DET Prep Course: Interactive Listening

Summary

This comprehensive guide focuses on the Interactive Listening section of the Duolingo English Test (DET). It covers the structure of the test, types of questions, and strategies for both the Listen and Respond and Summarize the Conversation parts. The guide provides detailed explanations, sample questions, and writing templates to help test-takers prepare effectively.

A video version of this course:

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Interactive Listening
2. Part 1: Listen and Respond
3. Types of Interactive Listening Questions
4. Answering Strategies for Listen and Respond
5. Part 2: Summarize the Conversation
6. Writing Templates for Different Question Types
7. Sample Questions and Answers

Introduction to Interactive Listening

Hello and welcome to the DET Practice Prep Hub. Today we’ll be discussing the ‘interactive listening’ question type. It is designed to evaluate a test taker’s ability to understand spoken English in real-world contexts. In this task, the user listens to short audio clips, often involving conversations, and is prompted to answer comprehension questions and interact with the content by selecting the appropriate responses. This question type emphasizes quick understanding, attention to detail, and the ability to respond accurately to spoken information, reflecting practical listening skills necessary for real-life communication. Let’s start by looking at an introduction to the first part of the interactive listening section.

Part 1: Listen and Respond

Part 1 is called ‘Listen and Respond’ and consists of multiple-choice questions, similar to those found in other English listening tests. Test-takers need to select the correct option from several choices. This section appears twice in each exam, with 5 to 6 multiple-choice questions each time. You’ll have 4 minutes to complete this part, and it’s important to note that the audio will only be played once – there’s no option to replay it.

In this section, you’ll be assigned a role in the conversation, essentially participating in the dialogue. This means the conversation unfolds from a first-person perspective, although you won’t need to speak during the listening part.

For this section, we still recommend memorizing and mastering some scenario-specific vocabulary beforehand, especially focusing on pronunciation. This will help you quickly recognize and understand words during listening comprehension.

We’ve written a dedicated article introducing and explaining vocabulary for listening scenarios. You can find the link to this article here:

Types of Interactive Listening Questions

Now, let’s take a look at the categories of ‘interactive listening’ questions. Up to this point, based on the identities of the speakers in the listening dialogues, ‘interactive listening’ questions can be broadly divided into two types: student-to-student and student-to-teacher conversations. The number of speakers in these dialogues is consistently two; there haven’t been any multi-person conversations with more than two participants so far. In terms of scenarios, they can be roughly categorized into two types: discussions about problems and solutions, and Q and A sessions about classroom content or academic issues.

Interactive Listening Categories

You can refer to the diagram above for a clearer overview.

Answering Strategies for Listen and Respond

Let’s look at this question.

Before the listening section begins, we’ll see a scenario like this. Look at the first bolded sentence: ‘You will participate in a conversation about the scenario below.’ It’s important to note that, unlike other English exams, in the DET, you, the test-taker, are assumed to be one of the characters in the listening scenario. That’s why you’ll see the word ‘You’ in the scenario introduction.

Interactive Listening Demo Scenario

Let’s look at the specific scenario: ‘You are considering taking a year off between high school and university and are discussing it with your friend. They think it’s a great idea, but you’re not sure if you want to wait another year before going to university.’

This scenario provides a lot of information. First, let’s look at the sentence: ‘You are considering taking a year off between high school and university, and are discussing it with your friend.’ This establishes your identity as a high school graduate about to enter university. You want to discuss this matter with your friend.

Then, the scenario states: ‘They think it’s a great idea, but you’re not sure if you want to wait another year before going to university.’ This means your friend thinks it’s a good idea, but you’re not certain.

Now, let’s discuss how to use this scenario to help answer questions. Firstly, the scenario can serve as a basis for judging the answers to the listening multiple-choice questions, especially for the first two questions. The answers are likely to be found within this scenario. Note that during the 4-minute answering period, the scenario will remain visible. You can scroll the right side of the screen to review this section at any time. So, if you’re unsure about a question, remember to come back and check if there are any clues or hints in the scenario.

Secondly, this scenario summarizes the main content of the listening to some extent, so it can be used as a reference for writing in Part 2 of this question, which we’ll discuss later.

Now let’s look at the specific questions. In this question, we first need to click the play button to listen to the audio.

Here, your friend asks, ‘Have you decided what you are going to do next year?’ They’re inquiring about your plans for next year. Referring to the scenario, we know that you’re considering a gap year. So, it’s easy to find the correct answer, which is the first option. Let’s look at the wording of the first answer: ‘I’m thinking about taking a year off before going to university.’ This matches exactly with the scenario’s ‘You are considering taking a year off between high school and university.’ So, if you’re unsure about a question, always remember to compare it with the scenario – you might quickly find the correct answer.

Let’s continue to the next question. Now, your friend says, ‘That’s a great idea! I’ve been thinking about doing the same thing.’ This means they’re considering a gap year just like you. How would you respond to this? Let’s look at the answer choices.

Remember, we mentioned that for the first one or two questions, the scenario is crucial for selecting the answer. By comparing with the scenario, we find that option three aligns with the scenario’s description – you’re still not sure about taking a gap year. So, you can directly choose this as the correct answer.

