This guide gives you a routine, a practice example and the traps that catch students.
What the question tests
Every ESL listening paper tests whether you can follow spoken English. Cambridge describes its 0510 listening paper as recorded talks, announcements and conversations.
The questions test detail, ideas, opinions and attitudes. Multiple choice is one way to test these skills.
Our general guide to answering ESL listening questions covers all question types. This page is about the choose-one-answer kind.
A routine for every question
- Use the pause to read ahead. Read the question and all the options before the audio starts.
- Underline the key idea in each option. Ask yourself how each option is different.
- Listen for meaning. Do not wait for an exact word. Listen to what the speaker decides, feels or recommends.
- Cross out wrong options. If you hear a reason why an option cannot be true, cross it out.
- Choose, then check. If the recording is played again, use the second hearing to confirm.
This is easier to improve with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own recent work.
Our own practice example
Imagine a speaker says: “I thought about taking the bus, but it takes an hour, so I will cycle instead.” The question is “How will she travel to work?” The options are bus, bicycle and car.
The word “bus” is in the recording, but she rejects it. The right answer is the bicycle. This is why you wait for the speaker’s final decision.
Common traps
- Choosing an option because you heard its word.
- Missing a change of mind, shown by words such as “actually” or “on second thought”.
- Mixing up similar numbers, such as 13 and 30.
- Overthinking when the answer is plain.
- Leaving a blank when a guess costs nothing.
Practise it
Use any short English recording, such as a news clip. Invent a question with three options, then check which option the speaker supports. Our guide to reading for explicit meaning trains the same careful attention on written text.
How our teachers help in 1-to-1 lessons
Most students get stuck in two ways. They choose the option with the word they heard, or they freeze after one missed answer. In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers play a short recording, stop after each question, and ask why your child chose that option.
This shows exactly where attention slips. Read more about our English as a Second Language tuition, or book a paid one-hour trial lesson to try a listening drill with a teacher.