In this post, we'll explore key language items and skills that are being tested in the Linguaskill General Reading and Listening test by Cambridge Assessment English. This will give us the basic foundation needed to prep for the test.
The Cambridge Linguaskill General Reading and Listening test is a fully online, computer-based test. With a total test time of 85 minutes, the test is to be completed by answering a relatively large set of questions split into two sections:
| question type | difficulty level | number of questions |
|---|---|---|
| Listen and select Candidates listen to a short audio recording and answer a multiple-choice question with three options. |
Easy | Variable |
| Extended listening Candidates listen to a longer recording and answer a series of multiple-choice questions based on it. The questions are in the same order as the information they hear in the recording. |
Medium to Hard | Variable |
| question type | difficulty level | number of questions |
|---|---|---|
| Read and select Candidates read a notice, label, memo or letter containing a short text and choose the sentence or phrase that most closely matches the meaning of the text. There are three possible answers. |
Easy | Variable |
| Gapped Sentences Candidates read a sentence with a missing word (gap) and choose the correct word to fill the gap. There are three or four choices for each gap. |
Easy | Variable |
| Multiple-choice gap-fill Candidates choose the right word or phrase to fill the gaps in a text. There are three or four choices for each gap. |
Medium | Variable |
| Open gap-fill Candidates read a short text in which there are some missing words (gaps) and write in the missing word in each gap. |
Hard | Variable |
| Extended reading Candidates read a longer text and answer a series of multiple-choice questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the text. |
Medium to Hard | Variable |
Liguaskill General Reading and Listening tests your understanding of spoken and written English in most general, everyday topics.
More focus is placed on testing your understanding of what information is being expressed, rather than your vocabulary or grammar skills. This general rule applies to both Reading and Listening sections.
However, this does not mean that vocabulary and grammar are not important! Obviously, insufficient knowledge of vocabulary and grammar will limit your ability to understand what information is being expressed accurately. This will affect your Reading and Listening scores.
Therefore, to do well in the Linguaskill General Reading and Listening test, make sure to read our test guides on these specific language skills:
You can also find these guides in the navigation menu, under Linguaskill General Reading & Listening > Before You Start.
