The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Exam tests your English language proficiency. It has four parts that include reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Many people assume that the Listening component of the test is the easiest. However, it is often difficult for second language learners since they have to listen carefully to recordings of speakers with unfamiliar accents and answer at the same time. So let’s educate you about the valuable skills that you need to know in order to pass your IELTS Listening test with flying colours.
These include:
-
-
- Identifying synonyms and paraphrase
-
-
-
- Recognizing Distractors
-
-
-
- Identifying Connected speech
-
Although there are many other types of listening skills, we will focus on the ones needed to solve questions in the IELTS Listening test.
Identifying Synonyms and Paraphrases
This skill is the most important, as it’s vital to understanding the recording. The recording will contain synonyms and paraphrases of keywords and phrases within the questions. Paraphrased words are words that mean roughly the same thing.
So, you should not expect to hear the same vocabulary in the recording as is written within the questions. You need to think about ways in which certain keywords might be paraphrased in the audio. For example,
“Personal information” might be called personal data.
“Occupation” might be mentioned as job, work etc.
You can improve your ability to identify paraphrases and synonyms by changing the way you learn new vocabulary. Each time you learn a new word, make sure that you note down the possible synonyms of this word as well.
You could also try listening to English videos, news reports and podcasts, and then try to summarize the content using paraphrases and synonyms.
Recognising Distractors
The IELTS listening test sets out to differentiate between those candidates who can listen effectively and comprehend the subject matter and those who cannot.
One of the ways of doing this is to set traps or distractors. A distractor is anything that sounds like the correct answer but is actually incorrect. There are many forms of distractors present within the listening test. For example, A speaker could mention a piece of information and then correct themselves or be corrected by someone else. Additionally, similar pieces of information might be mentioned, which makes the candidate doubt the correct answer. You need to know about these traps and how to avoid them.
In order to avoid these traps, you should consider the following:
-
- It’s important to make sure you listen carefully until the end and be prepared to change your answers if necessary.
-
- You shouldn’t follow strategies like Keyword identification blindly without any understanding.
-
- You should answer as you would normally, in rough on your question paper but also continue to listen carefully just in case you’ve actually chosen a distractor instead of the correct option.
-
- Pay attention to words which are repeated or emphasized during the recording, as these are usually the answers.
Identifying Connected Speech
Connected speech is when the words in a sentence run into each other. This can be quite confusing for second language learners as it hinders their understanding of what is being said during a discussion or talk.
For example, a person saying ‘I want to go to the cinema’ might sound like ‘I wanna go to the cinema’
This can be especially difficult during the IELTS Listening test recordings, as test takers have the added difficulty of trying to understand an unfamiliar accent as well. During the test, you might hear a range of different accents, including Australian, British, New Zealand and North American.
A useful way to overcome this issue is to acclimatize yourself to the way native English speakers speak by exposing yourself to the English Language for short amounts time.
It’s not difficult to find radio stations or podcasts online that enable you to do this. Find ones that are about topics that interest you or are relevant to the IELTS exam. Also make sure that you are doing so using the test’s most common dialects. You’ll be guaranteed to greatly improve your understanding of the material if you include this as part of your daily routine.
If you want to listen to practice any of the above-mentioned skills, then try My new online course You’ll find activities and practice tests that are designed to give you an authentic IELTS experience.