Listening to Conversations between Two People
The first three parts of the Listening Test share a few similarities: they include conversations between two people about a topic common to daily life, and you must answer multiple-choice questions. There are also some important differences between these Listening parts. In order to best illustrate these similarities and differences, Listening Parts 1, 2, and 3 are addressed together in this unit.
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Listening Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving
instructions
You will hear a conversation between a man and a woman. They are talking about the man's home
Listening Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving
Listen to the conversation. You will hear the conversation only once. It is about 1 to 1.5 minutes long.
Listening Part 3: Listening for Information |
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Listen to the question. You will only hear it once. |
2 The Part 1 conversation audio has three sections; conversations in Parts 2 and 3 have one section
each.
3 In Parts 1-3, you will only hear the questions-you will not see them. The number of questions
varies between parts.
4 In Parts 1-3, you will have 30 seconds to listen to each question and select an answer.
Understanding Parts 1-3
Part 1:
Listening to Problem Solving is a conversation between two strangers in which one has a problem, and the other is trying to help him or her solve the problem. This conversation is split into three sections, each followed by a few comprehension questions. To answer these questions, you need to understand the basic facts, opinions, and details. Sometimes you will need to make inferences.
In Part 2:
Listening to a Daily Life Conversation, you will hear a conversation about a day-today activity or workplace situation. To answer the questions that follow the conversation, you need to understand the basic facts, identify paraphrases, and make note of changes in topic. You may also need to make inferences.
In Part 3:
Listening for Information contains a conversation where an expert is giving information
that is unfamiliar to the other speaker. To answer the questions following the conversation, you
need to listen for key information, understand inferences from facts and evidence, and connect
ideas.
When you listen to conversations on the street, at home, or in CELPIP Listening Parts 1, 2, and 3, it's helpful to identify whether the speakers know each other and what role or position they have. Another skill you will need is to be able to follow the course of the conversation and understand how ideas are connected to each other.
Identifying the Relationship between the Speakers
When listening for the relationship between speakers in a conversation, there are two things to be aware of The first is their roles, and the second is how well they know each other.
Listening Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving
instructions
You will hear a conversation between two people at a theatre. One is a customer, and the other works at the coat check counter.
Identifying Roles
There are two steps in identifying the role each speaker plays. The first is to preview and identify the roles as described in the information screen (see previous image).
Then, listen to the audio, paying special attention to information that will further develop your understanding of the speakers' roles. Read the following excerpt from a conversation and note the key words and phrases that will help you infer the relationship between the speakers.
Identifying Familiarity
The other method for identifying the relationship between speakers is analyzing the level of familiarity. Familiarity between speakers is shown through the way they talk. In general, when people are familiar with each other, they tend to use less formal language; when two strangers interact, they are likely to use more formal expressions. Below are three excerpts from listening passages that demonstrate how the speakers' words show what kind of relationship they have.
Excerpt One
Excerpt Two
Excerpt Three