IELTS LISTENING

Student name:
 IELTS LISTENING AT A GLANCE

➢ Listening Test last approximately 30 minutes

➢ 10 minutes to transfer your answer in the

answer sheet if you are taking the exam
through paper test.

➢ You cannot use dictionary during the test

➢ The test consist of four parts

➢ You only hear each recording once. Never

more than once.

➢ IELTS Academic and IELTS General candidates

do exactly the same and is marked in the same
way
 STRUCTURE OF THE TEST

Recording 1 and 2 of the listening test are in a

social context.

Section 1
➔ A conversation between two people set in
an everyday social context.
➔ During the conversation, the people
attempt some type of transaction
➔ A common scenario involves a customer
who calls a company to find out specific
information about a product or service.

Section 2
➔ A monologue set in an everyday social
context, e.g. a speech about local
facilities.
➔ A possible scenario is a speaker giving a
short presentation on a service, or a
guided tour through a physical location.
 STRUCTURE OF THE TEST

Recording 3 and 4 of the listening test are in

a academic context.

Section 3
➔ A conversation between up to four people
set in an educational or training context,
e.g. a university tutor and a student
discussing an assignment.
➔ Often involves a teacher and students
discussing an academic topic.

Section 4
➔ A monologue on an academic subject, e.g.
a university lecture.
➔ It is likely to be on a topic that you know
little about, yet simple enough for a
non-expert to comprehend.
 Task types in the Listening Test

➢ multiple choice

➢ matching

➢ plan/map/diagram labelling

➢ form/note/table/flow-chart/summary
completion

➢ sentence completion

➢ Short-answer questions
 multiple choice

2 types of multiple choice question:

➢ Multiple choice question with 3 choices

(A, B, or C), and you must choose one
Average scanning time (5-7 sec per
question)

➢ Multiple choice question with more

than 3 choices, and you must choose
more than one Average scanning time
(2 sec per choice)
 matching

➢ Task Type & Format:

In this task type, candidates are required

to match a numbered list of items from the
listening text to a set of options on the
question paper. The set of options may be
criteria of some kind. Many variations of
this task type are possible with regards the
type of options to be matched

➢ Task Focus

This task type assesses the skill of listening

for detail. It assesses whether a candidate
can understand information given in a
conversation on an everyday topic such as
different types of hotel or guest house
accommodation. It also assesses the ability
to follow a conversation involving
interaction between two people. It may also
be used to assess candidates’ ability to
recognise relationships and connections
between facts in the listening text.
 form/note/table/flow-chart/summary
completion

➢ Task Type & Format

In this task type, candidates are required to

complete labels on a visual. The answers
are usually selected from a list on the
question paper. The visual may be; a
diagram (e.g. a piece of equipment), a set of
pictures, a plan (e.g. of a building), a map
(e.g. of part of a town).

➢ Task Focus

➢ This task type assesses the ability to

understand, for example, a description of a
place, and to relate this to a visual
representation. This may include being
able to Page 24 of 166 follow language
expressing spatial relationships and
directions (e.g. straight on/through the far
door).
 form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion

➢ Task Type & Format

In this task type, candidates are required to fill in gaps in

an outline of part or of all of the listening text. The outline
will focus on the main ideas/facts in the text. It may be;
1) a form: often used to record factual details such as
names,
2) a set of notes: used to summarise any type of
information using the layout to show how different
items relate to one another,
3) a table: used as a way of summarising information
which relates to clear categories – e.g.
place/time/price,
4) a flow-chart: used to summarise a process which
has clear stages, with the direction of the process
shown by arrows.
➢ Candidates may have to;
a) select their answers from a list on the question
paper,
b) identify the missing words from the recording
which fit into the form/notes etc. In this case, they
should keep to the word limit stated in the
instructions.
➢ A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO
WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. Candidates are penalised for
writing more than the stated number of words, and
candidates should check this word limit carefully for each
task. Contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated
words count as single words.
 sentence completion

➢ In this task type, candidates are required to

read a set of sentences summarising 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. A word limit is given, for
example, ‘NO MORE THAN ONE WORD
AND/OR A NUMBER’.

➢ Candidates are penalised for writing more

than the stated number of words.
(Candidates should check this word limit
carefully for each task: the limit is either ONE,
TWO or THREE words). Contracted words will
not be tested. Hyphenated words count as
single words.
 Short-answer questions

➢ In this task type, candidates are required

to read a question to which they have to
write a short answer using information
from the listening text.

➢ A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO

MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER’. Candidates are penalised for
writing more than the stated number of
words. (Candidates should check this
word limit carefully for each task.)
Contracted words will not be tested.
Hyphenated words count as single words.
Sometimes candidates are given a
question which asks them to list two or
three points.
 Try this! (Section 1)

Audio (Section 1)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/179PZRjCIQd2vpJ38rsxF1riCNko8Sjo
U/view?usp=sharing
Try this! (Continuation of Section 1)
 Try this! (Section 2)

Audio (Section 2)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EE80oHWAqrOCEW3iytKqQ0zqP8Cnqq
dv/view?usp=sharing
Try this! (Continuation of Section 2)
 Try this! (Section 3)

Audio (Section 3)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12hRFcOpoGjqRYAQfRav_kSUOL8NwP
WNY/view?usp=sharing
Try this! (Continuation of Section 3)
 Try this! (Section 4)

Audio (Section 4)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SrE5PHqSazCx5ad46H6bmVP48GiSJeJ
Q/view?usp=sharing
Try this! (Continuation of Section 4)
You can listening from the ff website to
improve listening skill.

Australian:
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newsradio/live/

New Zealand:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes

American:
https://www.npr.org/

British:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/player/bbc_wo
rld_service