Common IELTS Listening questions and types in the test

As an IELTS learner, do you know what the IELTS Listening test includes? The test is designed in a variety of formats to comprehensively assess the candidate's listening ability - understanding the main content as well as detailed information of the candidate. This article will take you through the IELTS Listening test types .   

1. Overview of the IELTS Listening test

The listening IELTS test consists of 40 questions, divided equally into 4 parts, with a duration of 30 minutes. The questions are designed so that the correct answers appear in the order in which the information is mentioned in the listening text. After the listening test is finished, candidates have 10 minutes (for paper-based test) to fill in their answers on the answer sheet.

The IELTS Listening test has the following format:

The IELTS Listening test includes a variety of IELTS Listening test types , but in general, the context and general content is as follows: 

	Context	Content
Part 1	Life/ Daily life	Content is an informational dialogue between two people (For example, a tourist asks a consulting company about suitable tours).
Part 2	The content is a monologue (For example, the tour guide introduces and describes to the visitor a tourist destination).
Part 3	Academic	A conversation between many people, about an academic topic in the university (For example, two students discussing a research topic).
Part 4	Lecturer's academic lecture (Example, about a rare animal).

The content of the listening test is played only once, requiring candidates to have high concentration and reasonable test methods to find the answer. Each correct answer is counted as 1 point, the number of correct answers will be converted into the official band score based on the conversion scale below. 

Band conversion table for Listening skills in IELTS

While taking the IELTS test, be aware that important information can be repeated, so if you hear something twice it could be important information.

2. Common types of questions in IELTS Listening test

6 common IELTS Listening question types

The content of the IELTS Listening test is designed to assess the ability to listen to understand the main ideas and capture details through the following common IELTS listening types :

2.1 Multiple Choice Format

The Multiple Choice test format consists of two main types of questions: The question type has only one correct answer and the question type has many correct answers.

For the only one correct answer, the test form is a question with 3 options, or a part of a sentence with 3 options to complete the sentence. Ask candidates to choose the option that matches the information mentioned in the listening passage.

The Multiple Choice format consists of one question with 3 answer options

Book Review

Listening

The Complete IELTS Listening HandbookAuthor: dol.vn Self-study English Online

Download

The Multiple Choice form consists of a part of a sentence with 3 options to complete the sentence

For the type of question with multiple correct answers, candidates need to pay attention to the number of answers to choose to avoid losing points. 

Multiple Choice format includes questions with many correct answers (specifically, the lesson here requires choosing 2 correct answers).

Multiple choice test format is used to test listening comprehension of some specific information or the main content of the listening test.

Note:

• To confuse candidates, all answers will be mentioned in the listening text. Candidates will be very confused and must really understand the content of the lesson to be sure of the answer they choose.
• This type of question often appears in Part 2 and Part 3 of the IELTS Listening test .
• It is a difficult type of IELTS Listening test because there are many traps in the answers.

2.2 Sentence Completion Format

The content of the test consists of several sentences summarizing the main ideas of the whole listening or part of the listening passage.

However, some keywords in the sentences are omitted, so it is required that candidates listen and fill in the blanks with the correct keywords that appear in the listening passage to complete the sentences.

The test also sets a limit on the number of words that can be filled in.

Sentence Completion requires candidates to listen and fill in the blanks

• Sentence Completion test format tests your ability to recognize prominent information in the listening passage. Therefore, it is required that candidates understand the connection between information in the text, such as cause and effect.
• This type of question often appears in Part 3 and Part 4 of the IELTS Listening test.

Note:

If you exceed the given word limit, you will lose points for that question. Usually, the test will ask to fill in no more than 3 words for each blank in the answer.

2.3 Dạng Table/ Form/ Note/ Flow-chart completion

The test takes the form of an outline, which includes key information from the entire listening or part of it, along with a number of blanks that the candidate must complete. These outlines can take the form of a:

• Note : summarize information with brief bullet points
• Form : summary of personal information or factual information

Pictures of worksheets (Table)

• Flow-chart : summarizes a process with specific stages, with arrows transitioning between stages.

Flow-chart images

The Completion type requires the candidate's ability to recognize and note information that stands out in certain situations, for example in a classroom or in an informational conversation.

Note:

• This type of completion often appears in Part 1 and Part 4 of the test.
• The answer must match the required number of words and must be in the correct word form to be counted.

2.4 Dạng Pick from a list

The test provides a list of objects mentioned in the listening passage and a range of options, which can be properties or criteria of the given objects. Thus, candidates need to listen to understand and match the corresponding information together.

Picture of Pick from a list homework

The Pick from a list test format assesses detailed listening comprehension skills, the ability to receive information in a conversation, and to recognize relationships or connections between information in the listening passage.

Note

• The Pick from a list test format often appears in Part 2 and Part 3 of the test.
• The number of possible answers is more than the number of questions, so the redundant options can be "traps".
• This is a difficult type of test in the IELTS Listening test , because the information in the listening test is presented in a different way from the options in the test, causing confusion when considering choosing the right answer. In addition, having to listen and read the answers and fill in the answers at the same time is also a big challenge for many candidates.

2.5 Short answer question form

Topics are questions related to listening and candidates must answer that question within the allowed word limit.

Short-answer question image

Sentence completion focuses on capturing salient information such as place, price, or time in the listening passage.

Note:

• Candidates need to pay attention to the question requirements about the maximum number of words allowed to answer the question.
• There are some cases when candidates will be asked to answer more than one idea.

2.6 Dạng Labeling Plan, Map, Diagrams

The task requires candidates to complete annotations that show the names of parts of a map (which could be a building, or part of a town) or a diagram (which could be a piece of equipment). bag). The correct answer is usually chosen from a given list of options.

Pictures of assignments in the form of Labeling Plan, Map, Diagrams

This type of test assesses the ability to listen to a passage describing a place and to associate information with its representation. This includes the ability to perceive and use directional or positional and spatial languages ​​to find answers.

Note:

• This type of test often appears in Part 2 of the IELTS Listening test.
• Test takers often have difficulty identifying and tracking direction or location words, or associating content in a listening text with a given image, resulting in missed listening progress and missing information. importance.

Through this article, you will have an overview of the characteristics, requirements and identify the notes to be aware of of the types of IELTS Listening test .

You can check out more videos below:

In general, the question types are diverse, but differing in only one point is the type of information that candidates are looking for: identifying main ideas or detailed information. After you have understood the structure of the question and the types of questions, do not hesitate any longer, but start stepping into the path of IELTS Listening test preparation with the most effective and suitable learning method for you!.

Here are some listening ielts tips to help you improve your IELTS listening:

Tips to improve your IELTS listening

3. Frequently asked questions

How many types of main passages are common in IELTS Listening?

There are 6 main types of common listening tests in IELTS Listening including:

• Multiple Choice Card Format
• Matching Card Format
• Labeling a Map/Diagram
• Dạng bài Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary completion
• Short Answer Question format
• Sentence completion song type

Are the IELTS Listening questions in order?

The questions in IELTS Listening are arranged in the order in which the answers are mentioned in the listening passage. This is true for all IELTS Listening question types

How many questions are there in the IELTS Listening test?

40 questions

Above, DOL has helped you summarize the basic IELTS listening types you need to know to be able to do well in the listening test. Wish you all will have a good review and achieve the best results through the knowledge gained from this article! You should regularly practice IELTS Listening test at Dol.