LISTENINGReview The Purpose of the IELTS Listening Module is where English is spoken as a first language Establish your ability to function on a daily basis in a country Establish your ability to function in an academic environment where English is used as a tuition medium. take part in workshops and discussions. or you might want to arrange a night out in a restaurant with your friends from university or college.Listening in a 'Social Context' You may need to telephone a landlord about renting an apartment. and perhaps speak to your tutor or classmates about an assignment you receive. Listening in an 'Academic Context' At university or college you may have to listen to a lecture or presentation. . Sections three and four test your ability to listen to English spoken in an academic context. there are always four sections and 40 questions. Sections one and two test your ability to deal with situations where English is spoken in a social context (for example. and 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an Answer Sheet provided with the test booklet. All instructions on what to do and how to answer questions are provided on the recording you listen to during the test. buying a plane ticket over the telephone). approximately 20 minutes to listen to the tape and answer the questions. You will be expected to listen to dialogues and monologues and answer questions based on what you hear. in the IELTS listening test you only hear a recording . so listen carefully! The test is 30 minutes long. This might include listening to a presentation or some form of dialogue. Unlike other tests.The Listening Test always has the same format: The questions get increasingly difficult as the test progresses. Educational or Training (speech by one speaker) . a news broadcast. or a description of college facilities. This is usually a passage with only one person speaking. or a tutor and a student discussing career options.The Listening module of the IELTS consists of a total of 40 questions There are four sections: 1.also based on education and training: for example. a lecture or a talk of general academic interest. This is often a conversation with up to four speakers. Educational or Training (conversation between two up to four speakers) . 2. 4. travel arrangements. visiting a new city. . Social Needs (speech by one speaker) . or making arrangements to go out.based on social or life situations: for example. a group of students planning a project. 3.usually based on education and training situations: for example.also based on social or life situations: for example. Social Needs (conversation between two speakers) . This is usually a conversation between at least two speakers. indicating surprise and shock. . excitement. Be on the alert for any changes in voice.PAY ATTENTION FOR: Main Ideas Important words and main ideas in conversation are ones that will come up again and again. Example: Man: Let’s go to Wal-mart. or another emotion. Woman: There’s a Wal-mart in this small town? If the woman’s statement was higher pitched. Voice Changes IELTS expects you to be able to recognize and interpret nuances of speech. then she probably did not expect there to be a Walmart in that town. which might register surprise. Listen carefully for any word or words that come up repeatedly. Man: Why don’t you go see the campus doctor? Sample Question: Why did the man mention the campus doctor? Answer: The campus doctor would be able to determine if the woman had the flu. Example: Man: Let’s go to the store and get some apples to make the pie. A typical question might be about how many apples were needed. Interpret As you are listening to the conversation.Specifics Listen carefully for specific pieces of information. put yourself in the person’s shoes. . Example: Woman: I think I’m sick with the flu. Adjectives. Think about why someone would make a statement. Woman: How many do we need? Man: We’ll need five apples to make the pie. Speaker 2: I’m Matt Smith. Speaker 3: I’m John Douglass. The idea is that the notes should only supplement .Find the Hidden Meaning Look for the meaning behind a statement. Th. Matt – Chem. Man: Are you going to be ready for your presentation? Woman: I’ve only got half of it finished and it’s taken me five hours just to do this much. Example: Speaker 1: I’m Bob Thomas. Your short hand might read: Bob – Bus. you’ll be able to remember these basic facts and answer more accurately. There’s only an hour left before the presentation is due. and I’m majoring in chemical engineering. and I’m majoring in speech therapy. While you listen. Memory Enhancers You have scratch paper provided to you while taking the test. and I’m majoring in business development. E John – Sp. With notes. you are free to make notes. Test Tips How to Improve Your Listening Skill 1] Read before you listen .other questions or the layout of the tab can often help .wrong spelling.often the speaker corrects himself a you need the second answer 8] Do not leave any answers blank .predict the answer.focus on the whole question.you're not going to remember the de 7] Don't write the answer too quickly . think grammar 2] Read as you listen .sometimes the answer word is repeate or reformulated 10] Look for clues in the question .You are not penalized for incorrect ans so ‘guess’ wisely.often they come one after the other very q 5] Practice your shorthand . no mark 4] Don't leave the writing to the end . not just key words 3] Look at 2 questions at once . 