IELTS Listening

Introduction

Test format 

The test takes roughly 30 minutes.

Assessors will be looking for evidence of your ability to understand the main ideas and detailed factual information, the opinions and attitudes of speakers, the purpose of an utterance, and evidence of your ability to follow the development of ideas.

Task

There are 10 types of IELTS Listening questions.

•Matching

•Multiple choice

•Note completion

•Form completion

•Table completion

•Sentence completion

•Summary completion

•Short answer questions

•Map & plan labeling

•Diagram & flowchart completion

Process

You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.

  • Recording 1 – a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
  • Recording 2 - a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
  • 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.
Evaluation

The Listening test is marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure their reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analyzed by Cambridge Assessment English.

A Band Score conversion table is produced for each version of the Listening test which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.

One mark is awarded for each correct answer in the 40-item test. Care should be taken when writing answers on the answer sheet as poor spelling and grammar are penalized.

Conclusion

In order for candidates to be able to ace the IELTS listening test, they need to get familiar with the test format and practice as much as possible. Following books are considered as the best available sources:

 

Credits

For further information and materials please visit here.

 

Teacher Page

Pegah Rahmani