IELTS Listening
IELTS tests a range of listening skills that you need to live, work or study in an English-speaking environment. This means that you need to be able to understand different types of spoken English in a range of formal and informal context.
Duration and format
Listening is the first module in the IELTS test. It has four sections of increasing
difficulty, with a total of 40 questions, and takes about
30 minutes. Each section has 10 questions and is heard
ONCE only. You have time to look through the questions before you listen,
and also time to check your answers after each section. You write your answers on
the question paper as you listen, and you then have 10 minutes
at the end of the test to transfer your answers to a separate
answer sheet. You will hear a range of accents including British, North American
and Australian English.
Structure of the test
IELTS Listening Section 1 and 2
Section 1 and 2 develop the listening skills needed for survival in an English-speaking
country, in situations such as shopping, accommodation, etc.
These listening passages include:
IELTS Listening Section 3 and 4
Section 3 and 4 have a more academic context, with an educational or training
focus.
These include:
Question types
A variety of questions are used, chosen from the following types:
Each section of the test usually contains two or three question types, so in one complete listening test you could get a maximum of 12 different question types (usually you will get about eight or nine). Sometimes the same question type occurs in more than one section of the test. Remember, you may get a mix of the listening question types in any section of the test.
Marking
All the answers have one mark. Any answer which is above the word limit specified
for that task will not receive a mark, so it is important to read the instructions
carefully. Spelling and
grammar must be correct. Both British and American spelling are acceptable,
e.g. programme/program, colour/color, but you should NOT
use abbreviations. Numbers can be written as words or figures.
The final score is converted into a
Band Score of between
1 and 9. You can get half bands in the listening test, e.g. 7.5.
How can I improve my Listening scores?
Related topic: Twenty tips for IELTS success