Then your friend says: ‘Yeah, I know it’s a big decision, but I think it would be a really great experience. You get to travel and learn new things and meet new people.’ They mention some benefits of a gap year, which allows you to have free time to travel, learn new things, and meet new people. How would you respond? Let’s look at the options below.

Although we can’t always use the scenario to help us judge, we can still analyze the options to answer the question. Here’s our analysis:

First, option 1 mentions psychology, a specific subject, but from the previous conversation, we know this wasn’t mentioned. So, it’s not the correct answer.

Option 2 ends with ‘that one,’ but we’re not clear what ‘that one’ refers to. This ambiguity allows us to eliminate this option.

Option 3 mentions travel, which partially overlaps with what your friend just said. Let’s keep this one in mind.

Looking at the last two options, one mentions London and a job, while the other mentions Japan. These weren’t mentioned in the conversation, so we can eliminate them.

Therefore, we can conclude that option 3, which we kept earlier, is the correct answer.

Let’s continue and see what your friend says next. She says: ‘And there are so many different options. You could volunteer or work or even just take some time off to relax and figure out what you want to do with your life.’ Here, your friend is giving some options for what you could do during a gap year. She’s still listing the benefits of taking a gap year. Let’s look at how you might respond.

Option 1 mentions travel again, but it says you wouldn’t travel alone. This wasn’t mentioned in the previous conversation, so we can rule it out.

Option 2 has several issues that indicate it’s not the correct answer. First, the use of ‘that’ is ambiguous – your friend mentioned many options, so we can’t use the singular pronoun ‘that’ to replace them all. Also, the question ‘What do you want to go after that?’ seems to be asking about plans after the gap year, which wasn’t mentioned earlier in the conversation. So, we can eliminate this option.

Option 3, suggesting your friend go to the library and do research, goes against common sense. While you can plan for a gap year in advance, it doesn’t require library research. This can be eliminated.

Option 4 mentions an end-of-term paper, which hasn’t appeared anywhere in the conversation. This answer is fabricated and can be ruled out.

Therefore, option 5 is the correct answer, as we’ve eliminated all the previous options. This option mentions the real reason for your uncertainty about taking a gap year, as stated in the scenario – you’re worried that your parents might not agree with this choice.

Continuing with the listening part, your friend now says: ‘You could talk to them about it and see what they think. It’s definitely worth considering!’ She’s suggesting that you talk to your parents and see what they think. This is a practical suggestion, so you should reasonably accept it and express gratitude.

Let’s look at the options below to see which one fits. After comparing, we find that option 3, which agrees to talk to your parents, is the most appropriate answer, so it’s correct.

With this, we’ve completed the listening part. This concludes Part 1 of the ‘interactive listening’ section in the DET.

Part 2: Summarize the Conversation

Next, let’s look at Part 2 of the ‘interactive listening’ question: Summarize the Conversation. In this section, we have 75 seconds to summarize the content of the previous listening dialogue. Remember what we mentioned earlier: the scenario can be used as a reference for writing the summary. However, note that the scenario and conversation text are not visible in this part. So, this section largely relies on the test-taker’s short-term memory.

Here’s an additional tip: while doing Part 1 of the ‘interactive listening’ question, we have 4 minutes to complete it. Often, we don’t use all 4 minutes. So, if you’ve finished all the multiple-choice questions in the remaining time of Part 1, you can spend some time memorizing the main content of the scenario and listening text. This will help you write more content when you get to the Summarize the Conversation part.

Writing Templates for Different Question Types

Now, let’s look at the writing template for the ‘Problem/Solution Discussion Type,’ which is the type of conversation we just heard. You can pause this video and take a screenshot to save this template. Notice that we’ve used different colors to mark sentences in the template: blue for relatively fixed content, red for content that can be chosen based on the context, and black for content that needs to be replaced.

– Problem/Solution Discussion Type:

The conversation is about + the topic of conversation. I am a student who has [a problem/a question/a concern]about + specific issue content. I talked to[another student/a professor/a college staff] who is[my friend/my classmate/my teacher] and asked for their[advice/help]. They suggested that I should + specific suggestion or solution. I think their idea is[good/feasible/practical]and I decided to follow it. The result is that I + outcome of the conversation (if any).

Similarly, we’ve provided a version with upgraded vocabulary:

– Problem/Solution Discussion Type:

The conversation revolves around + the topic of conversation. I am a student who has [a problem/a question/a concern]regarding + specific issue content. I sought[another student/a professor/a college staff] who is[my friend/my classmate/my teacher] and solicited their[advice/assistance]. They proposed that I ought to[the suggestion/ solution]. I evaluated their idea as[good/feasible/practical]and I opted to follow it. The outcome is that I + result of the conversation (if any).

For students with a better foundation or aiming for higher scores, you can screenshot and save this advanced template for future practice reference.

Regarding the use of template sentences, let’s add a few more tips: When using templates for your responses, it’s important to keep a few key points in mind. First and foremost, always make sure your content stays relevant to the topic at hand. Don’t try to force the template to fit if it doesn’t quite work – that can lead to awkward or inappropriate usage.

