The IELTS listening tests consists of 40 questions divided into four parts. The test lasts for a total of 30 minutes, with 10 additional minutes allocated for transferring your answers. Being prepared for what to expect during the listening test involves more than just understanding the test format. It is also important understand what types of situations and topics to expect for each part of the Listening Exam.
Every part of the listening test represents a different type of situation and the difficulty of questions increases progressively with each part.
Listening Part 1
Part 1 is usually a conversation between two speakers in social or semi-social context The conversation in this part is usually a telephonic conversation between two people in certain types of situations, such as inquiring about a tourist destination, college admission, finding accommodation or a job application. The speakers often pause, which makes it easy to follow the conversation. For questions in this part we need to focus on specific factual information like names, places, times and numbers.
Listening Part 2
Part 2 consists of a talk by a single speaker in a non-academic situation. The questions in this section also focus on factual information. For example, someone could be giving a talk about the features of a tourist spot.
Listening Part 3
In part 3 you will listen to a conversation with up to 4 speakers based on academic topics or course related situations. This part is mostly about students having an academic discussion about an assignment or planning a presentation or a project. The questions in this section tend to focus on the outcome of a discussion, and you may also be asked to determine a person’s feelings about the issues being discussed. The vocabulary used in this par is also more advanced than the previous two parts
Listening Part 4
Part 4 consists of a university style lecture or talk. This part of the test usually focuses on academic topics that you would hear in a university lecture. It is considered the most difficult part of the listening test because students are presented with a large amount on information with no pauses in between the recording. The speakers usually offer clues, in the form of linking words, to help test takers understand that different types of information are about to be mentioned. For example, the speaker could introduce an example by saying something like “for instance” or they could signal the end of their talk by saying “to sum up” The questions for this part deal with both factual information as well as the speaker’s opinions and attitudes. In this section you could hear a lecture about endangered species, the global warming and its effects or a talk about business principles etc.