The four parts of IELTS Listening
The test has 40 questions in four parts and takes about 30 minutes. You hear each recording only once.
- Part 1: A conversation between two people in an everyday situation, such as booking a hotel or registering for a course. Often a form or note completion with names, numbers and dates.
- Part 2: One speaker talking about an everyday topic, such as a tour or a facilities announcement. Map and plan labelling often appears here.
- Part 3: A discussion between two or three speakers in an educational setting, such as students planning a project with a tutor.
- Part 4: A lecture or talk on an academic subject, with no break in the middle.
On the computer-delivered test, you get 2 minutes at the end to check your answers. On paper, you get 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Listening is the same for Academic and General Training.
Getting used to the accents
Most Hyderabad students grow up hearing Indian English, plus American English from films, series and US-based IT clients. IELTS recordings use a range of native-speaker accents, often British, and sometimes Australian, New Zealand, North American and others.
The difficulty is rarely the accent itself; it is the speed, the linking between words and the vowels. "Can't" in British English sounds very different from American English, and numbers like "thirteen" and "thirty" depend on stress. Regular exposure fixes most of this within a few weeks.
IELTS Learning has 88 Listening sets recorded with British voices, covering all four parts: forms, maps and plans, multiple choice, two- and three-speaker discussions, and lectures.
Spelling and numbers: the easiest marks to lose
A correct answer spelt wrongly is a wrong answer. Common slips include:
- Doubled letters: "accommodation", "committee", "address".
- Plurals: if the speaker says "chairs", writing "chair" may be marked wrong.
- Spelt-out names: listen for "double L" or "double T".
- Numbers and dates: practise hearing phone numbers grouped in twos and threes, and postcodes that mix letters and numbers.
- Word limits: if it says ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER, "the 15th of March" is too long.
Indian number habits can also trip you up. We think in lakhs and crores; the recording will say "a hundred and fifty thousand". Practise converting quickly.
Map and plan questions
Maps unsettle many students, but they follow a logic. Before the audio starts:
- Find the starting point, often marked "You are here" or an entrance.
- Note the compass directions and any labels already given.
- Predict the language: "opposite", "next to", "at the far end", "turn left past the car park".
Then follow the speaker with your pen or cursor. If you are used to giving directions by landmarks, like "near the temple, after the second signal", practise thinking in left, right and compass points instead.
Answers come in question order
In IELTS Listening, the answers follow the order of the questions. This is useful: if you hear the answer to Question 14, you know Question 13 has passed. Do not stay stuck on it. Guess, move on and keep listening.
Our sets follow the same principle, so you practise the habit of moving on rather than panicking.
Practising in a busy city
Hyderabad is not a quiet place to study listening. Traffic, horns, construction and busy homes all compete with the recording. That is why headphones matter:
- Use good over-ear or noise-reducing headphones for full practice sets, as you will wear headphones at a computer-delivered test.
- Do short Part 1 and Part 2 practice on the Metro or a bus, but save Parts 3 and 4 for somewhere quieter, as they need full concentration.
- Practise at least some sets at home with background noise, so you get used to focusing.
Common errors and how to fix them
- Reading the questions too late. Use the time before each section to underline keywords and predict answer types.
- Writing the first thing you hear. Speakers often correct themselves: "The meeting is on Tuesday... actually, no, make that Wednesday."
- Losing focus in Part 4. Follow the headings in the notes so you always know where you are.
- Not reviewing. Your wrong answers go into the Mistake Notebook automatically. Replay the audio and find exactly what you missed.
For band 7, you typically need about 30 out of 40. Once you are close, the harder Charged Listening sets push you further.
Try a free Listening set or register for full IELTS Listening practice with Full Access.