Sunday 10 April 2016

The Listening Component of the IELTS test

Timing
Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes' transfer time).

Questions
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are used, chosen from the following:

  • multiple choice
  • matching
  • plan/map/diagram labelling
  • form completion
  • note completion
  • table completion
  • flow-chart completion
  • summary completion
  • sentence completion
  • short-answer questions


Test Parts
There are 4 sections

Section 1 is a conversation between two people set in an everyday context (e.g. a conversation in an accommodation agency)

Section 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a speech about local facilities or a talk about the arrangements for meals during a conference).

Section 3 is a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context (e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment, or a group of students planning a research project).

Section 4 is a monologue on an academic subject (e.g. a university lecture).

Each section is heard once only. A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used.

Skilled assessed
A wide range of listening skills are assessed, including:

  • understanding of main ideas
  • understanding of specific factual information
  • recognising opinions, attitudes and purpose of a speaker
  • following the development of an argument


Marking

Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands

Raw Score our of 40     Band score
16                                  5
23                                  6
30                                  7
35                                  8

Information for Candidates: Introducing IELTS to test takers p.4

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