1. Determine the audio type. This information is usually provided in the introduction to the segment. Knowing its format will help you anticipate the type of information you are about to hear. It could be a news report, an informational piece, a conversation, an interview or a personal opinion or reflection.
2. Follow a three-step listening process. Practice for this section of the test can be described as a three step process: before listening, listening, and after listening. As you become more proficient in the language and you enhance your listening comprehension skills, you will go through the process more quickly.
Before listening: Read the title and the introduction that precedes the audio selection and make predictions about what you are about to hear. Do you know anything about the theme? Start connecting thoughts to what you may already know about the subject. Remember that you can use some of the strategies you use in reading, such as reading the questions first, underlining key words, etc.
Listening:
a. Be ready to determine the gist of what is being said. Remember you do not have to know every word to understand the selection. Do the people seem angry? Worried? Happy? Is it a news
item? A dialogue? A narrative? An interview?
b. There may be sounds that will help you place the listening text in a specific context, such as traffic noise, crowd voices, laughter, etc.
c. Visualize scenes and images that relate to the audio as you listen: it will help you understand what you hear.
d. Focus on associations and connections (background knowledge) triggered by the audio.
e. Pay attention to details. Do the voices in the dialogues or interviews communicate a certain mood? Is a person trying to persuade, demand, complain, convey a message, etc.?
f. Derive meaning from the context. This will allow you to draw inferences.
g. Do not focus on words you don't understand: it is not very productive, as it will prevent you from fully understanding what is being said.
h. Take notes by jotting down key words and facts as you listen.
i. If you hear a proper name with which you are not familiar, write the initials or look at the questions so that you can easily identify the person who is mentioned.
After listening: As you answer the multiple-choice questions, reflect back on what you heard and use the notes you took to help you reconstruct the main ideas and specific details of the segment.
3. Scan the multiple-choice options for answers before listening. You have the opportunity to look at the questions as well as the options before and while you are listening, and additional time is built in for you to preview the questions. This helps you know what to listen for. The questions are usually in the same order as the information in the selection. Again, with practice, you will learn to work more efficiently. You must develop your own style. Some students do better when they concentrate first on the selection; others find it easier to read the questions while they are listening. When looking at the options or the questions, highlight or underline proper names. This will help you sort out the different people in the conversation or narrative. Keep in mind that some questions require that you make inferences or predictions based on the information you have heard.
4. Listen to authentic spoken Spanish.
Beyond the classroom you should take any opportunity to listen to the radio, television, or podcasts. Usually TV news is easier to understand because you can make a connection between what you are hearing and the visuals. Soap operas come from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, so you must give yourself time to become accustomed to the different accents and regionalisms. (You will hear different regional accents in the actual exam.) Your teacher may also provide you with different sources you may use to practice.
If you are not used to listening to authentic audios, you may start listening for a few minutes at a time and then increase the tie as you become more comfortable. This will avoid frustration on your part.
Always take notes on what you hear to help you summarize or synthesize the information.
5. Keep focused. Finally, it is easy to lose interest or give up. Don't give up! If your mind wanders for a few seconds, concentrate again and keep listening. Sometimes the information is repeated paraphrased, or explained further, so you may have the opportunity to gather more information about certain details later on in the selection.