So you’ve got
the booklet and the answer sheet and you’re clutching that pencil as if your
life depended on it. Suddenly, the invigilator hits the Play button. For the
first five to ten minutes you concentrate to the maximum and write down the
answers. But at some point, maybe around half-way through the recording or just
after, your mind seems to drift away. By the time you come back to reality you’ve
missed a couple of answers, at which point your brain goes into overdrive and
you have no idea what you have to write and you miss one or two more answers.
This happened
to me and to a lot of people. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate for long
periods in that kind of artificial environment.
Other reasons
for missing answers:
- the testing
venue is near a busy road and traffic noises are louder than the recording
- other test
takers around you are coughing or sneezing or making noise
These are
things we can’t control so you can’t let them get to you. Becoming angry or
upset on test day is not going to help you.
What can you
do before the test?
- do some practice
listening tests and listen without headphones to get used to ambient noises.
You can find a lot online these days if you haven’t bought the books with CDs.
- watch the
news or documentaries on TV (or listen to the radio), but not while you’re
doing something else. Set aside some time for this activity only to see how
long you can concentrate. You need to be able to do it for 20 minutes or more.
What can you
do during the test?
If you’ve
missed some answers, read the text/paragraph again and try to guess them. Most times
they will be everyday words and in some cases alternate answers can be accepted
as correct.
Until next
time, Good luck!
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