Section 1

a conversation in an everyday social context between two people

Section 2

a monologue on a topic relating to general social needs

Section 3

a conversation in an academic context between two or more people

Section 4

a lecture or talk on a topic of general academic interest

How did you approach the note-completion task?

Question 1

Section 1 of the IELTS Listening test (like the recording in the previous step) is usually:

two people speaking in a general context (eg in a shop, at a museum, at a festival).

one person speaking in a general context (eg in a shop, at a museum, at a festival).

two or more people (eg a student and lecturer) speaking in an academic context (eg at a university).

one person (eg a student or lecturer) giving a talk, lecture or presentation in an academic context (eg at a university).

Question 2

In the note-completion tasks, what are most of the questions about?

attitudes and opinions of the speaker(s)

main ideas, facts and details given by the speaker(s)

Question 3

Before doing a note-completion task, what should you do? Choose ONE answer.

note down some facts that you already know about the topic

read the notes and think about what kinds of words could fill each gap

Question 4

The final question in the previous step was:

The first prize is a place at a writers’ workshop in 10…………………………….

Now that you have heard the recording, you know that the answer is ‘Spain’.

But if you didn’t know that, which of the other answers below could fill the gap? Choose THREE of the five answers.

Canada

July

the weekend

the competition

a library

Question 5

In the task in the previous step, did you hear exactly the same words in the recording that you read in the question paper?

Yes

No

Question 6

What do you need to do after an IELTS note-completion task? Choose as many answers as you like.

make sure that all your answers are correctly spelled

check that you have written the right number of words for each answer

check that each of your answers makes sense in the gap

How did you approach the matching task?

Intro

Question 1

In the previous step, you listened to a police officer speaking to members of the public about making an area safer. In other words, there was one speaker, and the context was general, not academic. This means that this task is from:

Section 1 of an IELTS Listening test.

Section 2 of an IELTS Listening test.

Section 3 of an IELTS Listening test.

Section 4 of an IELTS Listening test.

Question 2

In a matching task, should you expect to hear the same words as you read on the question paper?

No, a lot of the words will be different.

Yes, all the words will be the same.

Question 3

In IELTS Listening, when you’re doing a matching task, what should you do before the recording starts?

try to memorise all the options

think of other ways that the words or phrases in the options could be expressed

Question 4

In the previous step, the answer to the question about the skate park was C – ‘remove surrounding vegetation’. Which phrase did the police officer actually use? Can you remember?

‘remove surrounding vegetation’

‘take away nearby plants’

‘get rid of some of the trees and bushes around the park’

Question 5

Another of the options was (C) – remove surrounding vegetation. Which TWO phrases mean the same as this?

take away vegetables

cut down shrubs and plants

get rid of some of the trees and bushes

add more plants and trees

Question 6

In this step, we’ve been thinking about paraphrasing, which means expressing the same idea in different words. Read the statements below. Which one do you think is true?

Understanding how speakers and writers use paraphrasing can enable me to use English more effectively.

Understanding paraphrasing, and using paraphrasing myself, might help me with IELTS, but it doesn’t have much use in the real world.

How did you approach the multiple-choice task?

Question 1

There are a lot of words to read in a five-option multiple-choice question. The best advice is to:

do a speed-reading course before your IELTS exam, so that you learn to read faster.

underline the key words and phrases in the question and in each option before you listen.

Question 2

In the previous step, the speaker used paraphrases (different ways to say the same thing) of the words in the options. One of the answers for questions 35 and 36 was that a benefit of online social networking was that they can (C) ‘form relationships more quickly’. How did the speaker actually say this?

‘It doesn’t take so long now for users of social networks to get to know others.’

People are developing friendships and professional networks in a way that wasn’t possible before – the process is faster.’

‘Websites allow people to link up with just a mouse-click. It’s never been easier.’

Question 3

In IELTS Listening multiple-choice questions like this, you need to listen and compare what you hear to the five options you read. What listening skills do you think this can help you practise? Choose all the answers that you think are correct.

comparing different opinions

identifying a speaker’s main point

paraphrasing

Labelling a plan or map

You listen to someone describing a plan of a building or a map of an area. You have the plan or map, and you have a list of things on it. You have to match the things in the list to the places the speaker describes. This task tests your ability to follow directions and understand descriptions of where things are located.

Labelling a diagram

You listen to two people talking about an object, such as a machine. You have a diagram (a picture) and a list of different parts of the thing in the picture. Again, you have to match the things in your list to different parts of the diagram. These questions test your understanding of descriptions of what things look like, such as their shape and position.

Completing a flow chart

You listen to the speaker(s) explaining a process, in other words a large task that has several shorter stages. You see a written summary of these stages. This is called a flow chart. Some of the information is missing, and you have a list of options (A, B, C, D). You choose the correct option to complete the missing information. This tests your ability to understand step-by-step instructions, and to listen for the main ideas or facts.

Candidates complete the labels on a plan, map or diagram by using between one and three words, or numbers from the recording.

Candidates choose the correct answer to a question on the recording from three answers or from a list of possible answers.

This task might involve, for example, matching a list of people to what they said or matching places to the facilities they have.

Candidates answer questions with between one and three words from the listening.

Candidates complete a sentence, form, table, flowchart, summary or notes by using one to three words and/or numbers from the recording.

1. Predicting key words

2. Matching questions: Functions

3. Analysing the answers

4. Identifying opinion and attitude