Listening

Which bits contain the answer?

The answer is usually uttered more loudly and clearly: it is easier to hear and understand. If you can’t hear something clearly (because the speaker whispers, for example), the answer is unlikely to be there.

Useful tip: when a word or a number are repeated or spelled out, they are most likely a part of an answer.

 

Instructions provide 50% of the answer: Read them carefully!

Spend several seconds of your time and read the instructions carefully. They will tell you exactly what to do with the information:

for example, how many words you should use to answer, how many items you should name, etc. If the task instructs you to write no more than 3 words. you can write one, two or three words (you can write less than three words, but no more!!!), otherwise you will score ZERO!

Read the example below:

The speaker says: The most popular sports unions at our university are football, basketball, rugby and golf unions. The baseball union, which was extremely popular last year, has recently dropped dramatically in popularity.  

The question is: Name two most popular sports unions at the university.

The answer may be: football, basketball; or rugby, golf; or rugby, basketball, etc. (any 2 sports unions mentioned by the speaker).

If you mention all four just in case, you will score ZERO. 

 

What to PAY ATTENTION to and what to IGNORE?

In IELTS listening, you will not have a chance to listen for the second time, that’s why answer as you listen. The strategy is simple: before your start listening you have about 20 seconds to look at the questions. Look at the questions and underline the key words. While listening, focus on the answers to your questions and ignore any irrelevant information. Mind that the words the speaker(s) use may be different from the key words in the questions and answer choices: they may use synonyms or phrases with the same meaning.

For example, the question is

“Who is Mrs Snow worried about?” – the question tells you that Mrs Snow is worried about a person. So listen attentively for this person’s name, or relation to Mrs Snow.

The Speaker might say: “I am afraid Carla will never find a decent job in our small town. You know employers are not interested in young people with no experience. I keep telling her she should move to a bigger city. But you know, children never listen to their parents”

From this monologue, you can infer that Mrs Snow is worried about her daughter Carla. You should write “her daughter” in the answer sheet.

 

Spelling tasks

Do you know the English alphabet? Do you recognise the numbers? Then this task should be easy for you. You just need a little practice to boost your confidence.

Ask someone to spell the names of cities and telephone numbers from the following list for you. This is a very good practice. Note that “00” can be spelt as “zero-zero” or “double zero”.

7105 Plover Circle

376-237-4196

524 Pecan Street

684-297-7597

1022 Bridges

834-274-1033

6287 Renwood

904-4781802

P. O. Box 501

086-431-2424

3217 Versante Drive

953-358-1950

P. O. Box 164

426- 326-4644

9109 Dove

674-249-0088

1004 Steeplewood

278-329-1858

7117 Deer Hollow

795-292-2567

4601 Deville

534-656-4987

740 Bedford

300-282-4016

427 Crestview Drive

954-488-1034

712 Admiralty Way

784-246-9828

3809 Shawnee

198-237-9644

9848 Private 3790

903-356-4082

1201 Forum Way South

476-551-1967

145 Highview

900-375-9757

412 Hillview

145-282-0319

1120 Oakbend Lane

743-431-3582

P. O. Box 126044

985-249-8145

1409 Lamplighter Lane

800-293-7282

7820 Sheridan

276-293-1261

717 Vickie Drive

389-444-2770

6136 Walraven

178-294-7099

2342 Robinhood

972-641-4715

6201 Whitman

400-292-3353

8225 Hill City Highway

009-929-3756

704 Havenwood Lane

895-457-1104

3479 Coronada Court

124-244-1805

5216 S. South

976-346-9454

421 Harris

817-297-1421

9630 Fall Brook Drive

214-221-0407

 

Underline the key words in the questions before you start listening

You have to answer 40 questions in the listening section, but not all at once. The questions are divided into groups of 5-6 questions in the recording. Each time you have about 20 seconds to look at them before a listen to the part of the recording containing the answers to these questions. 20 seconds are plenty of time if you use them thoughtfully.

For example, the speaker says: “For the questions 11 to 16, choose the correct letter, A,B or C”. For now, ignore the rest of the questions, and focus on  these 6 questions. Underline the key words, they will help you spot the information you need in the recording. They will also help you predict what you are about to hear – names, numbers, verbs?

For example, in the question “The company has most camping sites in…”  Underline company and camping sites. By reading the question attentively you can predict that you are looking for a place where the company has most camping sites in. Now you are more prepared for meaningful and active listening.

 

Gap-fill strategy:

In some IELTS listening tasks you have to fill in the gaps. For example, you hear a conversation and your task is to fill in the booking form below:

Date: 1_____

Bus time: 2_______

Name: Helen 3________

Flight Number: 4________

Before you even start listening, you will have some time to look at the questions and guess the possible type of answers. So for question 1 you are surely looking for a date (the speaker will definitely mention at what date the event is happening); for question 2, be attentive to spot at what time the bus arrives; for question 3, you are obviously looking for Helen’s surname, because the question is asking for a name and the first name is already given; and for question 4, the flight number will be spelt out for you, so be careful to hear the exact numbers (and possible letters).  You can practice the spelling tasks by using the examples I provided in the post about spelling tasks.