Listening - common question types

Answers must be spelt correctly.

Be careful about singular and plural nouns.

Always read the instructions carefully.

Be careful about distractors. (See bottom of the page)

What kind of questions can I expect in IELTS listening?

Most common:

Less common:

Gap fill/ short answers

You can be asked to write a short answer to a question or fill in a gap in a sentence.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully (think about how words and/or numbers you need).

Think what kind of answer you will need - noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

Choose a keyword from the question or sentence.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Listen carefully for those words because you will hear the answer.

Multiple choice

You will often get multiple choice questions where you need to choose the correct answer.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully (sometimes you need to pick more than one option).

Choose a keyword from the question.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Think of synonyms for the different choices.

Look at the options carefully (sometimes there is a small difference between them).

Labelling task

You are given a diagram/ picture/ map to label.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully (think about how many words the answer can be).

Think about how they might describe the location (maps - next to, opposite, corner. Diagrams - attached to, on top of, below).

Used what is already labelled as a reference.

Table completion

You will be given a table with empty sections or words missing in the sections for you to fill. You can use the same techniques as a gap fill task.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully (think about how words and/or numbers you need).

Look at the table row and column headings to get context.

Look at information already filled in to see what is expected.

Think what kind of answer you will need - noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

Choose a keyword from the question or sentence.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Listen carefully for those words because you will hear the answer.

Do they agree or disagree with each other?

This type of question does not come up much, but it ha come up before. You hear two people speaking and you need to decide whether they agree or disagree.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully (sometimes it is agree, strongly agree, and disagree).

Choose a keyword from the question or sentence.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Listen carefully for those words because you will hear the answer.

Listen carefully to the expressions they use to start their sentences (absolutely - 100% agree, I guess you're right - weak agreement).

True/ False

You will have some statements and need to decide if they are true or false according to what you hear.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully.

Choose a keyword from the question or sentence.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Listen carefully for those words because you will hear the answer.

Look at words that can change the meaning of a sentence such as adverbs of frequency, modal verbs, and quantifiers.

Adverbs of frequency - the question might say always, but in the audio it says only 10% of the time.

Modal verbs - the question might use will, but in the audio it says 'can/ may/ might'

Quantifiers - the question might say all/ most/ many, but in the audio it is only a few/ some/ several

Who said what?

You will have some statements/ opinions and you need to say which person says them.

Techniques to use

Read the instructions carefully.

Choose a keyword from the question or sentence.

Think of synonyms for that keyword.

Listen carefully for those words because you will hear the answer.

At the beginning of the conversation, listen very carefully so you know which voice belongs to which speaker.

Distractors

Often they will try to distract you. Here are some common ways they do this.

Saying wrong time or date. They first say the wrong one but then correct themselves.
Saying one of the wrong multiple choice options first. Sometimes they will something that is not the answer first. In fact, when there are four options, you will probably hear all four.

The important thing is to listen patiently.