IELTS Listening
Today I’m answering a listener question about how to improve your listening skills for the IELTS exam. If you’d like me to cover more IELTS materials in future lessons, please feel free to let me know.
IELTS = International English Language Testing System
IELTS is a popular English exam taken all over the world. It’s useful for immigration purposes, universities, getting jobs, or even just testing your level.
Exam Overview
The listening exam is a 30-minute exam with 4 recordings.
Recording 1 – everyday conversation
Recording 2 – everyday monologue
Recording 3 – academic conversation
Recording 4 – academic monologue
There are 6 types of questions and you will get some of these randomly. You can practice them online on your own or with a tutor.
IELTS uses different accents (British, Canadian, Australian, Kiwi, American)
Here’s a video comparing different English-speaking accents
My Advice
1. Listen Every Day
Listen every day – it doesn’t have to be just for IELTS. Any listening you can do is an achievement.
If you’re listening to this podcast – you’re already doing great! (try avoiding subtitles unless you really can’t understand a particular word)
2. Try Practice Tests
There are many practice listening tests online which you can try. This is a good idea if you want to practice the format of the exam and practice listening for specific information
Some Examples of Online Tests
3. Numbers!
Numbers come up a lot in the exam, so practice the difference between difficult numbers.
16 / 60
$117 / $170
Answers to the numbers I said:
51st (fifty-first)
1613 (sixteen thirteen – as a date)
89 (eighty-nine)
12th (twelfth)
Practice listening to numbers here: English Numbers
4. Spelling
Also, make sure you are confident at listening to spellings
Answers to my questions
Craig
Carlos – the correct spelling (“Karlos” is wrong)
More practice with spellings: IELTS Liz
5. Listen actively
Listen actively, not passively. This means really pay attention to what you’re listening to and don’t just put on some audio in the background.
6. Word Forms & Synonyms
Practice word forms and synonyms
I mentioned the difference between “Produce” and “Production” (verb → noun).
But also the difference in pronunciation between “EXport” and “exPORT” (noun → verb)
For more practice, here’s a place to change the forms of the words: English Grammar Online
Practise the stress in words here: Word Stress
Links and Resources
Examples of online tests:
Book IELTS Training with me: https://ewmichael.com/lessons
Video to practice IELTS Accents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj8GMQ7WR48
Practice listening to numbers: http://www.englishnumber.com/
Practice spelling words: https://ieltsliz.com/spelling-practice-city-names/
Word forms practice: https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/word-formation/word-formation-index.htm
English Word Stress: http://www.wordstress.info/exercise/
British and American English differences: https://www.ewmichael.com/britishaccent/
https://www.espressoenglish.net/british-english-vs-american-english-pronunciation/
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Thank you very much, this podcast help me a lot to prepare for my test. I would be grateful if you did another podcast about ielts especially for writing.
Hi Alanoud, I’m so pleased to hear that!
I did another podcast on IELTS for episode 83. I hope that one helps you as well.
I’ll do my best to make more in the future too.