For the second year running, students sitting for their SEC exams have struggled with the listening comprehension components, citing poor acoustics.

Students who sat for their Spanish and German examinations recently told this newspaper that the quality of the audio threw them off, as it was difficult to understand what was being said. Others sitting for the same exams in different classrooms claimed the volume was too low.

A concerned mother who spoke to the Times of Malta on the condition of anonymity said her son, along with other students sitting for the Spanish exams, had complained to the invigilator present but there was not much to be done, since the volume was set to its highest level.

Other parents also expressed their concern, taking to social media to question why the issue had not been resolved since last year when those sitting for the exams had experienced similar problems.

Officials present forthe Spanish exam confirmed the sound output for this module was of good quality

Contacted about the students’ claims, a spokesman for Matsec said that out of just under 300 students who had sat for the Spanish listening comprehension, the board had only received a total of three complaints. “Matsec officials are always present on site to ensure that the sound levels for such examinations are of good quality and recordings for each module are tested at the different venues before examination day.

“Officials present for the Spanish exam confirmed that the sound output for this module was of good quality,” explainedthe spokesman.

He continued that there were a total of five different listening comprehension tests, one for each of the five subjects offered: German, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and French.

“There is only one recording per subject, so the candidates sitting for such exams in different venues all listen to the same recording,” he said.

No replies on how the complaints would be addressed had been forthcoming at the time of writing.