Skip to main content

Study Guide

Field 126: Japanese CST
Interpretive Listening

Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."

Expand All | Collapse All

Directions for Interpretive Listening Selected-Response Questions

For the Interpretive Listening section of the test, you will listen to audio recordings containing spoken messages in the target language and answer selected-response questions written in the target language based on each message.

For each audio recording, a preview of the test questions associated with the spoken message will be presented on the screen. The audio recording will begin playing automatically. Once the audio recording begins, you will not be able to pause, stop, or replay it.

There will be 90 seconds of silence at the beginning of each audio recording. During these 90 seconds, you should familiarize yourself with the test questions. You may need to scroll down to preview all the questions. You will not be able to select your response choices during this preview.

After the 90 seconds of silence, you will hear a spoken message. Listen carefully. Each spoken message will be played twice. After the spoken message has played twice, move to the next screen to begin answering the questions.

 start bold Note that in this section of the test, you can go back to previous screens to review or change your responses to questions. However, you will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be able to replay the audio recordings. end bold 

Please be aware that the visual enhancements Example of the Color Scheme visual enhancement control and Example of the Font Size visual enhancement control cannot be adjusted during the Interpretive Listening section of the test. You must make any desired adjustments now before you select "Next" to begin the Interpretive Listening section. You will not be able to adjust these features again until you have completed this section of the test.

Click the  start bold Next end bold  button when you have finished reading these directions and are ready to begin the Interpretive Listening section of the test. Once you advance to the next screen, the first audio recording will start automatically with 90 seconds of silence.

 start bold Be sure you have your headset on before proceeding. end bold 

Select the  start bold Next end bold  button to continue.

Sample Interpretive Listening Selected-Response Questions

Competency 0001 
Interpretive Listening

 start italics [The examinee will see on screen ONLY the following directions:] end italics 

 start bold The 90 seconds of silence has begun. Below is a preview of the questions related to the recording. Use this period of silence to familiarize yourself with the questions before the spoken message begins. end bold 

 start italics [Preview versions of the 5 questions appear on the actual test.] end italics 

 start bold Listen carefully to the dialogue about visiting Kyoto; then answer the questions. You will hear the dialogue twice. end bold 

 start italics [The examinee will hear the audio recording below, which includes a 90-second pause at the beginning:] end italics 

Having trouble with the audio player? Right-click and download the .mp3.

 start italics [The passage shown below is the transcript used to make the audio recording on the actual test. It is shown here for study purposes only. The examinee will not see transcripts that accompany audio recordings on the actual test.] end italics 

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

Male:

Female:

 start bold Now you will hear the dialogue again. end bold 

 start italics [The examinee will hear the dialogue again.] end italics 

 start bold Now answer the questions. end bold 

 start italics [The examinee will see on screen ONLY:] end italics 
 start bold Click "Next" when the recording ends to answer the questions. end bold 

 start italics [Each of the following 5 screens on the actual test will present a single item for the examinee to answer.] end italics 

1. なぜ、男性は女性に話しかけましたか。

  1. 京都への旅行に誘いたかったから。
  2. 京都の土産話をしたかったから。
  3. 京都についてアドバイスが欲しかったから。
  4. 京都と東京の習慣の違いについて聞きたかったから。
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C. This question requires examinees to identify explicit and relevant information in a spoken message. In the dialogue, the male speaker confirms that the female speaker is from Kyoto when he says "I remember that once you, Ms. Sato, said you are from Kyoto." (), and then he goes on to ask her for advice for his upcoming trip to Kyoto ( and ).

2. この二人は、どんな関係ですか。

  1. 恋人同士
  2. 大学時代の友人
  3. 会社の同期
  4. 会社の上司と部下
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D. This question requires examinees to demonstrate understanding of the use of register and sociolinguistic conventions in a variety of situations and contexts. In the dialogue, the honorific expressions (e.g., ) were used by the male speaker to address the female speaker. Therefore, the female speaker is most likely holding a higher position than the male speaker in the company.

3. 女性によると、京都に行ったら絶対にすべきことは何ですか。

  1. 有名な神社やお寺を訪れる。
  2. バスで近くの町を観光する。
  3. 京都の名物料理を食べる。
  4. 京都名物のみやげを買う。
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A. This question requires examinees to demonstrate the ability to discern and summarize a speaker's key ideas in a spoken message and evaluate the speaker's use of reasoning and evidence in presenting these ideas. In the dialogue, the female speaker is listing famous temples in details emphasizing their importance when providing advice to the male speaker about what he must see in Kyoto ( and ).

4. 女性は、金閣寺と銀閣寺についてどんな意見を持っていますか。

  1. 金閣寺は京都の象徴だと言える。
  2. 金閣寺の方が派手で好きだ。
  3. 銀閣寺は観光客に一番人気がある。
  4. 銀閣寺の方が落ち着いていて好きだ。
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D. This question requires examinees to determine the ways in which a speaker's point of view or perspectives are influenced by the cultural perspectives that underlie the cultural products and practices of the target country or countries, including the arts, architecture, historical events, science, influential individuals, or the political, economic, social, intellectual, or geographic contexts of the target language and culture(s). In the dialogue, the female speaker mentions the different features of important temples in Kyoto. She then explains why she prefers Ginkakuji ( Her perspective is clearly based on the Japanese traditional culture of wabi-sabi (), the representation of the comprehensive Japanese world view.

5. 女性は、どうしてバスを利用することを勧めましたか。

  1. 一番安いから。
  2. 一番便利だから。
  3. 一番分かりやすいから。
  4. 一番楽しいから。
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B. This question requires examinees to demonstrate the ability to discern and summarize a speaker's key ideas in a spoken message and evaluate the speaker's use of reasoning and evidence in presenting these ideas. In the dialogue, the female speaker is clearly making an effort to provide helpful advice for the male speaker so he can make the most out of his visit. She explains to him how streets are conveniently structured for buses in Kyoto and tells him about the one-day pass for buses for easy travel ().