Paper 2 Listening Test
In part 1 of the Preliminary English Test (PET) you listen to seven short recordings and for each recording you have to choose the best of three pictures. You can listen to the audio twice.
The Listening Comprehension component has been removed from Paper 2 for the three exam sessions stated above. This is because the IB is concerned that the problems created by COVID19 will (i) make it hard for schools to provide appropriate training in class for listening comprehension, and (ii) cause difficulties in organising correct examination conditions. The IB plans to re-introduce the Listening Comprehension component from M22 onwards. Remember, here is the basic structure of the Paper 2 Comprehension component:- Listening & Reading paper (Paper 2 / Assessment 2) SL - Listening: 45 min + Reading: 1 hr HL - Listening: 1 hr + Reading: 1hr ** At both levels, there will be 3 listening texts and 3 reading texts - but at HL, the listening texts will longer and the reading texts more challenging. ** The specifications for the length of the listening texts are as follows:- SL - Text A = up to 2 min ... Text B = up to 3 min ... Text C = up to 4 min HL - Text A = up to 3 min ... Text B = up to 4 min ... Text C = up to 5 min ** Notice the phrase "up to" - this necessarily means that the overall times allowed (SL = 45 mins; HL = 1hr) are maximum figures: in practice, the actual total time of the recording to be played is likely to be less than these, since the precise time of each of the texts will vary according to the edited length. 'READING TIME' ... note that there are two periods of 'reading time' for the Listening Comprehension component: 5 minutes before the exam starts, i.e. before the recording is started in this period, students can only read the paper, but cannot take notes, annotate, or do any form of writing 4 minutes within the exam itself, i.e. once the recording has been started in this period, students can write, annotate, underline key words, etc This adds up to a total of 9 minutes 'reading' - which seems a lot. However, note two reasonings behind the IB's decision: (a) a 5 minute 'reading time' is standard practice in most Diploma exams; and (b) it may seem a lot for our generally competent English B students, but the level of proficiency may be lower in other Languages B and so IB feels it fair to give all students the best possible chance. (And, I suspect, there is a desire to be as generous as possible with the introduction of the new assessment system of Listening - in the future, it is possible that IB may feel that the 5 minute reading time is not necessary.) 'WHEN DOES THE EXAM END?' ... In the overall IB exam timetable, the Listening component is allocated 1 hour at HL and 45 minutes at SL. However, according to the planned time structure of the recordings stated in the User Guide (see below), on pages 10-11, there is "remaining time" after the cycle of listen-plus-answer has been completed for all three stimulus texts. This suggests that after the students have, in effect, completed answering the questions, they will have to wait 13 minutes 47 seconds at HL, and 5 minutes 47 seconds at SL, until the official end of the exam. Is this "remaining time" mandatory? In short, yes it is. This is stated explicitly in the FAQs document (see below), pages 3-4.
Listening comprehension: the 'user guide' - the latest guide to the listening comprehension procedure can be found by following these directions: MyIB > Programme resource centre > Diploma Programme > Language Acquisition: Language B > under 'Cross-session resources' and ... under 'Specimen assessments' - especiallythe 'How to download...' summary Listening comprehension FAQs - this document covers questions and concerns raised by the Listening procedure. It can be found by following these directions: Programme Resource Centre > Diploma programme > Language Acquisition: Language B (first assessment 2020) > Assessment/General material > 'Language acquisition listening comprehension examinations: frequently asked questions' NotesI understand the following points about Paper 2:
I emphasise that these are my personal understandings, and are not official IB instructions. It is essential that your IB Coordinator pays close attention to instructions supplied by the IB, especially near the time of the Paper. . The Paper 2 Listening section, introducedHere are summaries of what each page offers - Listening Listening question types ... a list of the question mechanisms that will be used in the Listening exam, with examples and explanations ... + Examples: subordinate pages provide various examples of texts, which practice the various question types Listening Tasks ... an index of links to various listening materials in pages around the site + subordinate pages: some pages specifically dedicated to practising listening Listening exam #1 and Listening exam #2 ... full-scale HL Listening exams, written according to IB specifications, for use as Mock exams, and so on . |