What is the listening comprehension test about?

IN Sproochentest

You would like or you have registered for the Sproochentest to get the Luxembourgish citizenship but you don’t know where to start? In my previous article I talked about the oral part of the test. If you haven’t read it yet do it here!

Today I’m going to share with you all you should know about the listening comprehension part of the Sproochentest: The level required, the content, the procedure and the assessment and the passing criteria.

I have put this article together to help you prepare for and succeed on the listening part of the Sproochentest!

Useful information about the listening comprehension test

1. Level required

The level of the listening comprehension test corresponds to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages for listening comprehension:

‘The candidate can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. The candidate can understand the main points of many radio or TV programmes on current topics or matters of personal or professional interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear.’

2. Content and procedure

The listening comprehension test is divided in three parts:

1 a radio news item: this part is very short and consists of one item about local Luxembourgish news

2 an everyday conversation between two people: this part is a little bit longer than part 1 and it is a dialogue about any topic

3 a discussion or presentation of a specific subject: this is the longest part (about 90-120 seconds); it can be a dialogue or a monologue.

Each part comprises a sound recording and recorded questions. Each recording is played twice. After each recording, the candidate answers the multiple-choice questions by indicating his/her answer on an answer sheet.

The test lasts about 25 minutes.

3. Assessment

Candidates’ answer sheets are marked by two markers using a marking grid.

4. Passing criteria

A candidate passes the test if he/she obtains at least half the possible marks in the oral production test. An insufficient score can be compensated by the mark in the listening comprehension test.

Take note that this test takes place in a big room and that you are together with all the other candidates of the session. This means that the acoustic is not always optimal.

This is all you should know about the listening comprehension test. I hope that is useful for you. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions about this test.

You can read all the information regarding the conditions and registration on the homepage of the Institut National des Langues.