five.” The answer is five.
Listen to the end of the sentence. Words like but, however and instead usually mean the important part is still coming.
04 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- listening comprehension
Answering questions on a passage read aloud rather than printed.
- multiple choice
Choosing one answer from several given options.
- key wordmore than onekey words
The word in a question that tells you what to listen for.
05 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P6
Listening comprehension as part of the paper: reading questions first, answering between readings, and not leaving blanks.
Practise P6 Listening Comprehension — 8 questions →17% of P6 papers
06 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I listened first and read the questions after.”
Read them first. Knowing what is being asked turns listening into searching.
“I tried to remember the whole passage.”
You only need what the questions ask. Everything else can go past.
“I used the second reading to start again.”
Use it for the ones you marked as missed. Re-checking everything loses the answers you already had.
“I left one blank because I did not hear it.”
It is multiple choice. A blank scores nothing; a guess might not.
“I heard the word in the passage so I picked that option.”
Options reuse words from the passage on purpose. Check it answers the question that was asked.
Now try it
8 questions across 1 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.