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- Exam skills: Paper 2 Listening and dictation
Exam skills: Paper 2 Listening and dictation
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Paper 2 is worth 25% (50 marks): 45 minutes at Foundation, 60 minutes at Higher, including 5 minutes' reading time.
Structure
Section A: listening comprehension. Questions are in English and you answer in English: multiple choice, multiple response and short answers.
Section B: dictation. You hear short Spanish sentences and write them down in Spanish. Marks depend on accurate spelling.
Section B: dictation. You hear short Spanish sentences and write them down in Spanish. Marks depend on accurate spelling.
Comprehension tips
Use the reading time to read every question and predict the words you might hear.
Listen for negatives (no, nunca, nadie), time markers (ayer, mañana, el año pasado) and changes of mind (pero, sin embargo).
The first thing you hear is often a distractor.
Listen for negatives (no, nunca, nadie), time markers (ayer, mañana, el año pasado) and changes of mind (pero, sin embargo).
The first thing you hear is often a distractor.
Dictation tips
Use the sound rules to spell words, even ones you are not sure of: qu for k before e / i, ll, ñ, rr, j / ge, silent h.
Check agreements and accents (es, está, más). Re-read your sentence: does it make sense?
Check agreements and accents (es, está, más). Re-read your sentence: does it make sense?
You hear: "Normalmente voy al instituto en autobús, pero hoy he ido a pie porque hacía buen tiempo." How did the speaker travel today?
- Normalmente ... en autobús is the usual way: a distractor.
- pero hoy he ido a pie = but today I went on foot.
- Reason: the weather was good.
Answer: On foot (because the weather was good).
Section A: answer in English, read questions first, watch for negatives, tenses and 'pero'. Section B: dictation, spell using sound-symbol rules and check agreements.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
Check you have got it
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