5 Tips to Improve Your Listening Score
The listening portion of the IELTS can make students nervous. Sometimes it’s the speed at which people talk or the accents that can confuse you. As you know, the listening portion is 30 minutes long, which may seem overwhelming at first, but practice does make perfect.
Here are some practical tips to help you through the IELTS listening section.
- Understand the Question
There are 10 questions in this section and you will have about 30 seconds to read through the questions before the recording plays. Use this time to read the questions and understand what information you are listening for. Underline key words and phrases in the questions to help you stay on task.
- Note taking
Practice multitasking. You will need to read, write and take notes at the same time. Remember to keep your notes organised and to write clearly. You should develop your own system of shorthand to write down the most information is the least time.
- Check your answers
Once the Listening portion is over, you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Double check that you’ve chosen the correct answers.
- Mind your time
If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and move onto the next. You can come back to this question once you are done. If at the end of the Listening section you still don’t know the correct answer, guess!
While you can expect to hear different dialects, the majority of the listening section will be spoken in a British accent. Practice listening to recordings of people speaking or make a friend to practice speaking and listening with. You can also watch British films and shows. I suggest Dr. Who.