The OxfordAQA listening paper mixes objective questions, where you choose an option, with productive ones, where you write a short answer. You cannot hear a recording here, so we have written our own short transcripts to work from. Read each as if it were heard.
Practise predicting, catching detail and hearing opinion. Recordings are normally played more than once; check the current 9280 syllabus for the format.
1Read this station announcement we have written, as if you heard it once: 'Attention passengers for the 9:15 to Ipoh. This service will now leave from Platform 4, not Platform 2. The 9:15 is running about ten minutes late.
Passengers for Butterworth are unaffected.' Choose the correct option. The 9:15 to Ipoh will: (A) leave on time from Platform 2, (B) leave late from Platform 4, (C) be cancelled, (D) leave early from Platform 4.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Objective questions often hide a distractor that reuses a heard word. Track the two changes: the platform (now 4, not 2) and the time (about ten minutes late). Option B matches both; A and D reuse words but contradict a detail; C is never said.
Model opening: B; the announcement changes the platform to 4 and says the train is running about ten minutes late.
Checklist:
- Matched both details, platform and time
- Rejected options that reuse a word but change the meaning
- Chose only one option
- Did not pick 'cancelled', which was not said
2Here is a clip we have written, as if heard twice. 'Interviewer: Why did you start the beach clean-up?
Speaker: Honestly, it was after a storm last year. The tide left so much plastic that my morning walk became impossible: I couldn't just step over it.' In a short answer, give the one reason the speaker started the clean-up.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Productive questions want a short, exact answer, not a whole sentence copied down. The reason is that a storm left so much plastic that the beach walk became impossible. Answer briefly and ignore the filler word 'Honestly'.
Model opening: A storm last year left so much plastic on the beach that walking there became impossible.
Checklist:
- Gave the reason, not the whole quotation
- Answer is short and exact
- Ignored filler words like 'Honestly'
- Did not add reasons that were not said
3Read this line we have written, as if heard: 'I'd booked the guided tour, but honestly I'd have learned more with a good map and an afternoon to myself.' What does the speaker think of the guided tour? Choose one: (A) it was excellent value, (B) it was disappointing, (C) they never went on it, (D) it was too short.
A trial lesson can start from your child's attempt at Listening (ESL) practice for OxfordAQA 9280, with feedback from an experienced teacher.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: The contrast word 'but' and the hedge 'I'd have learned more…' signal opinion. They imply the tour taught them little. That points to a disappointed view: B. C is wrong because they did book and go; A and D are not supported.
Model opening: B; the word 'but', followed by 'I'd have learned more', shows the tour let the speaker down.
Checklist:
- Used the signpost 'but' to catch the opinion
- Chose the option the whole line supports
- Rejected options that were not stated
- Did not confuse booking the tour with skipping it
4From this short talk we have written, complete the two notes with a word or short phrase each. 'The craft workshop is on Saturday morning.
Bring an apron and a clean jar: we'll supply the paint and the brushes. There's a small charge for a jar if you forget one.' Notes: (1) When the workshop is held: ______ (2) Two things you must bring: ______
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Note completion is productive and exact. Scan for when the workshop is ('Saturday morning') and the items the listener must bring ('an apron and a clean jar').
Do not write the items that are supplied: the paint and brushes. Keep each note short.
Model opening: (1) Saturday morning. (2) An apron and a clean jar.
Checklist:
- Filled each gap with a short exact answer
- Listed only what to bring, not what is supplied
- Answers fit the note headings
- Spelled the answers clearly
5Before hearing a recording you are shown this question: 'How much does one adult ticket cost after the discount?' Write down (a) exactly what kind of information you will listen for, and (b) two signpost words that would tell you the answer is coming. Then, from our line ('Adult tickets are twelve ringgit, but with the online code it drops to nine') give the answer.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Predicting sharpens listening. You are listening for a number: a price in ringgit.
Signposts such as 'but', 'with the code' and 'drops to' flag the changed price. Then apply it: the discounted price is nine ringgit, not the first figure you hear.
Model opening: (a) A price; a number of ringgit for one adult ticket after a discount. (b) Signpost words such as 'but' and 'drops to'.
Checklist:
- Named the exact kind of information: a price
- Chose signpost words that flag a change
- Gave the discounted figure, not the first one heard
- Did not stop at the first number mentioned
See the method and an annotated model on the listening (ESL) page for OxfordAQA 9280, or the technique in our listening (ESL) skills guide.