The IELTS Listening Test is a test of your ability to understand spoken English from a range of sources.
It is one of the four tests that make up the IELTS exam. Listening is a key skill for the IELTS test. It’s also one of the most important areas of the exam. If you want an 8+ band score, make sure your listening is on point!
Questions in the listening test are designed to evaluate your understanding of:
- Main themes, ideas, and details.
- The particular attitudes and opinions of the speakers.
- The purpose of a speech or an utterance.
- How ideas develop into a speech.
The IELTS Listening Test has four parts:
Part 1 contains a conversation between two people, speaking in a casual social context. For example, a conversation between two friends.
Part 2 consists of a monologue situated in a casual or ordinary social context.
Part 3 is a conversation between 3-4 people in an educational or work context. For example, a conversation between a teacher and his/her students, between an employer and their employees.
Part 4 consists of a monologue on some academic subject. For example, an educational lecture.
Format of the IELTS Listening Test
- The Listening Test is the first test you take on exam day.
- This test is designed the same for both Academic and General Training IELTS tests.
- The exam will last for 30 minutes, and you’ll need to answer 40 questions during this time.
- These questions will be divided into four sections; the 1st is the easiest, while the 4th is the most difficult.
- Each answer carries one mark, and the total of your correct answers is used to decide your band score.
- You achieve a 7-band score – If your 30-31 answers are correct.
- You achieve an 8-band score – If your 35-36 answers are correct.
Tips to Get 8+ Band Score
- Answer While you Listen
You will get 30 minutes to listen to the audio and 10 minutes to answer the questions. You can utilize this listening time by putting your answers on the question paper while listening. And then, in the 10 minutes awarded for answers, you will only need to transfer your answers to the answer sheet from the question paper.
- Read the Questions before you Listen to the Audio
When going through questions, Read the questions before you listen to the audio and try to predict the answers. For example, guess whether the answer will be a number, a name, an address, or a telephone number. This technique is particularly important for form completion questions or note completion kinds of questions.
- Practice listening to Various Accents.
The IELTS listening test is exclusively designed to evaluate your ability to understand English as spoken in different contexts. When taking the test, you will have five minutes to listen to a question and answer it, so it’s important that you spend time practising by listening to various types of audio.
- Understand the Context
The questions in IELTS listening tests are often very specific, and they can be difficult to comprehend without having a considerable understanding of the context.
- Take Care of Grammar and Spelling
Remember that your grammar and spelling will also be evaluated during this exam section. You should ensure that your answers are well-written, clear, and grammatically correct. Make sure that all punctuation marks are used correctly (including commas). Additionally, make sure that there are no spelling mistakes in any answers.
- Keep the Directions in Mind
You must remember the directions as you listen to each question or passage. This will help you understand what type of information is being asked for and how it should be answered.
- Skim through the Questions and Underline the Keywords.
You should read the statement for multiple choice questions and highlight the keywords. This will allow you to understand the crux of the question and help you choose the most relevant option.
- Be Prepared to See Unfamiliar Words
You are definitely going to deal with some unfamiliar words or patterns of speech during your listening test. For example, the number “zero” may be pronounced as “O.” You need rigorous practice to deal with these intricacies.
- Guess The Answer!
It is very important that you do not leave any questions unanswered, even when you have no idea what it is about. You should always guess because you never know; your guess might be the correct answer!
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