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IELTS - Listening

Listening is the first module in the IELTS test. It takes 30 minutes to complete and consist four sections of increasing difficulty and there are 40 questions to answer.
The test is played ONCE only as you listen to each section you will be given time to read the questions. Write your answers on the question paper and then check them. At the end of section 4 you will be given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening answer sheet. So, the Listening test will last 40 minutes in total.

Structure of the Test

The test consists of four sections:
Section 1 and 2 are concerned with social situation and needs.
These listening passages include:

  1. A conversation between two speakers talking about, for example, opening a bank account or asking direction and
  2. A monologue about for example: a tour of a museum or information on part-time English courses.

Section 3 and 4 are concerned with study-related topics or mini lectures or talks with an educational or training focus.  These include:

  1. A conversation between up to four people talking about, for example: a school project
  2. A monologue, where for example: a lecture is talking on a general academic topic.

 

You will hear a range of English accents and dialects, including Australian, British, North American, New Zealand, Irish and others.

Type of questions
Verities of questions are used, chosen from the following types:

  1. Short answer
  2. Multiple choice
  3. Matching
  4. Classification
  5. Summary competition
  6. Notes, summary, sentence or gap-fill competition
  7. Diagram completion  and labeling
  8. Table completion
  9. Form completion

Test Tips

    • Before each listening section is played, always read through the questions quickly and carefully.
    •  Identify key word which will give you an idea of what you are about to hear, and what you need to listen for.
    • Note what questions you must answers:  filling in numbers, finding the speaker’s opinion or choosing the right description.  You will then be able to make the most of what you hear because you will know what to listen for.
    • I f you miss a question move on so that you can maximize the number of correct answers you get for the remaining questions.