Key Idea: Paper 2 Listening uses four question types: multiple choice, choosing true statements, gap-fill and short answers. A few strategies help with all of them.
Multiple choice
- {{Choisissez la bonne réponse.|Choose the correct answer.}} One option is right: 1 mark, no half marks.
- Read → predict → find the meaning → eliminate → choose.
- Don't change a right answer on the second listen.
True/False: choose the true statements
- Choose exactly the number of true statements asked, no more and no fewer.
- No written justification, but know the words that prove each choice.
- Watch the time: «avant» is not «maintenant».
Gap-fill
- Write the exact word or words you hear: «un maximum de trois mots».
- Spelling and accents count.
- The word must fit the sentence grammatically. Use the second play to check.
Short answer
- {{Répondez aux questions suivantes.|Answer the following questions.}} A few words, not a sentence.
- The question word tells you what to give: «Quand ?» a time, «Où ?» a place, «Pourquoi ?» a reason, «Combien ?» a number.
- Marked on content, not style.
Listening strategies
- Predict the vocabulary before you listen.
- First listen for the gist, second for detail.
- Guess unknown words from context, and infer what is not said, for example from tone.
- Watch negatives, numbers and dates.
Never leave an answer blank: you hear every text twice.
You hear «avant, je jouais au foot». Is «Il joue au foot» true? No. «Avant» means he used to. That is a past-tense trap.
You must choose four true statements but you have five. What now? Listen again and drop one. You must choose exactly four.
You write «bibliotheque» for «bibliothèque». Does it matter? Yes. In gap-fill a missing accent loses the mark.
You hear one word you don't know. What do you do? Keep going. Work it out from the context.