As you work through multiple questions, be careful not to repeat the same points over and over. This can make your responses feel repetitive and less engaging. It’s also crucial to double-check your spelling, grammar, and syntax in the template sentences. Small errors can really stand out and detract from your message.

Remember, the opening and closing sentences in these templates are often optional. If they don’t feel necessary for a particular response, it’s perfectly fine to omit them. This can help your answer feel more natural and tailored to the specific question.

Lastly, while templates can be helpful guides, try not to rely on them too heavily. The goal is to develop your own skills in formulating responses. Use the templates as a starting point, but practice putting things in your own words and developing your unique voice. This will make your answers more authentic and demonstrate your true understanding of the material.

Sample Questions and Answers

Alright, now let’s use these template sentences to complete the summary writing part based on the previous conversation content. You can pause here to practice using the template for writing.

Welcome back. Let’s look at the sample answer. You can take a screenshot to save this answer.

Similarly, we’ve also completed a summary of this conversation using the advanced template sentences. You can screenshot and save this answer for future reference and study.

First, let’s examine the scenario part.

Interactive Listening Demo Scenario 2

There are some key pieces of information here. Firstly, it introduces the characters and their identities in the dialogue, namely a student and a professor. Your problem is that you don’t fully understand the term, ‘cultivate sources’, so you want to ask the professor for further explanation.

Alright, after analyzing the scenario, let’s look at Part 1. Notice that in this question, we don’t start with the audio part, but with making a choice. This is the same in the actual exam; the order is not fixed. You might first hear an audio clip, or you might need to make a choice first.

Let’s look at the first question. When choosing, we can refer to the scenario and compare. Through comparison, we find that option 4 matches the description in the scenario, so it’s correct.

The professor then responds, “Sure. What was it?” asking about your specific question. This isn’t very complicated. We can continue to compare with the scenario and find that the last option is the most fitting, matching the question description in the scenario. So we choose it as the correct answer.

The professor then says: “Absolutely. Cultivating sources refers to the process of developing relationships with people who can provide information for stories. This can be done in a number of ways, but some common ones are attending events that potential sources are likely to be attending, initiating conversations, or asking current sources for additional people they may know.” This answer is long, but essentially, the professor is explaining what ‘Cultivating sources’ means and how to do it.

How would you respond? Let’s look at the options. The options in this question are relatively simple, but we can’t refer to the scenario anymore. We need to analyze each option. First, ‘earn extra credit’ wasn’t mentioned in the conversation, so we can rule it out. The second option, asking about a story, wasn’t mentioned either. Similarly, ‘I guess’ and the last option about scheduling a meeting time don’t match the conversation. So, we choose option 3, asking about the comparison with networking, as the correct option.

Next, the professor says: ‘In a way, yes. But unlike traditional networking where the goal is to meet as many people as possible, the goal with cultivating sources is to develop deeper relationships with key people who can provide you with information that you need about a topic.’ This explains the similarities and differences between cultivating sources and networking.

Then, we need to continue analyzing the options. The first option, ‘solar energy,’ wasn’t mentioned. The third option, ‘interested in both fields,’ also wasn’t mentioned. The last two options, ‘two modes of transportation’ and ‘study group,’ are also unmentioned content, so they can be eliminated. Therefore, the second option is the correct one. Here, you asked the professor about the importance of these relationships.

So, the professor should explain why it’s important. The professor continues: ‘It makes your job as a reporter more efficient. Instead of having to call strangers for information or contact public relations departments, you can reach out to your sources and get the information that you need quickly and easily.’

At this point, the professor should have answered all your questions, and we should express gratitude. So for the last question, we can choose the fourth option as the correct answer.

With this, we’ve completed Part 1.

Before we do Part 2, let’s learn two writing templates for the Classroom Content/Academic Question Type. You can pause the video and screenshot these templates to save them.

– Classroom Content/Academic Question Type:

Note that the parts in black font in the templates can be changed according to the specific content of the listening.

– Classroom Content/Academic Question Type:

For the vocabulary-upgraded version of the template, we can use it as appropriate.

Alright, now we can practice using these templates to summarize the content of the above dialogue.

Welcome back, let’s look at the sample answer. You can screenshot to save this answer.

That concludes today’s lesson on the ‘interactive listening’ question type. See you next time. Bye!

Similarly, we’ve also completed a summary of this dialogue using the advanced template sentences.

You can screenshot and save this answer for future study.

Recap & Conclusion

This comprehensive guide to the DET Interactive Listening section provides test-takers with valuable insights and strategies. Key takeaways include:

1. Understanding the structure of the Interactive Listening section, including the Listen and Respond and Summarize the Conversation parts.
2. Recognizing different types of conversations and scenarios in the test.
3. Developing effective strategies for answering multiple-choice questions and writing summaries.
4. Utilizing provided templates to improve response quality and consistency.
5. Practicing with sample questions and answers to familiarize oneself with the test format.

By following these guidelines and regularly practicing, test-takers can significantly improve their performance in the Interactive Listening section of the DET. Remember to adapt strategies to your personal strengths and continue refining your skills through consistent practice.

This concludes the content of our lesson today. See you in our next post!