What is IELTS Listening?

The IELTS listening test is the same for both those taking the Academic and General Training papers. It consists of 40 questions (10 per section) and lasts around 30 minutes. You will have 10 minutes at the end to transfer your answers from the question paper to the answer sheet. The listening test consists of four separate sections, each more difficult than the last. In other words, part one is the easiest and part four is the most difficult. Each part has a different theme or focus.

Course Syllabus

• Section 1
• Section 2
• Section 3
• Section 4

There are several different types of question and each requires a different strategy so you should familiarize yourself with all of them. They include:

• Question type 1 - Forms / notes/ Table/ Flow-chart/Summary Completion
  • Students have to fill in gaps in an outline of part or all of the listening text. The outline will focus on the main ideas in the text.
  • In all cases the summary, note form can be used when completing the gapes. This means that articles, auxiliary verbs etc. may be omitted when they are not necessary for the meaning. The summary is written in connected sentences and so it must be grammatically correct.
• Question type 2 - Multiple choices
  • There is a question or a sentence beginning followed by three possible answers or sentence endings. Students have to choose the one correct answer A, B or C.
• Question type 3 - Short-answer Questions
  • Students read a question to which .hey have to write a short answer using information from the listening text. A word limit is gives, usually no more than three words and/or a number. (Students should check this carefully for each task.)
• Question type 4 - Sentence Completion
  • Students read a set of sentences summarizing key information from all the listening text or from one part of it. They have to complete a gap in each sentence using information from the listening text. They usually have to write no more than three words and/or a number.
• Question type 5 - Labeling a Diagram/ Plan/ Map ons
  • Students have to complete labels on a visual. The answers are usually selected from a list on the Question Paper. Students should transfer the letter of the option they have selected to the Answer Sheet in the allowed.
  • Variation in this task The visual may be
  • • A diagram (e.g. a piece of equipment)
  • • A set of pictures
  • • A plan (e.g. of a building)
• Task type 6 - Classification Task Description:
  • Students have to match a numbered list of items from the listening text to a set of criteria. This task type is designed to test student's ability to recognized relationships and connections between facts in the listening text, and is most often used with texts dealing with factual information. Students need to -be able to listen for detail.
• Task type 7 - Matching Task Description:
  • Students have to match a numbered list of item from the listening text to a set of items in a box. Many variations of this task type are possible as far as the types of options to be matched are concerned.

IELTS listening tips