14 Important Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About The IELTS Listening Test

Q. Will I have time to read the questions?
A. Yes, you will have about 15–20 seconds to go over each group of questions before listening.

Q. When do I answer?
A. Once a recording is being played you will need to answer the questions as you listen, because you will hear the recording only once.

Q. Where and how do I write the answers?
A. During the listening test write all the answers in the question booklet. Once the recording has stopped you will have 10 more minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

Q. Will I be penalized for writing answers in capital letters?
A. When answering any task with missing words (such as sentence completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, etc) you can write in uppercase letters (e.g. 'AFTERNOON') or lowercase letters (e.g. 'afternoon'), as you wish. It is probably best to choose a particular way (either uppercase or lowercase) and follow it consistently.

Q. Will I need to re-phrase what I hear in my answers?
A. No, you won't. All the answers are as heard on the recording. You will not need to substitute a word for its synonym or to change its form.

Q. What spelling version should I use, British or American?
A. Both British and American spelling versions are accepted. It is also very important that your spelling is correct, because misspelled answers may be penalized. For example, you can write 'color' (American spelling) or 'colour' (British spelling), but if you write 'calor' the answer will get zero points.

Q. Is grammar important?
A. Yes, grammar is an important part of the Listening test. Any grammatically incorrect answers will not get any points, even if their meaning is correct. If you use a singular form ('apple') where a plural form should be used ('apples'), if you use the wrong tense or verb form ('he go' instead of 'he goes'), such ungrammatical answers will receive zero points.

Q. Is it OK to use shorthand writing in the answers?
A. While it is acceptable to use shorthand writing for your notes in the question booklet, your answers on the answer sheet must be complete. So if you quickly scribbled on your answer sheet something like 'doc. ord.', use the full form 'doctor's orders' when transferring such answers to the answer sheet.

What if I…? Some Problem Situations

Q. What if I can't understand what is being said on the recording?
A. If you have trouble understanding the recording it could happen for several reasons:

Reasons:
It is possible that the speaker uses an accent you are not familiar with. For example, people who are used to the American accent may find a British accent hard to understand at first. This shouldn't be a problem as long as you have had some time to train your ears by listening to recordings in different accents that may appear in the IELTS test. The main accents to concentrate on include those from Australia, Britain, Canada, America and New Zealand.
It is also possible that your listening skills are weak, which may make you feel that the words are coming faster than you can recognize and understand them.

Solutions:
This doesn't mean you will fail in the exam, because with training and regular work your listening can improve significantly. To develop your listening skill:
- It’s a good idea to use recordings that have a transcript (to help you understand every word).
- Listen to a recording daily for 20 minutes, then rewind and listen repeatedly to unclear sentences, to build the speed at which you decode spoken input.
- Try repeating words you hear after listening to help you remember them and the way they are pronounced, and perhaps even to improve your pronunciation.

Q. What if I lose track of the recording?
A. Being focused is very important in the Listening test. The fact that the recording is played only once means that there are no second chances for missed answers. This is why it is crucial that you learn mentally how to block out any disturbance or background noise, while preparing and practicing for the exam.

However, anything can happen, and if you have lost track of the recording there is a way to re- gain control:
- Jump ahead to the two or three questions immediately following the one you missed and you will find the one that the recording is addressing now. This way, you may miss an answer or two but from the question where you have re-established the connection with the recording, no more answers will be lost.
- Try to guess the missed answers instead of leaving their boxes blank on the answer sheet.

Q. What if I am a slow reader and don't have enough time to read the questions before the recording begins playing?
A. There is a solution that may help, especially with Sections 2, 3 and 4.
At the end of each section you get about 30 seconds to review your answers. Instead of checking your answers for the previous section, you can read the questions ahead that refer to the next section. Then, when the recording instructs you to move on and read the questions of the next section, you will have some more time to continue reading the questions.

Example:
You have just finished answering Section 1. The recording announces that your time to check answers has begun. You begin reading the questions for Section 2. The recording announces that now you can read the questions for Section 2. You are continuing reading the questions for Section 2 and that way are already further ahead.
Is it wise to do so? Due to the nature of the Listening test, once a recording has stopped, many students find it difficult to recall what has been said, and therefore it's not likely that you will remember enough to correct your answers. Also, there will be another time slot of 10 minutes when you will be asked to copy your answers from the booklet to the answer sheet—and while copying you can also check the grammar and spelling.

Q. What if I have a problem with spelling?
A. Spelling is a well-known problem, even for people whose first language is English.
However, in the IELTS test spelling is very important and your answers may not be considered correct if they are wrongly spelled. For example, if the correct answer is ‘calendar’ and you wrote ‘calender’, even though the meaning is clear the spelling is wrong, and so your answer will get zero points.

To overcome this problem the obvious solution is to learn how to spell, but we know that this may take years. People who have to sit the IELTS test are usually in a hurry and have limited time for preparation—months or even weeks—and therefore we propose a shortcut. Some words are more likely to get misspelled than others.

By learning the correct spelling of most of the words you will greatly reduce your chances of misspelling an answer in the IELTS exam.

Q. What if I am unsure of an answer?
A. Even if you are unsure what the correct answer is, having listened to the recording you can take a guess. Instead of leaving the answer blank, write your best guess in its space on the answer sheet. This won't hurt your Listening score and, if you're lucky, may even help it.

Q. What if I have a hearing/eyesight problem?
A. If you have a hearing/eyesight problem that can be backed up by a medical certificate, you should contact the test centre where you intend to take the test well in advance. The test centers consider each case individually and make special arrangements, including amplification of the recording or preparing a lip-reading version of the Listening module, or a Braille version of the question booklet for sight-impaired candidates.

Q. What if I get sick on the day of my exam?
A. It is generally a good idea to postpone your exam if you are not well. This is especially true if the sickness makes you sneeze. When we sneeze our ears are blocked, which is why constant sneezing may cause a person (and other candidates nearby!) to miss the key parts of the recording that hold the answers.
Your local test centre can give you the most up-to-date and detailed advice on how to postpone your exam.