It will take about 30 minutes for you to listen to all 4 sections. You will only be allowed to listen to the recordings once.
You don’t need to worry about Scottish, Irish, or rural Australian or New Zealand accents. You also won’t need to prepare for speakers with thick American accents from someplace like Texas or Boston.
Multiple choice. For these questions, you’ll either need to pick an answer from 3 possibilities, or choose from 3 possibilities to complete a sentence. Sometimes, the question will ask you to choose more than 1 answer. Matching. These questions require you to match items from 2 side-by-side sets of lists. Plan, Map, or Diagram Labeling. You’ll need to fill in labels on a plan (of a building, for example), a map (of a town or city), or a diagram (i. e. for a piece of equipment). You’ll generally be given a list of possible labels to choose from. Form, Note, Table, or Flow-Chart Completion. For these questions, you’ll need to fill in the blanks in these various types of documents or diagrams. You may be given possible answers, or you’ll need to pick them out from the recording. Sentence Completion. You’ll read a few sentences summarizing information either from all of the Listening exam, or from 1 section. You’ll need to fill in blanks in each sentence based on what you heard in the recording.
For example, a Sentence Completion question might say “No more than 2 words and/or a number. ” Hyphenated words (like mother-in-law) count as 1 word.
The British Council, for example, has a practice exam available here: https://takeielts. britishcouncil. org/prepare-test/free-sample-tests/listening-sample-test-1/listening-section-1.
For example, an official IELTS test preparation course administered by an English Language Center (ELC) in Boston or Los Angeles costs $445 USD per week, and it last 4-7 weeks. If you choose a less accelerated program (24-47 weeks, for example), instruction costs $385 USD per week. [10] X Research source
The British Council provides access to a free online preparation seminar. Go online to find enrollment dates for this class. You’ll be able to find 8-week online prep courses for about $100 USD. [11] X Research source
If you’re struggling to find a podcast, look up lists of popular English-language podcasts about things like politics or entertainment. You can also ask friends and family for recommendations.
Go online to find lists of popular audiobooks. If you’d like, you can also listen to English-language “classics” like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, or Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
Sing along to really commit the words to your memory!
