IELTS listening test is of the duration of 30 minutes. Candidates are also provided with an additional 10 minutes to write down the answer in their respective answer sheets. The IELTS listening test requires candidates to listen to four sets of recordings of native English speakers. Post listening to the audios, candidates appearing for IELTS listening are required to answer a series of questions. This article will provide an IELTS exam pattern for listening for ease of candidates to prepare effectively.
In the IELTS listening test, candidates are required to listen to four different audio clips. Followed by this, candidates are required to answer a series of 40 questions in IELTS listening in order to acquire desired IELTS listening band score. Candidates are required to appear for IELTS listening test in both IELTS general listening test and IELTS academic listening test. IELTS listening general listening score and IELTS academic listening score accounts for below mentioned inclusions:
Candidates in the IELTS listening test are assessed based on evidence of the candidate's ability to understand the ideas and detailed factual information. Moreover, the IELTS listening score is provided based on the opinions and attitudes of speakers. IELTS band score is provided to the candidates based on purpose of utterance and evidence of candidate’s ability to to follow development of ideas.
| Recording | Description |
|---|---|
| Recording 1 | Conversation between two people set in an everyday social contexts |
| Recording 2 | A monologue set in an everyday social context |
| Recording 3 | A conversation between four people set in an educational or training context |
| Recording 4 | A monologue based on an academic subject |
Above mentioned IELTS listening test recordings are heard only once. These IELTS listening test recordings include accents from British, Australian, New Zealand, American and Canadian. Candidates appearing for IELTS listening tests have to face a variety of questions. These questions in the IELTS listening test include multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram/ labeling, form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion, sentence completion. Each question in the IELTS listening test carries 1 mark each.