IELTS Listening (mock test)

The Listening test is the same for both IELTS Academic test and IELTS General
Training test. You will need to answer 40 questions in response to four recordings.

You will listen to four recordings which are a mix of monologues and conversations from
a range of native speakers and you will only hear each recording once. There are 10
questions for each part of the Listening test.

These questions test your ability to understand:

 Main ideas and detailed factual information
 The opinions and attitudes of speakers
 The purpose of an utterance
 The ability to follow the development of ideas.

Listening part details:

Recording 1 A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.

2 people
Recording 2 A monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local
facilities. = directions , table
1 person
Recording 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.

Recording 4 A monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

1 person
Multiple choice
Multiple choice questions can be answered with one correct answer, or more than one
correct answer. Read the question very carefully to check how many answers are
required.
In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose one correct answer (A,
B or C), you will be given:
 a question followed by three possible answers
 the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible ways to complete the
sentence.

In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose more than one correct
answer you will be given a longer list of possible answers and told that you have
to choose more than one answer.
Multiple choice questions are used to test a wide range of skills. You may be required to
have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main
points of the listening text.

Matching
You are required to match a numbered list of items from what you hear in
the listening audio to a set of options on the question paper. The set of options may be
criteria of some kind.
Matching assesses the skill of listening for detail and whether you can understand
information given in a conversation on an everyday topic, such as identifying different
types of hotel or guest house accommodation. It also assesses your ability to follow a
conversation between two people. It may also be used to assess your ability
to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the listening text.

Plan, map, diagram labelling

You will need to complete labels on a plan (e.g. of a building), map (e.g. of part of a
town) or diagram (e.g. of a piece of equipment). You can usually select your
answers from a list on the question paper.

This matching task assesses your ability to understand, for example, a description of a
place, and to relate this to a visual representation. This may include being able to follow
language expressing directions (e.g. straight on/turn left/opposite).

Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary completion

In this completion task, you are required to fill in the 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: used to record factual details such as names, addresses, telephone
numbers
2.A set of notes: used to summarise information using the layout to show how
different items relate to one another
3.A table: used to summarise 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.
You will select the missing words in either way:
 From a list presented in the question paper
 From the recording

You must keep to the word limit stated in the instructions and use the exact words you
hear from the recording.

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you
should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO
WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be
marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted
words will not be tested, e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g.
‘police-man’.

This gap completion task focuses on the main points which a listener would naturally
record in this type of situation.

Sentence completion
In this sentence completion task, you are required to read a set of
sentences summarising key information from either:
 all the listening text
 from one part of it.
You will then fill 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’.
You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you
should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO
WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be
marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted
words will not be tested, e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g.
‘police-man’.
Sentence completion focuses on your ability to identify the key information in a listening
text. You must understand functional relationships such as cause and effect.

Short-answer questions
In the short-answer question type, you are required to read a question and then write a
short answer using information from the listening text. Sometimes test takers are given
a question which asks them to list two or three points.

A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect
so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested,
e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. ‘police-man’.

Short-answer focuses on the ability to listen for concrete facts, such as places, prices or
times, within the listening text.