How to increase band scores in IELTS Listening: Preparation and Exam Tips
Listening is one of the four modules in IELTS in which the candidate hears a recording and based on it answer 40 questions. Many aspirants find this task challenging as the audio is played only once and not repeated again. Today we will discuss How to increase band scores in IELTS Listening: Preparation and Exam Tips especially for those who find listening module very difficult.
First let’s talk about preparation –
1. There are several preparation tips for getting good score in IELTS listening. The best thing to enhance your listening skills is to listen some English speakers. It is a good idea to do this exercise to learn and understand the assent of the native speakers. You can use internet for this purpose by downloading or subscribing various videos and channels. It can also work as a stress buster and make you feel relaxed y hearing and watching this mode of learning.
2. Use the time given at the start of each part to quickly read and understand the upcoming questions. This will help you to identify the kind of information you need to listen for.
3. Information given in the starting of each part gives you the idea about the upcoming content like who is speaking, the situation and the purpose so listen it carefully.
4. Headings, sub-headings and paraphrasing can be used as clues to know what to listen for and what the answers might be.
5. Underline key words in the questions. Make sure you read the instructions and keep them in mind to implement the word limit required in answers: one word; a group of words; a letter; true/false etc?
Question types-
1. Section 1 requires you to listen for facts. Read and underline the instructions carefully and make sure you don’t forget. There may be numbers, addresses, spelling of names. Don’t hurry to write the first option you hear as a answer, as the narrator can change the piece of information, so listen for confirmation of the correct answer.
2. Be alert for singular/plural nouns, and don’t forget the‘s’ if it’s plural as these type of grammatical errors are penalized. Use articles (a/an/the) or any other words only if they are required. If they don’t fit grammatically with the sentence don’t use it.
3. With multiple-choice questions, the answers may be a main idea, a particular person’s idea or specific information. Answers in the recording may not be in the same order as the options so stay focused!
4. In ‘matching’ tasks, sometime the instructions says to use an option only once and sometimes you can use them more than once. To clarify this you should read the instructions carefully. Keep in mind, there may also be extra options that you don’t need.
5. Section 4 is a lecture or presentation. You should listen for specific details so read the notes carefully. There is lots of information there which will help you predict the answers. Be aware that you need to listen for synonyms as the speaker’s words will not always be the same as those in the notes/questions.
GENERAL ADVICE-
1. Listening tips -Always reach the test venue before time to avoid last minute rush. In IELTS Listening is the first test, followed by Reading and Writing, so if you arrive in time at the test venue you will have plenty of time to relax and you can start your exam without any hustle and bustle.
2. Recording is played only once, so make sure you don’t miss any question. In case you miss any don’t panic, just move on to the next question without wasting time.
3. There is no need of understanding every word which the speaker says just try to locate the keywords that will help you to identify the answers.
4. Tone of the speaker’s voice can give you clue for the answer so listen to the tone to seek any emotion or mood being expressed. Also listen for any stress and intonation which show that which information is important to the speaker.
5. Always answer every question, especially if it’s a multiple-choice question, even if you have to guess!
6. At the end of Part 4, you have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Make sure you copy right answer at right place.
Thank You 🙂
