Listening Form Completion: Names, Numbers and Spelling Rules

Part 1 of the Listening test usually contains a form to complete: a booking, a registration or an enquiry. These are the most "gettable" marks in the whole test, yet many candidates lose three or four of them through small errors. Here is how to secure them.

The alphabet: practise the confusing letters

Names and addresses are often spelled out letter by letter. The letters most often confused are:

• A, E, I – especially for speakers of languages where these sound different;
• G and J;
• B, P and V;
• M and N;
• S and F on a poor line.

Practise by asking a friend, or a text-to-speech tool, to spell random surnames, and write them down at speed.

Double letters: speakers often say "double L" or "double T". Write both letters: "Williams".

Numbers

• Phone numbers: British speakers may say "double five" (55) or "oh" (0). Group the digits as you hear them.
• Teens and tens: thirteen vs thirty, fifteen vs fifty. The stress is on the end for teens (thir-TEEN) and on the start for tens (THIR-ty).
• Prices: write the number only if the currency symbol is printed in the question (£ ______ → 45). Adding "pounds" may break the word limit.

Dates

All of these are accepted if they are written correctly: 12 March, March 12, 12th March. But keep the spelling right: February, Wednesday, August and Thursday are frequent mistakes.

Words that are often misspelt

Correct	Common error
accommodation	accomodation
environment	enviroment
government	goverment
necessary	neccessary
library	libary
restaurant	restaraunt
calendar	calender
separate	seperate
business	buisness
guarantee	garantee

British and American spellings (colour/color, centre/center) are both accepted, but be consistent.

Singular or plural?

If the question says "two ______ are required", write a plural. If you hear "you need a passport photo" and the gap is "______ photos", check that your answer fits. A missing "s" makes the answer wrong.

Capital letters

On the paper test, you can write all your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS. This removes any doubt about capitalisation of names and places, and many teachers recommend it.

Addresses and postcodes

Addresses combine several traps at once: a house number, a street name that may be spelled out, and a postcode made of letters and numbers.

• Street types: learn to spell Road, Street, Avenue, Lane, Crescent, Close and Square. Avenue and Crescent are often misspelt.
• Postcodes: British postcodes such as SW1A 2BT mix letters and digits. Listen for the pause in the middle, which tells you where the space goes.
• Flats and floors: "Flat 3, second floor" may be given in a different order from the form. Write what the form asks for, in the form's order.

Recognising corrections

Part 1 conversations are full of small changes of mind, and they are deliberate. Typical patterns:

• "It's 15 Park Road… no, sorry, I've just moved: it's 50 Park Road now."
• "The appointment was at 2.30, but the doctor's running late, so let's say 3.15."
• "My email is anna dot ross… actually, use my work one instead."

The answer is almost always the last piece of information given. Keep your pen still until the speaker has finished the sentence.

Practise with dictation

Five minutes of dictation a day builds the speed this section needs:

1. Use any English podcast, or a text-to-speech tool reading a list of names, numbers and addresses.
2. Write down what you hear without pausing.
3. Check against the text and add every misspelt word to your personal list.

After two weeks, most learners find that numbers and spelled names stop being a problem.

A quick routine for every form

1. During the reading time, label each gap: name, number, date, noun.
2. While listening, write quickly and abbreviate if you must (Tues, approx.).
3. In the checking time, rewrite abbreviations in full, check spelling and check the word limit.

Then test yourself with our Listening practice, which starts with a booking form.