IELTS Tips: 5 Strategies for the Listening Test
This week we’re looking at my Top 5 Tips for the IELTS Listening test. Let’s get started!
1. Don’t Read and Listen at the Same Time
If you try to listen to the recording and read the questions at the same time, you won’t be able to do either effectively. Instead, use the periods of silence that are provided to read ahead and start thinking about the questions to come.
In addition to predicting possible answers, it’s a good idea to think about the type of question (multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc.), and the alternative wording that might be used to express the question. Check out my post about paraphrasing for more on this topic.
2. Always Make a Guess
There might be times in the IELTS listening test when you just didn’t catch the answer, and that’s okay. What isn’t okay is leaving a blank space. No matter what, always, always, always, make a guess.
I’m reminded of the English idiom: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. This is true for IELTS too. If you leave the space blank, you will get a zero for that question. Even a 1% chance is better than nothing, so don’t be afraid to guess!
If the answer is a multiple choice, you and have a decent chance of getting it right anyway! If the answer is a blank space, make an educated guess about what could go there. Should it be a noun, a verb, or an adjective? Are there any subjects or verbs around it that could help you guess? The next tip on this list can help you with this
3. Use the Grammar of the Blank
At the end of the IELTS listening test, you are given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet. This is much more time than that task takes, so make good use of the remaining time. You might spend this time making guesses or checking your spelling, but something many students overlook is what I call: the grammar of the blank.
Many questions on the IELTS listening test ask you to fill in a blank, and each of these blank spaces has some “grammar” if you look closely. Look at these examples.
Q: The _______________ on the street have recently been repaired.
Maybe during the recording, you heard the speaker mention repairing a stop sign, so you wrote “stop sign” in the blank. But if you look at the grammar of this sentence, you can see the verb is have been instead of has been, which indicates a plural subject. If you don’t include the plural S on the end of “stop signs” you will get the question wrong.
Does this question need a plural answer? If so, you answer may need an S. How many words are allowed? You might need to remove a redundant article or preposition.
4. Be careful of distractors
In preparing for the IELTS listening test, it’s a good idea to become familiar with distractors. These are tricky techniques used to make you write down the wrong answer. You might hear something like: “Let’s meet at 5pm… Oh wait, I have a meeting at 5:15pm, so maybe we should make it 5:45pm. Is that okay?”
This sentence is designed to confuse you by mentioning three similar times in a short period. Make sure you listen for the time that the speaker settles with.
Another common distractor is having two speakers disagree about a statement, and then have one of them change their mine. Look at this example. The question is what part of the presentation will the students focus on first?
John: “I think we should focus on the visual elements of our presentation first.”
Anna: “Don’t you think we should get the citations finished before we worry about that?”
John: “But I already have some great idea about the photos we could use.”
Anna: “I just think the citations might be a more pressing issue right now.”
John: “Hm.. Maybe you’re right. Okay”
In this case, the students debate back and forth for a while before settling on the citations as the first thing to deal with. If you wrote down visual elements as soon as you heard it, you’ve fallen for a distractor.
5. Let it go
Probably the most challenging tip for the IELTS listening test is simply, let it go. There might be times when you miss the answer to a question, or you lose track of the speaker’s message. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it in the moment as the recording is only played once.
At the end of the test, you can worry about making some guesses. But the most important thing you can do in these challenging moments to let go of the answers you missed, stop thinking about them, and concentrate on finding your place again. Otherwise, you run the risk of compounding your mistakes and ruining your score altogether.
In addition to these tips, I have to mention that of course: practice makes perfect! There are plenty of free IELTS listening tests on YouTube and around the internet, so get out there and practice before your test day.
Thanks for reading and good luck on your test!
Do you need help preparing for IELTS? Join our test prep program at MOSAIC engage. We currently have evening classes three nights a week to help you get the highest score you can. Click here for more info!
We are also an IELTS test centre operator with locations across Vancouver. Check out our convenient locations on our IELTS test page.