IELTS Listening Tips 2024

When you are attempting the IELTS exam for the first time, the question that would come to your mind, undoubtedly, is whether you can get a band score of 7 or more, isn’t it? Well, it is quite a possibility, given that you are practising on a daily basis and being quite stringent with your preparation.

While you are at it, make sure you don’t leave any loose ends with regards to vocabulary and grammar. To help you out with that, here are some significant tips that will help you grab a high score on the IELTS listening test.

Tips for IELTS Listening Module 

You can implement the following tips when attempting the IELTS listening module:

Are you facing troubles with general listening skills?

Most of the time, when coming from a non-English speaking background, students not just face issues with speaking but listening to English as well. Considering that the listening module can have varying accents in the recordings, things can become even tougher for some.

Sharpen your general listening skills every day

Your main aim should be to test your listening ability every single day. Simply using previous tests and materials is not enough. You must also listen to general audios from the TV, internet, and more. You can also watch interesting series, with or without subtitles, to improve both speaking and listening skills.

Do you lag in vocabulary?

IELTS has a set standard when it comes to the examination. Hence, you would need a high-end vocabulary. Often, people get nervous listening to words that they are not familiar with.

Improve your vocabulary

The audios that will be played in the listening section will be on different concepts and factors. You must improve your vocabulary to understand this section in a better way. Read a few words every single day and use them in your conversations every day.

Are you not reading the questions?

Before listening to the audio, you get some extra time to go through the questions and understand a gist of what is going to come. Are you using this time adequately to understand questions or just waiting to listen to the audio?

Get ready by looking at the questions beforehand

It is necessary that you read all of the questions before the audio is played. This way, you will have an idea of the type of answer you should be attentive towards. When going through the questions, you will know which words should be used to fill the gap. You will be able to figure out whether it is a noun or a verb.

Do you get distracted in between?

Is it easy for you to get distracted easily? If it is, it could pose issues for you as you might end up missing important details. Since the audio will be played only once, you will not get to find the information again if you are not paying attention.

Stay attentive throughout the audio

Make sure you are listening to the audio, right from the beginning to the end, without being distracted. The audio will play once; thus, if you miss out on any questions, you may end up losing marks too. In this section, you will be multitasking, including reading, listening and writing – all simultaneously. So, make sure you don’t leave anything behind.

Do you write quickly?

Are you one of those who tend to write as soon as you listen to the audio? If yes, it may not be a correct strategy. You would have to be patient as it will help decrease mistakes.

Stop writing quickly and check for mistakes

If you write as quickly as you listen to the audio, the correct answer may actually be in the next sentence; hence, you may miss it. Thus, while writing the answer, you need to keep in mind that you have to listen to the complete sentence and then write the answer. After every section, you will get 30 seconds to check for mistakes. Make sure that you check for silly mistakes. They may be spelling mistakes, grammar, or word forms. You have to keep in mind that it is an English language test and even the smallest mistake counts.

Also check :

• IELTS Listening Answer Sheet
• IELTS listening recent actual test
• IELTS Preparation tips
• IELTS Listening words
• How to Improve IELTS Listening Section 3 and 4?
• What is Signposting?