[REVEALED] 8 extremely effective IELTS listening test preparation experiences

There are many tips to improve your language skills as well as enhance IELTS test scores. Some tips are very simple to implement. For example:

1.1 Focus on pronunciation

Focusing on phonetics in English will help develop and improve listening skills. It also helps you to understand English in various regional accents. Currently, the most standard phonetic chart is the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Correct pronunciation of the characters in the IPA chart should be your goal after practicing listening to English for the IELTS test. Pay special attention to pronouncing the final sounds correctly. Common mistakes include adding the /s/ sound arbitrarily or forgetting to pronounce final sounds like /k/, /ch/, /t/...

International Phonetic Alphabet - IPA

To start practicing IELTS listening, you should prepare:

• Notebook, paper:

  For any subject, you need tools to jot down knowledge. Using a notebook in IELTS listening practice to record vocabulary or important notes.

• Mirror:

  Using the correct mouth shape helps you pronounce correctly. Therefore, you should practice pronunciation in front of a mirror to ensure the correct mouth shape and promptly correct mistakes.

• Devices, phones with recording functions:

  A piece of advice for you is to record yourself when practicing pronunciation, then listen back to compare with native speakers and learn from your mistakes.

See more: Most common mispronounced words

1.2 Enrich your vocabulary

Most people learn English vocabulary by looking up words, memorizing them, and remembering how to write them. However, learning vocabulary correctly and effectively involves learning the phonetics and related structures of the word. Therefore, when encountering a new word you don't know, you should look up its spelling and pronunciation. Using a dictionary is also a way to enrich your vocabulary, but avoid guessing the pronunciation before looking it up.

This can lead to subconscious misinterpretation and confusion during the IELTS listening test. Besides writing in a notebook, you should have a list of recorded vocabulary to listen to during your IELTS listening practice. This will show whether you have truly improved your listening skills.

See more: Building vocabulary for the IELTS Listening test

Learn the phonetic system of new vocabulary instead of just memorizing the spelling

1.3 Listening skills

In English, “intonation” refers to the pitch pattern of a sentence. “Sentence stress” involves emphasizing certain words in a sentence. Similar to Vietnamese, speakers often emphasize words in a sentence to convey the main idea. Therefore, when practicing IELTS listening, you can focus on the emphasized words to infer the content of the sentence.

1.4 Practice IELTS listening with the “quick note-taking” method

When practicing IELTS listening, applying the quick note-taking method for some keywords in a sentence or passage can help you predict the content and meaning accurately.

With this method, you should note the main ideas or key phrases in the sentence. The main idea will cover about 70% of the sentence's content. Additionally, before listening, you should read through the questions and skim the answers. This helps you choose the correct answer when you hear a part that matches your notes.

See more: How to Skim and Scan Keywords in IELTS

Develop the habit of taking notes when practicing IELTS listening

1.5 Pay attention to spelling

Listening and dictation is a skill that helps improve IELTS listening practice effectively. The steps to practice this skill are as follows:

• Step 1: Choose listening exercises with available translations

• Step 2: Listen and write down the content, then compare it with the translation to see where you made mistakes and learn from them.

• Step 3: Read the transcript of the exercise and record your pronunciation to compare. Based on the pronunciation mistakes, you can learn and improve for the next time.

See more: Guide to IELTS Dictation Practice - Improve Listening Skills

1.6 Understand the structure of the IELTS listening test

To better improve your listening test, you need to understand the structure of the IELTS Listening test to know how to allocate your time effectively. Knowing how to take the test effectively is also important. Understanding the structure of the IELTS Listening test helps you prepare better and approach the test correctly.

The duration of the IELTS Listening test is 30 minutes. The IELTS Listening test has a total of 40 questions, each worth 1 point.

You need to understand the structure of the IELTS listening test to practice effectively

Example:

• Part 1: A conversation between two individuals discussing a topic such as shopping, booking a hotel room, or asking for directions.

• Part 2: A conversation between two people discussing a main topic such as introducing and discussing local facilities or effective time management.

• Part 3: A conversation between two people discussing a subject, study materials, library, etc. (For example: A university professor and students discussing an assignment or topic).

• Part 4: A university lecture.

Source:

This section links to related articles (part 1 - 2 - 3 if available)

1.7 Understand the types of questions in the IELTS Listening test

Besides understanding the structure of the IELTS listening test, you should also focus on understanding the types of questions in the IELTS listening test. Some common types of questions in the IELTS listening test:

• Multiple-choice questions: In the IELTS listening test, there are two types: Multiple-choice questions with one answer and multiple-choice questions with more than one answer.

• Map labeling questions: The content of this question is a map, and the test-taker is required to label the correct positions. There are two types of questions for this:

  • Providing a list of answers as positions. The test-taker will choose the correct answer based on the given data.

  • Not providing answers, the test-taker must listen and fill in the answers.

• Sentence completion / Note completion / Table completion / Diagram completion questions:

  This type of question requires the test-taker to add words to complete the question.

• Matching information questions: The test will provide a list of answers, and the test-taker must match the correct words.

Understand the requirements and how to answer each type of question in the IELTS listening test

1.8 IELTS Listening practice materials

Practice materials are essential for IELTS preparation. You can refer to some of the following materials:

IELTS Listening practice books

You can practice IELTS listening with the following materials and books: (source in the written practice book article, will link to that article)

• Basic IELTS Listening

• Intensive IELTS Listening

• Listening Strategies for IELTS

• IELTS Cambridge books 7 ~15

• IELTS Recent Actual Listening

See more: Review top 14 best IELTS listening practice books

English listening practice websites

Nowadays, there are many websites that help with IELTS listening practice completely free of charge. Some websites that help you practice IELTS listening better:

• IELTS Online Test

• Breaking News English

• Elllo – English Listening Lesson Library Online

See more: Practice IELTS listening online for free with 14+ quality websites

Refer to and practice IELTS listening with books and websites to increase effectiveness when preparing for the test

IELTS Listening is a relatively difficult test compared to the other three English skills. And if you make a mistake during the test, you won't have a chance to listen again. Therefore, it is necessary to note some issues regarding IELTS listening test preparation to achieve higher efficiency:

• You can adjust the listening speed from slow to faster to gradually get used to it.

• It is necessary to read the requirements carefully, paying attention to the number of words required in the answer.

• Check if you have missed any answers (for tests that allow multiple answers).

• Therefore, it is necessary to follow the requirements to maintain your score during the test.

• Read each requirement of the title carefully, mark the key words to predict the content.

• From the keywords mentioned in the question, you should list synonyms or related words to prepare before listening.

You should spend a reasonable amount of time practicing IELTS listening at home.

Related articles:

• Tips to avoid common mistakes in IELTS Listening

• 4 things you need to know about the IELTS Listening test

• What skills are you tested on in IELTS Listening and how are they useful in life?

IELTS listening test preparation will not be too difficult if you have a plan and practice effectively. The important thing is that you must practice correctly to achieve the desired band score. Hopefully, the IELTS listening test preparation methods shared by IDP will help you have a more effective study orientation.