IELTS - Academic Listening Section
The IELTS Listening Section is the first part of the test, and compromises of four conversations. All speakers are native speakers with an British, Australian, New Zealand or North American (American or Canadian) accent.
Listening Detailed Description
There are 4 recordings you will listen to
There are 40 questions in total
There are usually 8 - 12 questions per recording
Each question is worth 1 mark (all questions equal)
You have 10 minutes at the end of the section to transfer your answers to an answer page.
| Recording | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Conversation between two people set in an everyday social context. |
| 2 | Monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities. |
| 3 | Conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment. |
| 4 | Monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture. |
Total 40 questions (30 minutes)
Multiple Choice Questions
There are a couple different type of multiple choice answers possible in the test:
- Single Choice - a question followed by three possible answers, or the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible ways to complete the sentence. Test takers are required to choose the one correct answer - A, B or C.
- Multiple Answers - Sometimes, a longer list of possible answers is given, where you have to choose more than one option. In this case, you should read the question carefully to check how many answers are required.
Though the simplest question type, don't be fooled by the simplicity of the question type. Often times, answers for multiple choice come in quick succession, and the answers themselves cannot be chosen correctly, without listening in detail to the dialog.
Matching Questions
You are required to match a numbered list of items to a set of options on the question paper. In general, there are between 3 to 8 options, for you to choose.
For this type of question, you must take care to read all questions and choices before the reading happens, or while listening, you might not be able to listen and read the possible solutions in time. Also, if you are unable to read the question in the given time, you're english skills may not be good enough to score highly on the test.
Plan, Map, Diagram Labelling
You are required to complete labels on a plan (ie: a building), map or diagram (i:. a piece of equipment). Answers are usually selected from a list given to you on the question paper.
This task test your ability to understand dialog and relate it to a visual representation. This includes being able to follow language expressing a place and/or directions.
For some test takers, this task is especially difficult, as you have to intepret the dialog visually, while continuing to listen to dialog. Not to the mention, sometimes the diagram, plan or map is difficult to understand, even for native speakers.
Text Completion
You are required to fill in the gaps in an outline and will focus on the main ideas/facts of the dialog. Their are 4 main types of documents used for this question type:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Form | Often used to record factual details such as names, times, dates, and key words. |
| Notes | Used to summarise any type of information that is important in the conversation. |
| Table | Used to summarise information that relates to clear categories. |
| Flowchart | Used to summarise a process that has clear stages, with the direction of the process shown by arrows. |
You may have write down the missing words from the recording or choose from a list provided, keeping to the word limit stated in the instructions. You do not have to change the words from the recording in any way.
Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers will be limited. For example: ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’.
Test takers are penalised for writing more than the stated number of words, and test takers should check this word limit carefully for each task.
Hyphenated words count as single words, contracted words will not be tested.
Short Answer
You are required to read a question and then write a short answer based on the listening dialog.
Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers will be limited. For example: ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’.
Test takers are penalised for writing more than the stated number of words, and test takers should check this word limit carefully for each task.
Hyphenated words count as single words, contracted words will not be tested.