9] Listen for repeated information .you need to write quickly as you listen 6] Check your spelling . . Do you have to provide an answer with no more than a maximum number of words? If so. your answers must. Always exactly what type of information you need to give and what you have to do with it .. your answer must not contain more than that maximum number of words. a number? Do you have to complete a sentence. your know answer must contain two items only. or fill in the missing words in a sentence? Know what you have to do with the information: If so. a person? ... and the questions are answered as you listen. READ THE QUESTIONS VERY CAREFULLY Know the type of information the test asks you to give: Is the answer a method of transport? .DURING THE TEST MANAGE YOUR TIME CAREFULLY The tape is heard once only. THE GOLDEN RULE OF IELTS The Golden Rule is "Always give the monkey EXACTLY what he wants". Do you have to name two items that you must hear on the tape. your answer to a question must be exactly what is required. a place? . or find in a reading passage? If so.. be grammatically correct within that sentence. Do not use this time to transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet because you are given 10 minutes at the end of the test in which to do this. In other words.. therefore. three items would be incorrect. ALWAYS LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE The example is given to you for a number of very good reasons. what kind of answer to give. The instructions may contain information about the passage topic which helps to predict what you may hear or read. and.READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY Candidates who do not read or listen to the instructions carefully may believe they are saving time. It is important to read the instructions quickly and accurately. Some candidates believe they can save time by not looking at the example. . The instructions tell you what to do. You might not have time to complete the test if you are too slow at reading the explanatory information. It is important to read and/or listen to the example carefully. in the case of the Listening Test instructions. but the instructions contain vital information which must be understood in order to answer correctly. they tell you when to answer. It is not surprising that candidates often find this the most demanding of the four tests. . You need to be able to: read the instructions and questions listen for general information listen for specific information write the answers as you listen for the answers to the questions that follow.LEARN TO PREDICT: There are many types of IELTS listening question tasks: matching tasks multiple choice tasks gap fill tasks short-answer question tasks diagram labeling tasks true/false tasks sentence completion tasks chart / table completion tasks In the Listening Test you use four skills at once. taped news items on the TV. interviews on the radio etc. and the better you will be able to work out the meaning of what you hear. . you should try to predict information about the listening passage situation. It is important to think about the words that you expect to hear. the quicker your mind will form the correct word associations to make with the topic. in the time given to you to look at each section in the test booklet. The more effectively you can predict. The secret to increasing your listening skills is to better predict what you might hear. and then check to see how many you guessed correctly. Write them down. A useful exercise for helping to develop the ability to predict is to play videos.PREDICTING Before each listening passage. It is one of the measures of effective listening . PRACTICE FOR LISTENING GAP FILLS Gap fill tasks are usually considered by candidates to be the most difficult of the IELTS listening tasks. Your grammatical knowledge is as important as your listening ability.USE SHORTHAND FOR SPEEDY WRITING In the Listening Test. you are often required to listen for the next answer while writing down the answer to the previous question.the examiners want to find out if you can comprehend what is said while attempting another task at the same time. write only the first two or three letters of the answer that you hear. . You can complete the words during the short period of time given to you after the passage has finished. for answers should be grammatically correct within the given sentences. To write down the answers more quickly. In the tests in this book both gap fill listening tasks are news items. The most common type of IELTS listening gap fill task requires you to listen to a passage of spoken English containing information concerning a particular topic or event. It is good practice to listen to interviews and conversations with interesting persons on the TV or radio. For practice. that your test answers. however. This is for practice only. Be aware. must not be in note form. often a conversation between two people. missing vowels etc. arrows and brackets). and choose words or phrases from the dialogue which best answer the given questions.PRACTICE FOR SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS The IELTS short-answer question tasks require you to listen to a passage of spoken English. The notes above make use of abbreviations underlining symbols (especially dashes. and make brief notes from short excerpts of what you have chosen to listen to. you can devise and use your own system of notetaking . .SPECIFY THE TOPIC In a question which asks you to provide a short answer to a