hey elyse, we don't know much about our listening task beforehand- just that they're going to give us an audio playing that relates somehow to discovery, a bunch of questions relating to the audio playing (some of these will definitely address language and audio techniques), and finally a 10 mark mini extended response relating to discovery, which we'll have to answer using the audio text as a related and also using our prescribed text (which for me is The Motorcycle Diaries)
Sheeeesh, not easy! My listening task wasn't as extensive as this. I'd make it a priority to be ready to write down quotes as they come from the audio. So, pen in hand, ready to write. Do you get to listen to it twice? If so, work out a game plan accordingly. Naturally, brushing up on audio techniques is super important as well. Consider diegetic and non diegetic sounds, tone of voice, volume, and possibly even accent? These spring to mind for me first but obviously not having a clue what this is about, the more you know and are comfortable talking about, the better! As for the last part, knowing the Motorcycle Diaries as best as possible is important! If you're looking for ways other students have analysed MD, have a look at the essay marking forum and scroll through to find a MD essay (there are definitely a few!) so you might see how others have approached it.
If you only get to listen to it once - the initial listen is everything. So work out your plan: writing quotes? Drawing? Scribbling like a crazy person?
I did a listening task incredibly similar to this for Module A so I can definitely understand your stress! Fortunately my teacher set up a practise task in class for us so I already had a bit of an idea what to expect on the actual day. Here's some of my tips:
1. Make sure you read the questions before you hear the audio, then you'll have an idea about what you're supposed to listen for.
You'll most probably get to listen to the audio twice.
2. The first time I would recommend putting your pen down on the desk and just really listening and focusing on what the audio is about/its relation to discovery/any techniques/the big picture stuff you're going to write about in your 10 mark question.
3. The second time is when you have to scribble your heart out and write down any quotes that you'll need for your responses, once you've written the quotes move onto jotting down techniques/key words you don't want to forget.
4. Manage your writing time effectively so that you can leave the 10 mark until last (unless you're super confident) so that you've had some time to build up momentum and get comfortable writing about the often strange audio.
In terms of preparation, like Elyse said, get familiar with audio techniques! Also I practised my listening skills by using 30 second snippets from podcasts and going through steps 2-3 above writing out the "most important" quotes etc. This can be a little hard but it helped me to practise listening to something under pressure and actually comprehending/dissecting it.
Hope this helps 😃 😃