Audio issue

Question

In “et je ne connais pas bien la ville.” it sounds like “bien a ville”. There is no hint of an “l” sound. At least to my ears. This might also be what Jean meant.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Brian,
When doing a listening exercise (dictation / listening to a radio show etc.), you have to use external elements on top of your grammar skills, especially, if you think you are hearing a word that does not make much sense. So it's important to keep an eye out for the context, the topic and use one's common sense, like Maarten mentioned here: " In this situation 'connais pas bien à ville' would make no sense in French".
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Just to add to what Céline and Maarten already said:
Listening comprehension of a foreign language is usually the puzzle piece that drops in place last. Your brain needs to be able to parse the sentence structure and grammar quickly, weeding out ambiguities in sound that don't make sense in the context and grammatical structure. Once you're fluent, this process happens automatically, without your being aware of it. Learning a language you stumble over exactly these issues as you did in the listening exercise
In English, for example, you might hear "dinnit" and immediatly translate that to "didn't it". Or "whassup" and know that it's "what's up". 
Just give yourself time. Don't pressure yourself. Immerse yourself in the language and let your brain adapt to the sound of it. Listen to it as much as you can, even if you don't understand everything. And, most important, have fun doing it. Because learning happens much more quickly if you smile.

Answer

Brian,

I can hear the 'l' sound - 'la' is not as strongly pronounced between 'bien' and 'ville' as it is elsewhere in this exercise, but it is pronounced normally for everyday speech. It is often not as accentuated an 'l' sound as in English.

Perhaps for A1 the expectation might be to hear everything clearly. In this situation 'connais pas bien à ville' would make no sense in French but maybe that is also something that might not be recognised immediately at A1 level ?