IELTS Listening tips made easy for First-time takers
I was an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) first-time taker and I took my IELTS exam during the easement of the COVID-19 quarantine protocols last March 2021. I aimed to get an overall band score of 6.5 or higher with no less than 6.0 in any section which was the entry requirement of my chosen university in the UK.
Familiarize with the format and follow instructions
To achieve this, I stringently practiced for three weeks before my actual IELTS exam and made sure I have a comprehensive strategy to ace my IELTS Listening because this section is quite tricky, if you failed to write the exact words being asked, you may be marked wrong. So to prevent this mistake, I practiced and simulated mock tests from the Road to IELTS Free Version.
Test takers must familiarize themselves with the test format, the listening test comes with 40 questions divided into 4 sections to be answered within the allocated time of 40 minutes. Test takers must be reminded that as the section progresses the question gets more difficult. The first section is often a telephone conversation between two people talking about booking a hotel or renting an apartment. As you may notice, these are the most common mock exams in Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic and other review materials available online.
Read the questions carefully and capture the gist
The listening test aims to test your ability to use various listening sub-skills such as listening for gist and specific information. During my test, I multi-tasked answering the questions while listening to the recording. I keenly improved my listening comprehension by watching news and movies with a distinctly British accent. It helped me to write the correct spelling and forms of the verb for names, numbers, places, and dates being asked, and on time since the recording is only played once. I also made sure I do not lose my focus, and just concentrate on my paper.
Section 2 is composed of one speaker sharing information about a company or a building. For section 3 it is a conversation between three or four speakers engaging in an academic discussion. On the one hand, Section 4 involves one speaker delivering an academic lecture. Read the instructions carefully and expect that the question types and the required number of words may change. This means that the test may require answers with no more than two or three words.
Review and practice IELTS Listening mock tests
Stick to one or two review materials, do not explore unnecessary reviewers otherwise, you will get overwhelmed by too much information. Excessive review materials from online sources may divert your attention away from the right ones. In my case, I stuck with the free materials provided by the British Council IELTS testing center. I would practice on these materials and would simulate one to two recordings per day. However, you should also try to find your own balance, it means that you need to identify your own effective learning habits, and start from there. Sometimes, people know what is best for them and merge these ideas to enhance their listening skills.
Use your vocabulary and pay attention to distraction cues
The IELTS Listening test assesses the test taker’s ability to understand and comprehend common English conversations. Having a wider range of vocabulary will help test takers to paraphrase sentences and get the right synonyms. On the other hand, test takers must be aware of distraction cues as this may appear when the speaker changes the answer and confuse the listener. My strategy on this part is to listen attentively and decipher what the speaker is insinuating.
That’s it! Just listen attentively and do your best on your IELTS exam.
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To keep myself updated, I followed the following online platforms:
Website: https://www.britishcouncil.ph/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ielts.britishcouncil.philippines
Twitter: https://twitter.com/takeielts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takeieltsofficial/
