IELTS Listening Practice Online

Enhance IELTS Listening by Podcast from Media

IELTS listening test is the same for both Academic and General versions. It consists of four parts; each of them has ten questions. The listening module is based on recorded materials and takes 30 minutes in total.

Test-takers can understand the listening materials without specialized background knowledge, which are usually related to common topics of society or study. However, IELTS listening isn't limited to British English, and test-takers should be able to deal with different voices and accents, from Ireland, South Africa, to India.

Test-takers have only one chance to listen to the materials. So, familiarizing with test structure and following test guide are very important to finish the listening module smoothly.

Question Type The core of listening test is to evaluate listening ability. The question types are designed to reflect your listening level. You may see multiple question types in test papers. The six main types are as list:

• multiple choice: Choose the right letter
• matching: Choose the right letter
• diagram, plan, map: choose the right letter or word
• form, table: fill in word/number
• sentence completion: fill in word/number
• short answer: fill in word/number

One test paper may not contain all types, but may have new question types that never occur before. Practice question types will speed up your response in real test, but the key point is still your listening skill. Besides, some question types require to fill in words, so spelling skill also impacts listening score.

Part IELTS listening test always has four parts; each may have up to three question types.

You will hear an introduction about the speakers, topic, and some backgrounds before each part. Note these contents don't display in test paper. Then you are supposed to go through the questions in 30 seconds. After a 30 seconds blank, the recording continues. If the recording enters a new set of questions, you will have another 30-second break to view the further questions before the recording goes on.

In any part, the questions' order is consistent with the order of information presented in listening materials. When a part finishes, you have other 30 seconds to check answers.

Four parts are in a fixed pattern of topic, style, and order. For example, the first two parts are related to daily contexts and the last two are related to school activities. More details are as

• Part 1: A conversation between two people in everyday contexts, usually involving customer service, e.g. in public library
• Part 2: A monologue in everyday contexts, e.g. introduction of a place, event, activity, or organization
• Part 3: A conversation in schools, usually between two students, sometimes being guided by a teacher
• Part 4: A short piece of lecture by a teacher

Now that you know that the IELTS listening test has fixed formats, why not to learn and familiarize them before test day? It's a proven way to up listening score by practicing IELTS style exercises.

To help candidates get familiarized with the IELTS listening module as soon as possible, we compile four full-length listening module exercises (nearly 30 minutes). Some sample questions are from IELIS official website or other Internet resources listed in next part, we organize them together to mock full IELTS listening test modules. These videos with question and answer lists demonstrate how a full IELTS listening test is to go. By them, you can quickly understand its style and requirements.

IELTS Listening Full Practice 1: Topics about library, travel, tourism, and environment.