question. circle the topic of each question. Before the passage is played. or as you listen. you should first accurately out the question topic in order to give the correct answer. SUMMING UP You should wait for the speaker to sum up before giving your short answer to a question. STEP BY STEP Before you listen: Read the instructions carefully. . In the time given to you at the end of the short-answer questions: Make sure your words and numbers are easy to read. As you listen: Accurately specify the topic before choosing the keywords/phrases to listen for. Check that your answers are given in grammatically correct English.e.do not leave blanks. i. for answers that should be in plural form. and be aware of the question changing. Guess the answers to unanswered questions . . or "none of the above" . answer choices are correct.. cannot be correct. and therefore. answer choices is correct.PRACTICE FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS First.. and it asks you to consider all of the other choices as correct or incorrect answers. look at the ways in which answer choices may be incorrect: There is often at least one given answer choice that is neither sensible nor logical. CONSIDER ALL THE CHOICES Do not forget to consider all of the possible answer choices. If you do not read the last choice given.. The last choice may be one of the following two types: "all of the above" . you might easily make a choice that only partly answers the question.. Next. read the instructions first. Once you have read the instructions. you will be prepared for the first question when the passage begins. you should read the first question and all the possible answer choices to that question. do not forget to look at the example. Therefore. Underline any keywords/phrases in the question and possible answer choices that you feel might help you in listening for the answer. Then. you should at least read the other questions for keywords before you read any of the possible answer choices to those . STEP BY STEP Before you listen: You need to understand what the topic of the talk or conversation is about so that you can predict what ideas and words you might hear. By doing this. As you listen: Carefully examine the answer choices for each question as you listen to the passage. Do not overlook "all (or none) of the above" answer choices. consider the longest answer after rejecting any illogical answers.do not leave blanks. If in doubt. Guess the answers to unanswered questions . In the time given to you at the end of the multiple choice questions: Check the choices you have made. . PRACTICE FOR TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS The IELTS True/False question tasks require you to listen to a passage of spoken English. must ought to don't have to may must not (mustn't) should never however have to sometimes not required to might should not (shouldn't) certainly prohibit* unnecessary to an exception is need not (needn't) usually won't can will necessary to strictly cannot (can't) often need to it is optional but always it is possible can / may only could on the other hand yet absolutely essential . and choose whether given statements are supported or contradicted the passage. often informative talk or lecture. "never". "only". and "all". "must". Sometimes statements which make 100% claims are not further qualified in the same sentence. "have to". but are qualified a little later in the passage. Beware! .Identify any modifying or qualifying words in True/False question tasks "100% WORDS“ Be especially careful of True/False type questions when the statements given include words such as "always". Check the question statements carefully for modifying and qualifying words. wait for the speaker to qualify what has been said. As you listen: Choose the keywords and topic to listen for and be aware of the question changing. If necessary. Beware of question statements that contain words that imply 100%. STEP BY STEP Before you listen: Read the instructions carefully. . Always look at (and listen for) the example. More Hints: In Listening. Check your grammar and spelling as you do so. At the end of the recording you have some time to transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet. e. There are often pauses in the recording between different sections. The instructions may also include a word limit. Remember that they normally follow the order of the information in the recording. looking only at the questions that relate to the part being played. Use no more than three words. . Keep listening until the recording stops. and the speakers. the situation.g. Use these to prepare for the next set of questions. Answer Listening questions in the order they appear on the Question Paper. use the example at the beginning of the first section to familiarize yourself with the sound. Keep to this by avoiding unnecessary words in your answer. Make sure that each answer is transferred accurately and is legible. you have 10 minutes to ransfer them carefully onto the Answer Sheet. that is. numbers and phrases. except that you must spell words correctly when they are spelt out for you on the ape. This applies to all the types of answers you give: letters. . they must be able to be ead.Spelling is not important in the Listening Sub-test. and when it is completed. You must write your answers during the Reading Sub-test on the Answer Sheet provided. Your answers need to be legible. You write your answers on the question paper as you do the Listening Sub test.