The Aptis Advanced Listening test assesses the ability to understand spoken English in a range of complex situations. It focuses on understanding factual information, opinions, attitudes, relationships between ideas, and extended spoken texts.
The Listening component takes approximately 30 minutes and consists of 11 tasks based on 11 recordings, with a total of 25 questions. The test is divided into four parts. The recordings become progressively more demanding, with the later parts requiring candidates to understand longer and more complex spoken texts.
Part 1: Identifying Factual Information
In Part 1, candidates listen to five short recordings. Each recording is followed by one multiple-choice question, giving a total of five questions.
The recordings may be short conversations or monologues. The questions test the candidate’s ability to identify specific factual information, such as a reason, place, activity, decision, or other important detail.
Each recording is played twice. Candidates choose the correct answer from four options.
Number of recordings: 5
Number of questions: 5
Question type: Multiple choice
Recordings: Heard twice
Part 2: Identifying Opinion and Attitude
In Part 2, candidates listen to three monologues. Each recording is followed by two multiple-choice questions, giving a total of six questions.
This part focuses on the speaker’s opinions, attitudes, and points of view. Candidates may need to identify what a speaker thinks about a particular issue or how the speaker feels about something discussed in the recording.
Each recording is played twice. There are four answer options for each question.
Number of recordings: 3
Number of questions: 6
Question type: Multiple choice
Recordings: Heard twice
Part 3: Understanding an Extended Spoken Text
In Part 3, candidates listen to a discussion between two speakers. Before the recording, several statements are presented on the screen.
Candidates must identify which speaker expresses each opinion. The possible answers are generally the man, the woman, or both.
There are six questions in this part. The discussion is played once only.
This part tests the ability to follow a discussion and distinguish between the opinions and ideas expressed by the two speakers.
Candidates have 20 seconds to read the statements before the recording begins.
Number of recordings: 1
Number of questions: 6
Question type: Identifying the speaker
Recording: Heard once
Part 4: Understanding an Extended Story
In Part 4, candidates listen to two longer monologues. Each recording is followed by four questions, giving a total of eight questions.
The questions are presented in the form of a table. Candidates select the information that corresponds to the content of each recording.
The recordings may contain a story, account, or extended description. The information may be presented in a different order from the questions or options, so candidates need to understand the development of the whole recording.
Each recording is played once only.
Number of recordings: 2
Number of questions: 8
Question type: Table-selection task
Recordings: Heard once
Aptis Advanced Listening at a Glance
| Part | Main focus | Recordings | Questions | Listening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Factual information | 5 | 5 | Twice |
| Part 2 | Opinion and attitude | 3 | 6 | Twice |
| Part 3 | Speakers’ opinions | 1 | 6 | Once |
| Part 4 | Extended spoken texts/stories | 2 | 8 | Once |
| Total | — | 11 | 25 | Approx. 30 min |
The Aptis Advanced Listening test therefore moves from short recordings containing specific information in Part 1 to longer and more complex spoken texts in Parts 3 and 4. It includes different types of spoken English and tests a range of listening abilities, from identifying factual details to distinguishing speakers’ opinions and understanding extended discourse.
The four parts together provide an assessment of how effectively candidates can understand spoken English at an advanced level across different contexts and types of communication.