CELPIP

Strategies

Part 3: Listening for Information

A long dialogue of detail. You pull out numbers, dates, names and conditions.

2 - 2.5 min · 6 questions · 30s per question

What this part tests

  • A longer dialogue where someone provides detailed information. You must extract and organize specific details like numbers, dates, names, and conditions.
  • A single audio followed by 6 multiple-choice questions. The questions are audio-only and not displayed on screen.

Key strategies

01

Listen for organizational cues

The speaker usually structures information sequentially or categorically. Use these cues to mentally organize what you hear.

Listen for“First…”“Next…”“The third option is…”
02

Match information to question order

Questions generally follow the chronological order of the audio. If you're on question 3, the answer is likely in the middle section of the audio, not the beginning.

03

Focus on specifics, not gist

This part tests detailed comprehension. Listen for exact numbers, names, dates, and specific conditions rather than general themes.

Pro tip. Information in this part is often presented in lists or comparisons. Mentally create a table: "Option A has X, Y, Z; Option B has A, B, C." This helps when questions ask you to compare.

Common mistakes

Mixing up details that belong to different categories or options
Choosing an answer that sounds plausible but uses a number/date from a different part of the audio

What it looks like

Note: In the real exam, the audio plays once with no replay and no pause. The questions are also audio-only and will not appear as text on screen.

Instructions:

You will hear a conversation. A prospective student is looking for information about graduate studies and is at a university admissions office.

Listen to the conversation.
00:0002:51
Question 1 of 6
Choose the best answer to each question.

How to apply the strategies

  • Strategy #3 (Focus on specifics): The question asks for a specific detail (academic requirement).
  • The speaker mentions "undergraduate degree in a related field with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0." Option A paraphrases this as "university diploma in a related area with a specific grade point average."
  • The other options mention plausible requirements (Canadian institution, English test, work experience) but none were stated for this particular program.
Part 3 of 6