The four parts
The Listening test has 40 questions in four parts and takes about 30 minutes. You hear each recording once only.
- Part 1: a conversation between two people in an everyday situation, such as booking a hotel or joining a gym. Often a form or notes to complete.
- Part 2: one speaker in an everyday context, such as a tour guide or a talk about local facilities. Map and plan questions often appear here.
- Part 3: a discussion between two or three people in an educational setting, such as students and a tutor planning a project.
- Part 4: a lecture or talk on an academic subject, with no break in the middle.
On computer, you get two minutes at the end to check your answers. On paper, you get 10 minutes to transfer them to the answer sheet. Band 7 usually needs around 30 correct answers out of 40.
Getting used to British and other accents
Most students in Vadodara grow up hearing Indian English, plus American English from films and online videos. IELTS recordings use a range of accents, and British voices are very common.
The differences that cause trouble are often small. British speakers may drop the R in "car" or "water", say "schedule" with "sh", and use different vowels in words like "bath" and "can't". Fast, connected speech also joins words together, so "want to" becomes "wanna" and "a lot of" sounds like one word.
Our 88 Listening sets are recorded with British voices, so you get regular exposure. Alongside them, try ten minutes a day of a British radio programme or podcast while you travel or do household jobs.
Spelling and numbers
You can understand everything and still lose marks if your spelling is wrong. In IELTS Listening, a misspelt word is a wrong answer.
- Letters spelled out. British speakers say "zed" for Z, not "zee". "Double S" or "double L" means two of that letter.
- Numbers. Phone numbers may use "double five" or "oh" for zero. Listen for the difference between thirteen and thirty, or fifteen and fifty: stress usually falls on the end of "-teen" and the start of "-ty".
- Plurals. If the speaker says "tickets", "ticket" is wrong.
- Dates and times. Check the format the question wants.
- Commonly misspelt words: accommodation, necessary, environment, Wednesday, February, government, restaurant.
Map and plan questions
Map questions in Part 2 ask you to label places on a plan of a building, campus or park. Think of it like giving someone directions inside Sayaji Baug: "go past the entrance, the museum is on your left, the café is opposite the lake".
Before the recording starts, spend your preparation time studying the map: find the starting point, note which way is north and look at what is already labelled. Learn direction language: opposite, next to, at the far end, beyond, adjacent to, clockwise, on the corner.
Answers come in question order
In the real test, answers usually follow the order of the questions. Our sets work the same way. This matters, because it means that if you miss question 14, you should move straight on to listen for 15, not freeze. One lost answer is better than three.
Read ahead during every pause. When the speaker says "on the other hand" or "actually, no", listen carefully: the first answer is often a distractor and the correction is the real answer.
Practising with headphones at home
Vadodara homes are rarely silent, and test day will have its own noises. Use headphones for every practice set.
- Use wired headphones if you can, to avoid lag.
- Set the volume once at the start and do not keep changing it.
- Do not pause or replay during a timed set. You hear it once in the exam.
- After the set, replay the hardest sections with the transcript in front of you to hear what you missed.
Check which Listening setup your test centre uses on the official booking site, since some candidates use headphones and others hear the audio through speakers, depending on the format.
Common errors and how to fix them
- Writing too many words. If the instruction says "ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER", two words is wrong.
- Missing the change of mind. Speakers often correct themselves.
- Losing focus in Part 4. Practise long lectures specifically, since there is no break.
- Rushing the transfer on paper, and making copying mistakes.
All wrong answers go into your Mistake Notebook automatically. When you can score 30 or more regularly, move up to the harder Charged Listening sets.
Start your IELTS Listening practice with a free sample set on the practice tests page, or sign up for Full Access at ₹999 for 2 months.