Try to boost your IELTS listening Score with the best tips. Apply the tips during your study time on how to improve, and increase your IELTS Academic Listening Score.
All of us heard that there are four types of tests in the IELTS exam. Listening test is one of them. Some people have lacking in listening power that’s why they are unable to get a good band score in the listening test.
We had discussed in our previous article how to improve IELTS Reading Score.
In this article, we would like to discuss how you get a good band score on a listening test. If you read this article you will get lots of information about increasing your IELTS listening score. Also, you will get information about some tips and tricks before the last moments of the listening test which is significant for your preparation.
Introduction
One of the most important parts of the IELTS test is the IELTS Listening Test. However, most of the IELTS candidates do not pay much attention to the Listening section compared to the extent to which they speak or practice IELTS Speaking, Writing, and Reading. But IELTS Listening Scoring is equally important along with other parts.
The IELTS test is jointly administered by IDP – IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. The audio recordings of the IELTS Listening Test use the voices of people with different accents and ages. If you aren’t doing well in the listening test you will not get a good band score on the listening test.
Understanding the IELTS Listening Test
Before discussing what kind of questions are asked in the IELTS academic listening test, it is better to say something about the format of the IELTS academic listening test.
Format of IELTS Academic Listening Test:
The IELTS Listening Test has a total of 40 questions, which will be divided into 4 sections.
- Section 1: Two people will talk about anything in daily life, like booking a ticket somewhere or having a phone conversation about making an appointment. From here you may need to remember the name, date, time, and number.
- Section 2: A speaker will speak. This often refers to a room, resort, museum, entertainment center, hospital, or any other place.
- Section 3: About three to four speakers will speak in this section. A situation may also be given where two students are talking to their teacher.
- Section 4: One will speak about an academic lecture or training.
IELTS Listening (Accents)
Accents used in the IELTS test are:
- British
- American
- Australian
- Canadian
- New Zealand
IELTS Listening Score System:
Correct Answers | Band Scores |
---|---|
39-40 | 9 |
37-38 | 8.5 |
35-36 | 8 |
32-34 | 7.5 |
30-32 | 7 |
26-29 | 6.5 |
23-25 | 6 |
18-22 | 5.5 |
16-17 | 5 |
13-15 | 4.5 |
11-12 | 4 |
Key Strategies for Improving Your IELTS Listening Score
1. Identify your weaknesses
- After two to three times of practice you will know which part you are weak in.
- Next time practice focusing more on those areas of weakness and try again and again. It will not take long to overcome the weakness.
2. Practice paraphrasing
- Practicing paraphrasing while listening to English audio and writing will help you prepare more. Because the sentences or words you hear in the audio will not be the same in the questions.
- In most cases, there will be synonyms of the original words and paraphrasing of the sentences.
3. Learn English acronyms
We hear words like Wanna, Gonna, Kinda, etc. in the movies or when talking to any English-speaking person. These words are English abbreviations. Native English speakers or ordinary English speakers use these abbreviations more in conversation.
4. Try to listening English audio
There are so many websites and audio videos on the internet that have a great role in increasing IELTS listening scores.
Before attending the day of the IELTS test you should listen to many types of audio materials from the websites. Then you will gain more listening power.
The main purpose of this IELTS Listening Test is to check the ability to understand conversations or speech patterns in different situations in the English language and to identify the necessary information in those conversations. So the easiest way to improve your English listening skills is to listen to something in English every day.
To improve your IELTS listening score you should apply these tips and tricks that are really beneficial for you.
5. Watch English news on TV
Listening to English news every day is the easiest way to improve English listening and comprehension skills. In this case, I will keep BBC News at the forefront for IELTS Listening Test preparation. You can also listen to CNN, Al Jazeera, or daily news from English-speaking countries such as the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, or South Africa.
6. Listen to English News on the Radio
Apart from watching English news on TV, listening to English news on the radio is one of the ways to prepare for the Listening Test. In this case, you can listen to English news from BBC News on 100FM. Besides, there is an opportunity to listen to the radio of any country in the world online.
7. Watch Talk Shows
Talk shows on TV or social media can be your new way to prepare for English listening and to pass the time.
Basic Techniques for Increasing Your IELTS Listening Band Score
Create tape script:
For active listening, you listen attentively and create a tape script at the same time. That is, write down what you hear immediately.
You can listen to and transcribe all the wonderful videos from the www.ted.com site. Creating a tape script for a five-minute video may take 40-50 minutes to begin with, but it will allow you to learn the pronunciation patterns of each word.
To do well in the listening module you need to catch the correct words. And that’s why knowing the correct pronunciation is very important.
BBC:
Regular listening to the BBC is sure to improve listening. Download the BBC World News app on your phone. Then keep listening to BBC all day long at work or the office.
Carry a small notebook. Try to pick up as many new words as you can. Then at the end of the day find out the synonyms, antonyms, and the application of the words in the sentence from a dictionary.
A wonderful dictionary like ‘Word Web’ from which you can play with words even offline. You can also download the ‘Word Web’ app on mobile.
Last-Minute Tips and Test-Day Strategies
To improve your IELTS listening score you can take last-minute preparation.
- Make sure that your headphones are working properly
- Read the question appropriately before starting the listening
- Take care of your script grammar
Conclusion
There is no way to get better at listening without regular practice every day. It is undeniable that until one’s auditory senses are prepared to listen to English words with different accents, one will not score well in listening.
If you apply these methods that we have analyzed so far, you can improve your IELTS listening score and reach your desired goal. The IELTS academic listening score is a very crucial part of getting your dream job. You can get an immigration job if you get a good band score on the listening test.