Aptis Advanced Listening: four parts in 30 minutes and one listening in Parts 3 and 4. See the B1 to C2 cut scores and how to prepare.
In the Aptis Advanced Listening, Parts 3 and 4 are played only once. That is the biggest difference from the General, where everything can be heard twice. The test lasts 30 minutes and has four parts.
General certifies up to C1. Advanced measures B1 to C2 and is the only variant that certifies C2. See the home page for other guides.
| Part | What it asks | Listens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Factual information | Five short recordings, one question each, four options | Two |
| 2 · Opinion and attitude | Three monologues, two questions each, three options | Two |
| 3 · Long spoken text | A discussion between a man and a woman: six statements; say if each is his, hers or both | One |
| 4 · Long story | Two separate monologues; answers go in a table, with four items per monologue | One |
What each part asks comes from the official guide. The traps and techniques are AptisBot's view, not official.
Part 1. You hear a specific fact: what was said, not what is thought. - Trap: in the first listen you hear a number, a place or a name and mark the option that contains it. In the second, the speaker corrects it. - Technique: choose provisionally in the first listen. In the second, only confirm or correct.
Part 2. The question is not "what did they say" but what the speaker thinks or feels. - Trap: an option repeats words from the audio but describes a fact, not the attitude. - Technique: after listening, name the speaker's state in one word ("sceptical", "enthusiastic", "resigned") and look for the option that matches. Do not search by vocabulary.
Part 3. You get 20 seconds before the audio to read the statements. Read them all and note what you are listening for ("opinion on cost", "doubt about deadlines"). - Trap: "both". One person says something and the other supports it in different words. - Technique: during the audio, write M, W or B next to the statement immediately. If you doubt, leave a temporary mark and continue. There is no second listen. - The source does not say if the statements follow the order of the conversation, so do not assume it.
Part 4. You hear each monologue once, and the information does not come in the same order as the table. - Trap: expecting the audio to go row by row. If you wait for row 2 while the narrator has already given row 4, you lose it. - Technique: read the four rows before listening and note one keyword for each. Write what you hear in the matching row, even if it arrives out of order. Leave unheard items blank and continue.
The length is set by the audio, so there is no minute split. You can plan how you train each part:
| Part | How to train it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Two listens: the first to decide, the second to check |
| 2 | After each audio, write the attitude in one word before looking at the options |
| 3 | Read the statements in the 20 seconds you get, then listen only once |
| 4 | Listen once, take notes in table form, do not pause |
One rule matters more than any other: when practising Parts 3 and 4, do not repeat the audio. If you repeat it, you train for a test that is not yours.
Advanced Listening cut scores (out of 50):
| B1 | B2 | C1 | C2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 24 | 38 | 50 |
The Advanced has no A1 or A2. C2 starts at 50 out of 50.
The global level is not the sum of the scores. It is the rounded average of the levels of the four skills. The Core can raise you one level if your score is just below a cut.
The British Council sample report we have is for Aptis General (April 2025). We have not verified the Advanced report, so read these as guidance.
| Level | Descriptor (in our words) |
|---|---|
| B1 | You understand direct factual information on everyday or work topics, if people speak clearly and with a familiar accent |
| B2 | You understand the main ideas of complex speech on concrete and abstract topics in a standard dialect, including technical discussions in your speciality |
| C1 | You follow long speech on abstract and complex topics, also outside your field |
The difference between B2 and C1 is length and abstraction. That is our reading, not an official statement. What is official is that in the Advanced the two longest parts, 3 and 4, are heard only once.
| General | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 40 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Listens | All can be heard twice | Parts 1 and 2 twice; Parts 3 and 4 once |
| Part 3 | Dialogue, four questions (him, her, both) | Discussion, six statements (him, her, both), 20 s before |
| Part 4 | Monologues, two questions each, about attitude or intention | Two monologues, answers in a table of four items each |
| Levels | A0 to C1 | B1 to C2 |
| B2 cut | 34 | 24 |
| C1 cut | 42 (the "C" of the General) | 38 |
The "him, her or both" format also exists in the General. What changes is the number of statements and that here there is only one listen. Compare cut scores only within the same variant.
AptisBot's view, deduced from how each task works. - Repeating the audio when practising Parts 3 and 4. - Wasting the 20 seconds of Part 3 rereading the first statement. - Expecting the table order in Part 4. - Staying on one answer while the audio continues. With one listen, each second of doubt is information lost. - Confusing fact and attitude in Part 2.
For Part 4, the guide we have gives no time to read before listening, so we give no figure. The skills cannot be taken separately, according to the British Council FAQ.
Aptis® is a trademark of the British Council. AptisBot is an independent project, and its scores are an estimate, not an official result.
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Test format overview 2023 (Advanced); "Aptis Scoring System" v2.1 (TR/2024/002) for the cut scores and the global level; Aptis General sample score report (British Council, 25 April 2025) for the descriptors; "Aptis ESOL FAQs" from the British Council (18 July 2023). The techniques, routine and common mistakes are AptisBot's view.
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