AEAS Listening: what to expect

This site doesn't currently include Listening practice material; this guide is here so families know what to expect on this part of the real test.

AEAS Listening runs 20 minutes across three separate recorded texts, roughly 10 questions each, about 30 questions total.

Played once, not twice

Each recording is played once only; unlike some other English tests, there's no second play. There's a timed silent pause after each text to write answers (1 minute after texts 1 and 2, 5 minutes after the final text).

Question types

Mixed across the three texts: True/False; exact-word fill-in-the-blank, including completing a realistic form or document (like a library membership form), not just bare sentences; multiple choice (3 or 4 options); a multi-select format where more than one option is correct per question; and table or grid completion, such as ticking multiple correct cells per row or labelling a diagram.

Spelling and wording need to be exact; a correctly understood answer that's paraphrased instead of transcribed still loses the mark.

Predict before you listen

In the seconds before each recording starts, skim the questions and guess what kind of answer each one needs: a number, a name, a place, a single word. Knowing what you're listening for makes it far easier to catch the answer the moment it's said.

Write while you listen, not after

Jot the answer down as soon as you hear it, in shorthand if needed, and tidy the spelling later in the pause; waiting until the recording finishes to write from memory is a common way to lose answers you actually heard correctly.

Since it only plays once

• If you miss one answer, let it go immediately and refocus on the next question; dwelling on a missed answer is the most common way to miss the next one too.
• Practise with any audio source under a strict one-play rule to build the habit, since re-listening during practice trains a skill you won't have on the day.
• Get spelling genuinely automatic for common answer-type words (days, months, numbers as words, common nouns) well before test day; there's no time to sound a word out during the recording itself.