The listening section on your upcoming IELTS exam is considered the easiest section. The section aims at determining the comprehension capabilities of an aspirant when it comes to understanding the language. The test is 40 minutes long, consisting of 40 questions, comprising of 1 mark each.
Concentration plays a key role as far as the listening section is concerned. The article explains what exactly is the listening section, guides you around it and gives you specific strategies to crack it in 2020! Keep reading to know more.
Listening section: The Basics
The listening section focuses on assessing the listening capabilities of an aspirant. The section is the same throughout the two exams, General and Academics.
The total amount of time spent on this section is 40 minutes, wherein you will be asked 40 questions, each with progressive difficulty. Of these 40 minutes, you will be provided 30 minutes to listen to the questions and the remaining 10 minutes to transfer the answers to your answer sheet.
Though considered the easiest section on the exam, the main and the only hurdle that lies ahead of the candidates is the understanding of the fluency, diction and the accent of the speaker. Speaker will talk slowly, but it might be a little difficult for certain aspirants to let the accent grow on them.
How many types of questions are a part of the listening section
The following are the types of questions that form part of the listening section on your upcoming IELTS exam:
- Multiple choice questions
- Short answer questions
- Classification based questions
- Matching the options bases questions
- Summary based questions
- Note making based or diagram/chart/image based questions
- Labelling diagrams based questions
- Sentence completion based questions
Marking criteria
The Listening section of the IELTS exam focusses on a candidate's English language comprehension skills. The examiner focuses on your capability to listen intently to a piece of information and answer all the questions based on the same correctly. The total score shall be calculated out of 40 for this section and will be directly based on how many questions you can answer correctly.
There is no negative marking for any wrong answers. You will be given 1 point for a right answer and 0 for a wrong one.
Once your listening test is completed, you will be graded a rounded off score which will range from 0-9, 9 being the highest.
Strategies to score better in the listening section
- Ignore distractions
This skill can be developed with the help of proper practice. Distractions are bound to happen at a certain time. Do not let these distractions overpower you. Do not lose your focus and attention. Practice the art of dictation. Practice the art of note making and jotting down keywords and other necessary information in the form of bullet points. Focus on the skills of reading and writing together. If there still are any kinds of distractions, try and refocus your attention to the speaker and the audio. It will come with time.
- Predict the answer
When listening intently, focus on the connecting words the speaking is saying. Words like “however”, “but”, “yet”, “then”, “finally”, etc. are connector words that help you anticipate what is going to come next. Focus better if you hear these words. You can easily predict your answers with the help of these words.
- Manage your time well
The test is going to be 30 minutes long, in the last 10 minutes (papaer based exam) and no extra time in computer based exam, you will be required to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Managing your time during those 30 minutes is one thing and then in the last 10 minutes is another (papaer based exam) and no extra time in computer based exam. Transfer your answer as fast as you can. You will only get a few seconds to transfer your responses. Make those 10 minutes worthwhile. Not only do you have to manage those 10 minutes, but you also have to manage the initial 30 minutes. Just go with the flow of the text spoken. Do not get stuck on one particular thing. If you get stuck on what was spoken earlier, you will lose track of what is being spoken currently and what will be spoken a minute later. Keep your calm, avoid panicking and manage your time well to answer the questions correctly.
- Watch out for spelling errors
Always ensure you are not making any spelling errors. Use the words you know the right spellings to in your answers. Spelling errors can cause you to lose out a lot when it comes to answering your IELTS exam. It does not leave a great impression on your examiner, and there is a great chance you might lose out on your desired band score. Therefore, ensure you are using the correct spellings to the words you are writing in your answer.
- Analyse the question
Apart from understanding what needs to be written in the answer to the questions you just listened, you also need to pay attention to the type of question you are answering. If you are answering a short answer type question, make sure you are not going overboard and transforming the answer into a summary based question. Learn how to differentiate between different question types. Answer correctly, only after having read all the instructions and analysed the requirements of the question.
- Read the instructions carefully
Ensure you are understanding what needs to be done. You must always read the instructions carefully before you start attempting your exam. There are multiple types of questions that will form a part of the listening section in your exam. Make sure you understand what needs to be done in that particular section. Stick to the word limit of any other instructions provided in the questions. Listen to the audio carefully and then attempt to answer the questions. Be careful, confident and focussed.
- Concentration is crucial
When undertaking the IELTS exam, the audio in the listening section will only be available once. You can hear the audio task once, so ensure you are hearing it correctly. Focus all your attention to listening to that audio piece. If, accidentally, you missed out on hearing a particular audio piece or missed out on a few words, do not panic. Move on to the next question, hear that correctly. Do not skip all your further questions because of one audio piece you could not hear or you missed. You will be required to listen, read and write at the same time. Therefore, focussing and panicking over what happened a minute before will only lead you to lose your band score.
Follow our YouTube channel “Unlock IELTS with Richa” for more such great tips and tricks to crack your upcoming IELTS exam in an easy way. All the best!
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