How the Listening test works
The test has four parts and 40 questions, and the recording plays once only. It lasts about 30 minutes. On the computer-delivered test you get 2 minutes at the end to check your answers; on paper you get 10 minutes to transfer them to the answer sheet.
- Part 1: a conversation between two people in an everyday situation, such as booking a tour or registering at a gym. Usually form or note completion with names, numbers and dates.
- Part 2: one speaker in an everyday context, such as a guide describing a site or a talk about local facilities. Often includes a map or plan and multiple choice.
- Part 3: a discussion between two or three people, often students and a tutor, about an assignment or project. Multiple choice and matching are common, and speakers change their minds.
- Part 4: a lecture on an academic subject, with no break in the middle. Usually note or summary completion.
As a rough guide, band 7 needs about 30 correct answers out of 40.
Accents you will hear
IELTS uses a range of English accents, including British, Australian, North American and others. Our 88 practice sets are recorded with British voices, which helps you get used to features that often surprise Indian listeners: dropped "r" sounds ("car", "water"), the short "o" in "hot", and fast, linked speech where words run together.
Many Vizag students grow up hearing American English through films and IT work. That is useful, but it is worth deliberately listening to British and Australian speech too, through podcasts, documentaries or radio, for 15 minutes a day.
Spelling and numbers: the easy marks
A surprising number of lost marks are not about listening at all.
- Spelling counts. A correct word spelled wrongly is wrong. Practise common test words: accommodation, necessary, environment, February, Wednesday, questionnaire, library.
- British and American spellings are both usually accepted, but be consistent and careful.
- Letters spelled out. Know how British speakers say letters, especially "double" ("double L"), and how they say "zero" and "oh" in phone numbers.
- Numbers. Fifteen and fifty, thirteen and thirty are classic traps; listen to the stress. Write dates and prices carefully.
- Word limits. "ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER" means just that.
Map and plan questions
Map questions in Part 2 worry many students. A few rules help:
- In the time before the recording, find the starting point ("You are here", the entrance) and look at what is labelled already.
- Learn the language of direction: opposite, adjacent to, at the far end, beyond, on your left as you enter, in the corner.
- Follow the speaker with your finger or cursor.
If you have ever given directions to a visitor from the station to RK Beach or up to Kailasagiri, you already do this in real life. The challenge is doing it at speed in English.
Answers come in question order
In almost every question set, the answers come in the same order as the questions, and our sets follow the same pattern. Use this:
- If you miss one answer, let it go and listen for the next. Students who keep thinking about the last question often lose the next two.
- Read ahead during pauses and underline keywords.
- Expect paraphrase: the question says "inexpensive", the speaker says "it won't cost much".
Practising with headphones at home
Vizag homes and hostels can be noisy, especially with traffic, construction and monsoon rain on the roof. Good habits:
- Use headphones, ideally the over-ear kind, for every timed set. Test centres may use headphones or speakers, so occasionally practise without them too.
- Do full four-part tests in one sitting with no pausing, to build concentration for the long Part 4 lecture.
- After the test, replay the recording with the transcript and find exactly where you lost each mark.
- Do shorter practice on your commute if you like, but take timed tests only at a desk.
Common errors, and Charged sets
The most frequent errors we see are spelling, plurals (writing "chair" when the answer is "chairs"), missing units, and losing focus in Part 4. The Mistake Notebook saves every wrong answer automatically so you can spot your own patterns.
Once you are steadily scoring above 30, try our harder Charged Listening sets, with faster speech and closer distractors, for students aiming at band 7+.
To start IELTS Listening practice, sign up free and try the sample sets, or explore all practice tests.