IELTS Listening

IELTS Listening

Soyol-Erdene S. Mongolian National University of Education

How long is the listening paper?

Content

Listening band scores

What type of information will I hear?

Listening sections

Task types

TIPS

"A good beginning makes a good ending"

PALMER'S PROVERBS FROM 1710

How long is the listening paper?

Test TIP

Before you do each listening section, you will be given 30-45 seconds to look at questions. Use this time to study the questions and try to predict what you might hear.

The listening paper is the same in both the Academic and the General Training modules of the IELTS test. It lasts approximately 30 minutes and you are given an extra 10 minutes to write your answer onto a separate answer sheet.

Listening band scores

Correct answers 39-40 37-38 35-36 32-34 30-31 26-29 23-25 18-22 16-17 13-15 11-12

Band Scores 9 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4

IELTS listening

Your listening scores are calculated by the number of correct answers you have out of the 40 questions in the test. You do not lose points for incorrect answers

What type of information will I hear

The listening paper has four separate sections. Each section is a little more difficult than the one before. They feature speakers from a variety of English-speaking countries. Each section has a different focus.

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Each section has different focus

Section 1

Section 2

• Usually a conversation between two people
• Two parts
• Can be a social or academic setting
• Personal details
• About 4 minutes listening time

• Usually a monologue of a functional / social nature
• Can be a social or academic setiing
• Information giving
• About 3-4 minutes listening

Each section has different focus

Section 3

Section 4

• Usually a conversation between 2-4 people
• academic setting
• Information sharing
• About 4 minutes listening time

• Usually a lecture or speech given as a monologue
• Academic setting
• Information giving: lecture
• At least 4-5 minutes listening

TEST TIP

• Become familiar with the structures given
• Read the questions carefully
• Anticipate what you will hear: imagine
• Learn to identify question types
• Pay attention to linking words and discourse markers
• Check you spelling and grammar
• Guess- if you can not find the answer
• Remember that the most important words are always stress the most
• Don't leave any space on your answer sheet

Possible Topic Areas

• About social and educational situations
• Academic context
• Details of assignments
• Plans of excursions
• Holidays

TEST TIP

• It is important to remember that you will hear the recording only once.
• To help you prepare, You will be given some extra time at the start of each section.
• During this time, you should read the questions carefully.

Will i hear the recording more than once?

• Always check your spelling.
• If you make a spelling mistake in the IELTS listening paper, your answer will be marked wrong.

What type of questions will I need to answer?

• There are 10 questions in each section, and there is a variety of question types. For some types, you need to write words or numbers that you hear.

~ forms/notes/table/flow-chart/summary completion ~ Short-answer questions ~ Sentence completion For other tasks, you need to choose an option from a list and write a letter on your answer sheet. ~Labelling a diagram/plan/map ~Matching ~Multiple choice

SECTION 1 Questions 9 and 10 Choose the correct letter A, B or C 9. Type of insurance chosen A Economy B Standard C Premium 10. Customer wants goods delivered to A port B home C depot

This task type is used to test a wide range of skills. It may require the test taker to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the listening text

Task focus

TASK TYPE AND FORMAT

TASK TYPE AND FORMAT

Sometimes test takers are given a longer list of possible answers and told that they have to choose more than one. In this case they should read the question carefully to check how any answers are required

In this task type, there is a question followed by three possible answers, or the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible sentence endings. Test takers are required to choose the one correct answer A, B or C

Task type 1 Multiple choice

Questions 16-20 What do these friends think about the options they have to entertain themselves at the centre of the town? Write the correct letter A, B or Cto the questions 16-20 below. You may choose any letter more than once. 16. cinema ............. 17. pizza .............. 18. theatre ............. 19. luna park .......... 20. mall shopping ............ A. They all want to go there B. None of them want to go there C. The majority has second thoughts about it

TASK TYPE AND FORMAT

In this task type, test takers 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 type 2 Matching

This task type assesses the skill of listening for detail. It assesses wether a test taker can understand information given in a conversation on an everyday topic such as different types of hotel or guest house accomodation. It also assesses the ability to follow a conversation involving interaction between two people. It may also used to assess test takers' ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the listening text.

Task focus

Tips for Multiple Choice I

1. Read the questions and predict the type of information you need before starting the module. 2. Be alert for: synonyms for words and phrase in the options -the same idea expressed during different parts of speech -specific information, e.g., dates or numbers 3. Keep track of the time. You have a few seconds to read each section before you listen. You will however have ten (10) minutes at the end to put your answers on the answer sheet.

Tips for Multiple Choice II

4. Each listening text will only be heard once; it is important that you look for key words and phrases before you actually start the exam. 5. The questions are in the same order as you hear the answers. 6. Don't spend too much time trying to think of an answer. 7. If you need to make a guess, base it on key words and phrases you have heard.

Tips for Matching

1. Before starting to listen, carefully read the numbered and lettered lists. 2. The numbered list would always be in the same order as you would hear it in the recording. 3. The ideas in the lists might not be expressed in the same way as those in the recording. 4. In this type of question, you should listen for ideas; never listen for particular words or phrases. 5. When you've chosen something from the list, put a line through it so you won't get to use it again.

Strategies

• Understand relationships between words (discourse markers)
• Sequencing and following chronological order
• Listening for specific information

Brainstorm any vocabulary or knowledge that you have of the picture or topics

Task Type 3 Plan, map, diagram, labelling

Task type 4. Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary completion

Task type and format 1. Form: often it's used to record details for example (names) 2. Set of notes: it's used to summarise any kind of information using designs in order to show how different elements relate to one another 3. Table: it's used to summarising information which relates to clear categories - e.g. place / time / price 4. Flow chart: it's used to summarise a process which has clear stages, with the direction of the process shown by arrows

Test takers have to take into accounts

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 C. Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers they should use to fill the gaps will vary. A word limit is given, for example, "NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER"

Strategies

• Required to read a set of sentences summarising key information from all the listening text or from one part of it
• Complete a gap in each sentence using information from the listening text.
• A word limit is given, for example, "NO MORE THAN ONE, TWO OR THREE words "

• Contractions are not used when word limits are given
• Use scanning for information
• Make sure that you have the general understanding on the passage before starting to complete

Task Type 5 Sentence Completion

Test Tip

You can improve your scores by following the instructions carefully, and remembering the test tips in this. Before the test, try to listen to accents from a variety of English-speaking countries. Studying all aspects of english (including volcabulary and grammar) will also help improve your IELTS score.

Make sure that you pay close attention to any negatives in the options, as well as any adjectives. Whith matching or multiple choise tasks, pay careful attention to the question, as well as the options. The questions will tell you how many answers you have to choose, as well as what you have to listen for (e.g problems, solutions, advantages, etc)

How can I improve my listening score?

THANKS any questions

THANKS any questions