Duolingo Interactive Listening
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The Duolingo English Test now also includes an interactive listening task which tests your ability to listen to and understand a conversation that might typically be heard in a university.
You will hear two conversations and there are two tasks that you will be asked to do.
Example
Task 1: Dialogue Completion
Audio:
Aren’t you finishing university soon? Have you thought about what you want to do afterwards?
In task 1, you need to select the best response to continue the conversation. For some tasks, you may be required to select the opening line in the dialogue.
Select the best response
- Yes, I’ll be graduating next year. I want to get a good job.
- Yeah, I’ve been there for about a year now. It’s really great!
- Hey, what are you planning to do after you finish university?
- I’m thinking about taking a year off before I start university.
Task 2: Summarization
Summarize the conversation you just had in 75 seconds.
In the conversation, two students were speaking about their plans once they leave university. The first student was planning to get a good job, possibly as a lawyer or an accountant, while the second was planning to take some time off to travel before starting a masters degree.
In the second task, try to write a summary of the conversation.
Strategy
As with any other exam questions, there are some strategies you can follow to help you get the answers first time.
Dialogue Completion
At the beginning of this task, you will be informed about the conversation that you will hear. You will be told who the two speakers are and what the conversation will be about. You may also be told what you are aiming to achieve from the conversation. All of this information is useful in determining what the next step in the conversation will be.
You will hear two conversations. One will be between two students while the other will be between a student and a professor. Typically, a student will be requesting something, or asking for advice or information.
This type of question is really just a multiple choice question. As with other multiple choice questions, a good strategy is to rule out obvious wrong answers. This allows you to make an educated guess if you need to.
Keep in mind that whatever answer you select it should move the conversation forward. It is not going to be re-phrasing the same sentence. If may answer a request, or it may ask for clarification.
Summarization
You do not have very long to summarise the conversation. In 75 seconds, you may not be able to write more than a couple of sentences. However, the following questions may help you to include the most essential points:
- Who was speaking to who?
- What did they want?
- Did they give them what they wanted?
- Why (not)?
Practice
See if you can complete the example below.
Task 1: Dialogue Completion
You are a student in an English Composition class and received a lower score on your last assignment than you were expecting. You go to talk to your professor about your grade and what you can do to improve your work in the future.
Professor: Hello, David. What can I do for you?
- Hello, I’d like to enrol in the English Composition class please.
- Hello. Well to be honest, I was a little surprised by my grade on the last assignment.
- Hello, I’d like to ask how to improve my writing.
- Hello, I’d like to know what jobs I can get after I complete this course.
Professor: Hello, David. What can I do for you?
Student: Hello. Well to be honest, I was a little surprised by my grade on the last assignment.
Professor: I see. What was it that you surprised you?
- I didn’t expect to score so highly. I didn’t feel my work was that strong.
- You didn’t assign a grade which left me confused.
- I put a lot of work into this piece and I thought it deserved a higher grade.
- I copied my work and I expected you to fail it.
Professor: Hello, David. What can I do for you?
Student: Hello. Well to be honest, I was a little surprised by my grade on the last assignment.
Professor: I see. What was it that you surprised you?
Student: I put a lot of work into this piece and I thought it deserved a higher grade.
Professor: Well, it did show a lot of thought. However, there were some serious errors.
- I understand. Please could you tell me what they are so that I can improve my writing next time?
- Yeah, I’ve nearly completed it and I’ll hand it in next time.
- I’m relieved to hear the mistakes were all minor.
- What mistakes do you make when you’re writing?
Professor: Hello, David. What can I do for you?
Student: Hello. Well to be honest, I was a little surprised by my grade on the last assignment.
Professor: I see. What was it that you surprised you?
Student: I put a lot of work into this piece and I thought it deserved a higher grade.
Professor: Well, it did show a lot of thought. However, there were some serious errors.
Student: I understand. Please could you tell me what they are so that I can improve my writing next time?
Professor: Certainly. So for one thing, you had far too many spelling mistakes.
- Yes, I know that is my strong suit. I spell very well.
- How do you spell mistakes?
- Yes, I know my spelling is poor. I’m trying to improve it. Do you have any tips?
- Ok, great. I will try that.
Professor: Hello, David. What can I do for you?
Student: Hello. Well to be honest, I was a little surprised by my grade on the last assignment.
Professor: I see. What was it that you surprised you?
Student: I put a lot of work into this piece and I thought it deserved a higher grade.
Professor: Well, it did show a lot of thought. However, there were some serious errors.
Student: I understand. Please could you tell me what they are so that I can improve my writing next time?
Professor: Certainly. So for one thing, you had far too many spelling mistakes.
Student: Yes, I know my spelling is poor. I’m trying to improve it. Do you have any tips?
Professor: Well, I would suggest making a list of the words you get wrong, then try to write sentences with them every day. Check the spelling when you are finished.
- Do you have any tips for improving my spelling?
- Did I have any spelling errors in my work?
- Will improving my spelling improve my writing score?
- That sounds like a great idea. I will try it.
Task 2: Summarization
Summarize the conversation you just had in 75 seconds.
You can practice typing or on a piece of paper before checking the sample answer below.
Answers
- 2
- 3
- 1
- 3
- 4
A student wanted to know why their professor had graded a piece of written work so lowly when they had put a lot of effort into it. The professor revealed that one reason was the spelling, which the student then asked for advice to improve. The professor suggested one tactic and the student agreed to try this.
