AQA GCSE Mandarin · 8673
GCSE Mandarin listening practice
17 Mandarin listening texts, grouped by the AQA themes: short readers and dialogues written only in GCSE vocabulary, read aloud, each with its own comprehension questions. Listen first, answer, then check the transcript.
Press Listen and let the recording play through once without reading anything.
Answer the questions from what you heard. Slow it down or replay it if you need to.
Only then read the transcript, and find the sentences that caught you out.
General
新学生
ReaderFoundationThe New Student · 7 questions
手机在哪儿
ReaderFoundationWhere Is My Phone? · 7 questions
电影还是公园
ReaderFoundationThe Cinema or the Park · 7 questions
香港的暑假
ReaderHigherA Summer in Hong Kong · 7 questions
Identity and culture
在浩轩的家
DialogueFoundationAt Haoxuan's Home · 7 questions
梓涵的家
ReaderFoundationZihan's Family · 7 questions
在饭馆
DialogueFoundationAt the Restaurant · 7 questions
春节的饺子
ReaderFoundationSpring Festival Dumplings · 7 questions
端午节在新加坡
ReaderHigherThe Dragon Boat Festival in Singapore · 7 questions
Local, national, international and global areas of interest
买票
DialogueFoundationBuying a Ticket · 7 questions
涛的新家
ReaderFoundationTao's New Home · 7 questions
天安门在哪儿？
DialogueFoundationWhere Is Tiananmen? · 7 questions
去长城
ReaderFoundationOff to the Great Wall · 7 questions
寒假去台湾
ReaderHigherA Winter Holiday in Taiwan · 7 questions
Current and future study and employment
面试
DialogueFoundationThe Interview · 7 questions
我的学校
ReaderFoundationMy School · 7 questions
兼职面试
ReaderHigherThe Part-Time Job Interview · 7 questions
Learn it in the order the specification sets it
The GCSE Mandarin course teaches the specification's words and grammar, Foundation before Higher, with drills that remember what you already know.
Questions
How can I get better at GCSE Mandarin listening?
Little and often beats one long session. Listen to a short text once without the words, answer what you can, then read the transcript and replay the parts you missed. The misses are usually a handful of words you know on paper but not by ear, and those are the ones to drill.
Is the audio a real person?
No. The recordings are generated by a text-to-speech voice, so they are clear and steady but flatter than a real speaker. Use them to learn to recognise the GCSE words by sound, and listen to real speakers as well.
Is it free?
The texts, the questions and the transcripts are free for everyone. Most of the recordings are part of Kilo Lingo Plus, which starts with a free week.
Are these past paper questions?
No. The texts and questions are our own, written only in words on the AQA GCSE Mandarin vocabulary list, so they practise the skill without reproducing the exam board's papers.
Themes and tiers from the AQA GCSE Mandarin (8673) specification. Kilo Lingo is not affiliated with or endorsed by AQA.