Listening

In this candidates listen to a number of tape scripts once only . The test increases in difficulty as it progress . They include a mixture of conversations and dialouge with a variety of english accents . Candidates are given a limited time to read the questions before listening . After listening, test candidates are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet.

Paper Format

There are four parts with ten questions each. The questions are designed so that answers appear in the order they are heard in the audio. The first two parts deal with situations set in everyday social contexts. In part 1, there is a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about going to a trip ), and in part 2, there is a monologue (for eg; a speech about transport facilities). The final two parts deal with situations set in training and educational context. In part 3, there is a conversation between two main speakers (for instance, two college students in discussion ) and in part 4, there is a lecture or speech on any educational subject.

Task types in listening

• Notes/ Summary/ Table/ Flow-chart completion.
• Multiple choice.
• Identify paraphrase – look for similar meaning between what the passage says and what the question asks.
• Short answer questions.
• Sentence completion.
• Labelling a diagram, plan or map.
• Classification.
• Matching

IELTS Listening Tips

1. Before you do each section, you will be given 30-40 seconds to look at questions .use this time to study the questions thoroughly .
2. Always check your spellings .if you make spelling mistake you answer will be marked wrong.
3. For labelling a map or plan in ielts, you may need to follow directions, or you may hear a discription of a location.
4. Check the instructions to see if you can have a number( which means only one) or numbers(plural which means more than one number).
5. Check the number of words you can have for your answer. Each time the question type changes, the number of worlds for the answer might change too for instance.
6. If you dont know an answer, guess. Always write something in the box on your answer sheet. Who knows maybe you guess right.
7. Dont try to understand everything. IELTS will add lots of extra information but you only need to listen for answers.
8. You should write your answers in capital letters as recommended.