Learn More About The Duolingo English Test Interactive Listening Question Type and How To Ace It

English proficiency exams are commonly required for students studying abroad, ensuring they possess the necessary language skills for academic success and cultural engagement. The Duolingo English Test is a digital-first, high-stakes test widely used for evaluating language skills objectively. It assesses various competencies, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking, providing a comprehensive evaluation of English proficiency. As a computer adaptive test, it tailors questions to the test-taker's performance level.

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DET Format

With an overall duration of one hour, the DET format consists of two sections: Adaptive Listening and Video interview. The first 5 minutes of the test contains an Introduction and onboarding, 45 minutes for adaptive listening, and 10 minutes for the writing and speaking section. The DET has developed an automated scoring of video interviews and writing samples without significantly adding to the exam length.

New Interactive Listening Questions

Each year, the DET undergoes updates to offer a faster and more advanced test at an affordable price. This ensures a larger number of students worldwide can attain English certification for both spoken and written skills, aiding them in pursuing their academic goals.

Last year the DET introduced a groundbreaking advancement in English testing called Interactive Listening, where test-takers engage in AI-simulated conversations. This innovative question type is designed to assess proficiency skills crucial for university settings, simulating both student-to-student and student-and-professor interactions, preparing students for academic success.

The addition of Interactive Listening extends the evaluation of proficiency skills beyond traditional academic contexts, introducing fresh and creative methods into the testing process. Interactive Listening is a multi-step question type contributing to the overall score, including all four subscores. You can also take free DET practice tests to better understand this question type, as well the overall test structure.

The Duolingo English Test incorporates two Interactive Listening scenarios, each comprising two parts. Below, you'll find information about the question types expected in Interactive Listening and tips for effectively navigating this section.

Tips to ace the interactive listening section

Here are some DET tips to help you perform well in this section:

Listen and Respond

• Interacting with the question
  • Pay close attention! The audio clips can only be played once, so listen carefully.
  • If needed, you can refer back to the earlier parts of the conversation to assist you.
• Responding to the question
  • Take note of the relation between the speakers. How would two students engage in conversation? How would a teacher and a student interact?
  • Don’t worry if you don't select the best response —the test will provide feedback, allowing you to improve your subsequent answers. Pay attention to the correct response to follow the conversation accurately.
  • Try to retain the key points of the conversation for the subsequent summary task.

Summarize the Conversation

• Interacting with the question
  • If you didn't select the most optimal answers in the preceding section, there's no need to worry. Rather, concentrate on summarizing the conversation.
  • Write a complete paragraph instead of providing separate bullet points.
  • Keep in mind that you have limited time for writing, so begin by including essential details about the conversation. Who were the speakers? What was the topic of the conversation? What was the result or outcome?
  • Utilize the entire time available to provide a detailed summary. If time permits, review your response for spelling and grammar accuracy.