IELTS practice test Listening

Duration: 30 minutes

The Listening test isthe same for both IELTS Academic test and IELTS General Training test.You will need to answer 40 questions in response to four recordings.

You will listen to four recordingswhich are a mix ofmonologues and conversationsfrom a range of native speakersandyou willonly hear each recording once.There are 10 questions for each part of the Listening test.

These questionstest your ability to understand:

• Main ideas and detailedfactual information

• The opinions and attitudes of speakers

• The purpose of an utterance

• The ability tofollow the development of ideas.

Listening part details:

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.

Multiple choice questions can be answered with one correct answer, or more than one correct answer. Read the question very carefully to check how many answers are required.

Inamultiple choice question,where you are required to choose one correct answer[A, B or C],you will be given:

• a question followed by three possible answers

• the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible ways to complete the sentence.

In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose more than one correct answer you will be givena longer list of possible answers and told that youhave tochoose more than oneanswer.

Multiple choice questions are used to test a wide range of skills. You may be required to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the listening text.

• Sample question

• Audio recording

You are required to match a numbered list of items fromwhat you hear in thelisteningaudioto a set of options on the question paper. The set of options may be criteria of some kind.

Matching assesses the skill of listening for detail and whetheryoucan understand information given in a conversation on an everyday topic, such asidentifyingdifferent types of hotel or guest house accommodation. It also assessesyourability to follow a conversation between two people. It may also be used to assess your ability torecogniserelationships and connections between facts in the listening text.

Sample 1

• Sample question

• Audio recording

Sample 2

• Sample question

• Audio recording

Youwill needto complete labels on a plan [e.g. of a building], map [e.g. of part of a town] or diagram [e.g. of a piece of equipment].You can usually select your answersfrom a list on the question paper.

Thismatchingtask assessesyourability to understand, for example, a description of a place, and to relate this to a visual representation. This may include being able to follow language expressing directions [e.g. straight on/turn left/opposite].

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

In this completion task, you are required to fill in the gaps in an outline of part or ofall ofthe listening text. The outline will focus on the main ideas/facts in the text. It may be:

1. Aform:used to record factual details such as names, addresses, telephone numbers

2. Aset of notes: used tosummariseinformation using the layout to show how different items relate to one another

3. Atable: usedtosummariseinformation which relates to clear categories e.g. place/time/price,

4. Aflow-chart: used tosummarisea process which has clear stages, with the direction of the process shown by arrows.

You willselectthemissing wordsin either way:

• Froma list presentedin the question paper

• From the recording

You mustkeep to the word limit stated in the instructionsand use theexactwordsyou hearfrom the recording.

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you should use will vary.A word limit is given, for example, NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. dont. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. police-man.

Thisgap completion taskfocuses on the main points which a listener would naturally record in this type of situation.

• Sample question

• Recording

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

• Answers

In thissentence completiontask, you are required to read a set of sentencessummarisingkey information fromeither:

• all the listening text

• from one part of it.

You will then fill a gap in each sentence using information from the listening text. A word limit is given, for example, NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you should use will vary.A word limit is given, for example, NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. dont. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. police-man.

Sentence completion focuses onyourability to identify the key information in a listening text. You must understand functional relationships such as cause and effect.

• Sample question

• Audio recording

In the short-answerquestion type, you are required to read a question and then write a short answer using information from the listening text.Sometimes test takers are given a question which asks them to list two or three points.

A word limit is given, for example, NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. dont. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. police-man.

Short-answer focuses on the ability to listen for concrete facts, such as places, prices or times, within the listening text.

Sample 1

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

Sample 2

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

There is no shortcut to success and practice is the first step to the journey. Explore a variety of free and paid practice material on IELTS Prepare to give yourself the best chance of securing a high band score in your IELTS Listening test.