A unique strategy to face Interactive Listening

A new set of questions is just added to the certified Duolingo English Test, and you may already know what it is – Interactive Listening. The Interactive Listening set includes two new question types: Listen and Respond and Summarize the Conversation. 

To get to know all things about the Interactive Listening set, this article - “Everything about the Interactive Listening” will be your great destination. And right here, today, we will be guiding all test-takers on how to get the highest score.   

Our Academic team and experienced test-takers have come up with a strategy of 05 steps to crack the new question types. We strongly recommend test-takers read it carefully and follow our detailed guide to practice along the way. 

Step 1: Read the scenario carefully

For example, we have this scenario: You missed your Economics class yesterday, so you ask your classmate for their notes. 

Do you see that scenario familiar? You nailed it. It’s a sample Interactive Listening scenario from the 30-min practice tests offered for free by Duolingo English Test. We will be using it in this strategy to deliver a thorough guide and explanation on how to get the highest score on Interactive Listening questions.

Test-takers may wonder, “Why should I read the scenario carefully?”. Well, obviously, it’s our question which helps test-takers pick the best option to start the conversation. Listen and Respond has five to six questions, and if we pick an incorrect one, we will lose points. 

So in our conversation scenario, it is a conversation between “you” and “your classmate” where you ask your classmate for their notes on the Economics class you missed yesterday. 

Step 2: Find keywords in each answer

This is the first question that we need to pick the best option to start. 

In our conversation scenario, it’s about the Economics class we missed; therefore, we need to find corresponding words in each option. Apparently, we have the word “economics” in options 3, 4, and 5. If we read carefully, Option 5 is the best one because the conversation scenario doesn’t mention anything about the Economics test or paper. 

Step 3: Find keywords in each audio

We have only one chance to listen to the audio. If we don’t pay close attention, we may pick a wrong answer in the next question because the audio connects with the previous and next questions. Thus, listening carefully and finding keywords will help test-takers have clues to pick a correct answer. 

Before we listen to the audio sample, test-takers should always keep in mind that Listen and Respond is a conversation, which means each sentence has a connection to the previous one and the next. It’s our key to aim for the highest score in this question type. As a result, in order to completely understand the audio files, we should read again the previous correct answer. 

This is our audio sample, let’s give it a try and take note of all keywords that you think are important. 

• What did you hear? 
• Is it easy to take note of all keywords? 

If you cannot hear all words, this is the transcription: “Not too much, we just went over the lecture from the last week and then our professor gave us a handout on supply and demand”. 

Because our conversation scenario is about the Economics class that we missed, so we should take note of “ went over the last lecture” and “professor gave a handout on supply and demand”. In other words, we take note of everything, which have connections with Economics Class.  

Here is our 2nd question. 

See! We have the words “handout” in Options 1 and 5. Apparently, Options 2, 3, and 4 have nothing connected with the previous audio, so we only have Options 1 and 5 left. Nonetheless, after taking a closer look, we are the student who missed the class, so there is no way we have the handout – this clue helps us eliminate Option 1. Thus, our best option is the number 5. 

From now on, we do repeat the cycle of Steps 2 and 3 until the conversation finishes. Test-takers simply follow our above guide to complete it. 

Step 4: Read the whole conversation and scenario again

What is this step for? Test-takers may ask! It is absolutely imperative for summarising the Conversation in our next question type. By reading the whole conversation and scenario again, we may have a deeper understanding of the conversation, which is truly essential to write a concise and coherent summary as we only have 75 seconds to do.

Step 5: Write a concise summary

5.1: Paraphrase the scenario – Opening

Suppose we are taking a certified test, do you still remember our conversation scenario until this very moment? It’s easy because we already reviewed the whole conversation and scenario in the previous step. Thus, it’s time to start writing by paraphrasing the scenario. 

Here are some ideas to start summarising:

• It is the conversation about … between me and … 
• The conversation is between me and … talking about …
• I and my ... discussed / talked about / shared ... in the conversation. 

To apply to our scenario sample, we may write “The conversation is between me and my friend talking about the Economics class that I missed yesterday”. 

5.2: Use keywords in Step 2 and Step 3 – Body and Ending

We already have the Opening part, it’s time to write the Body and Ending by using all keywords and the general understanding of the conversation. 

The keywords we have are: the economics lecture yesterday, the professor gave students a handout, and a test next week on the material from the past two lectures. 

In this 30-min Interactive Listening practice test from the DET, all keywords come from the audio files. But in other conversations, the keywords may come from the questions and our answers as well. Thus, always paying high attention to everything in the conversation will ensure our success. 

So, from all keywords we have, what should we write? Let’s take a couple of minutes and write it yourself first before checking our following sample answer. 

“This conversation is between me and my friend talking about the Economics class that I missed yesterday. She said that the class went over the Economics lecture yesterday and the professor gave a handout besides reminding students about the upcoming test next week. Thanks to my friend, I remember about next week's test, so I’m able to prepare for it. Otherwise, I would forget it for good.”

Basically, as test-takers, we need to paraphrase the conversation by connecting all keywords mentioned in the conversation earlier. Because we only have 75 seconds, it probably is everything we can write. 

5.3: Review your answer 

Never forget to review your answer before moving on to the next question. Summarize the Conversation is a new writing question, which is graded the same as other existing writing question types, such as Write About the Photo, Read then Write, or Writing Sample. As a result, if we have Grammar or Spelling mistakes, our scores will be deducted. In other words, we need to double-check Grammar and Spelling in the last 15-20 seconds to ensure that we don’t lose points regrettably. 

If test-takers want to re-check how Writing and Speaking question types are graded, this article, “Duolingo English Test Speaking and Writing Grading Elements” will be truly helpful.

Interestingly enough, Interactive Listening contributes to all four sub-scores in the Duolingo English Test, including Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, and Production. In other words, the Listen and Respond and Summarize the Conversation are our opportunities to increase our scores because its question format isn’t challenging at all if test-takers follow the above strategy and practice just a few questions every day. 

This strategy is purely test-takers theory if they don’t put effort into practicing, which is the most important key to their future success. The more scores we need, the more questions we need to practice. If you are a newbie in taking the Duolingo English Test, this article – “05 simple steps to prepare for the DET” will be truly helpful to create a detailed study plan and pursue your dream. 

If test-takers are looking for a DET Practice Platform, let’s go to the DET Practice Platform – TADE Hub to claim the following benefits for FREE every day.

• 21 questions;
• 1 Full Test;
• 1 Interactive Reading set;
• 1 Interactive Listening set;
• Pronunciation, Grammar, and Lexical feedback;
• AI-based scores;
• And so on. 

Wait no more but experience right now to live your dream of studying abroad.