Listening – Session 1 – Understand the format of the IELTS Listening exam

The IELTS Listening test consists of 4 parts with 4 different topics. Each part has 10 questions. The answers to the questions are given during the recordings in different forms of sentences, which are played once. You are required to understand the recordings and catch the information given to answer the questions while you listen.

The level of difficulty of the IELTS Listening test ranges from part 1 to part 4. It means part 1 is normally the easiest part and part 4 is normally the most challenging one. The listening recordings are presented by different people with different accents in spoken English style. However, slang is not used in IELTS Listening.

IELTS Listening Part 1

This part of the exam consists of a recording of a conversation between two people in an everyday social context. The conversation is typically about a familiar topic and may include questions and answers, such as two people asking and giving information about a certain program, two friends exchanging information, and two people making plans. In most cases, you are given completion questions.

This part is divided into 2 sections and there are instructions to guide you. Both sections can in the same type of questions or 2 different types. For example, section 1 covers questions 1 to 5 and section 2 covers questions 6 to 10.

There used to be an example before the first question started but the example has been removed since the 2020 updates.

IELTS Listening Part 2

This part of the exam consists of a recording of a monologue in a less common social context, such as an instruction from a tour guide, a radio segment about different types of fitness, or an announcement from the local planning department about a new supermarket. You are given a series of different types of questions based on the recording.

IELTS Listening Part 3

This part of the test consists of a recording of a conversation in an academic or training context, such as a conversation between a teacher and a student about a class presentation. There can be 2 people or 3 people in the conversation. The conversation is typically about a more complex or abstract (existing as an idea, feeling, or quality, not as a material object) topic and may include questions and answers. You are given multiple types of questions based on the recording.

IELTS Listening Part 4

This part of the exam consists of a recording of a monologue in a formal and academic context. The monologue is typically about an academic topic such as a part of a lecture, and may include questions and answers. You are given 10 completion questions. There are no breaks in between the recordings.

After learning about the structure and format of the IELTS Listening exam, you need to get used to the exam by doing practice tests. You can find practice tests in IELTS Listening Practice Tests created exclusively for this guide or Free IELTS Practice Tests. When practicing, you will understand your weaknesses and strengths.

It depends on how much time you can spend on practicing and your deadline for the IELTS exam, you can focus on different targets. If you are not bound by a short time limit, you should focus on both your weaknesses and your strengths. But if you have a short preparation time, you should focus more on your strengths because it is easier to enhance what you are already good at than to sharpen your weak skills.

If you find yourself still struggling with IELTS Listening, use your 10% discount and book a VIP Consultation Call with us.