The IELTS listening test examines the ability of a student to understand opinions and to follow the development of ideas. The IELTS listening test consists of 40 questions in total with a time limit of 30 minutes. Also additional 10 minutes are provided to transfer the answers to the sheet.
IELTS Listening Exam Sections
IELTS Listening exam contains 4 sections, which can be briefly explained as:
Section 1 – Conversation between two people.
Section 2– Monologue- instructions
Section 3– Multiple Speakers
Section 4– Monologue – University Lecture
These sections contain different types of questions to test the student in all aspects of their listening skills. The types of questions generally include MCQ, Fill in the blanks, and most importantly, Map.
Types of Questions in the IELTS Listening Exam
1. MCQ
MCQs are also known as multiple-choice questions. One has to choose the correct option after listening to the audio very carefully. Abroad Gateway emphasises that one shouldn’t read the options first because sometimes the student may get deceived by some words of the speakers, which they can change later in the audio recording.
2. Fill in the blanks
Fill-in-the-blank questions can be in many forms, which include sentence completion, diagram labelling, flowchart and table. One must be extra careful of the instructions, as the word limit is already prescribed. If one crosses the word limit, the answer will be marked incorrect even if it is right.
3. Maps
These types of questions are generally considered tough because the audio includes the directional instructions by the speaker in the audio recording. One has to keep track of every direction and location while listening to the audio, which is certainly tough because of the fast-paced audio.
In the upcoming parts, every type of question will be discussed in detail.