INTRODUCTION

An overview of the test

There are two types of IELTS exams IELTS Academic and
IELTS General Training, depending on their academic
or professional aspirations, or visa requirements.
The difference between the two tests is that the Reading
and Writing sections of IELTS Academic have subject matter
and tasks suitable for the test takers entering undergraduate
or post graduate studies. The Listening and Speaking
sections are the same.

Listening 30 minutes
Test takers listen to four recorded texts, monologues
and conversations by a range of native speakers,
and write their answers to a series of questions.

Reading 60 minutes
The Academic test includes three long texts which range from
the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
The texts are authentic and are taken from books, journals,
magazines and newspapers and are on academic topics of
general interest. All have been selected for a non-specialist
audience.

The General Training test requires test takers to read

extracts from newspapers, advertisements, instruction
manuals and books. These are materials test takers could
encounter on a daily basis in an English speaking country.

Writing 60 minutes
The Academic test includes two tasks. Topics are
selected to be of general interest and suitable for test takers
entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies or seeking
professional registration.
Task 1
Test takers are presented with a graph, table, chart or
diagram and are asked to describe, summarise or explain
the information in their own words. They may be asked to
describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process,
how something works or describe an object or event.

Task 2
Test takers are asked to write an essay in response
to a point of view, argument or problem.
Responses to both tasks must be written in an academic or
semi-formal neutral style.

The General Training test also includes two tasks,

and is based on topics of general interest.
Task 1
Test takers are presented with a situation and are asked to
write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation.
The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style.
Task 2
Test takers are asked to write an essay in response to a point
of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly more
personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.

Speaking 11–14 minutes

The Speaking section assesses the test taker’s use
of spoken English, and takes between 11 and 14 minutes
to complete. Every test is digitally recorded and consists
of three parts:
Part 1
Test takers answer general questions about themselves
and a range of familiar topics, such as their home, family,
work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four
and five minutes.
Part 2
Test takers are given a booklet which asks them to talk about
a particular topic. They have one minute to prepare before
speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner may ask
one or two questions on the same topic to finish this part
of the test.
Part 3
Test takers are asked further questions which are connected
to the topic in Part 2. These questions give the test taker
an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas.
This part lasts between four and five minutes.
The format of the Speaking test is common across both
the Academic and General Training tests. It is structured in
such a way that does not allow test takers to rehearse set
responses beforehand.

(With the test centers in 150 countries and over 2.5 million annual test takers, International English Language Testing

System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language test for higher education and immigration. Over 9,000

educational and government institutions, and employers worldwide accept the IELTS grades).

Let’s explore how to teach IELTS speaking.

LISTENING: -

Timing for IELTS Listening

IELTS Listening will take about 40 minutes total. Approximately 30 minutes of this time is
devoted to recordings and attempting to answer questions in student’s Question Booklet.
The Question Booklet is the place where student will see the instructions and the questions
you need to answer. The Question Booklet is separate from student’s Answer Sheet. The
Answer sheet is where student will write his final answers for grading. ONLY the answers
student write on his Answer Sheet will be marked. After listening to the final passage,
student will have 10 minutes to transfer answers from Question Booklet to Answer Sheet.
The grader needs to be able to read what you’ve written! Misspellings are marked
incorrect.

General Training vs. Academic

There is no difference between the General Training and Academic IELTS Listening papers.
IELTS Reading and Writing are the only sections that differ between the two IELTS exams.
Therefore, everything in this post is relevant to Academic and General Training IELTS
preparation.

The Four Sections of IELTS Listening

Student will hear four different listening passages on the Listening exam and answer 10
questions in each section (40 total). The passages get tougher as students progress through
the exam.

Passage 1: This is usually a conversation between two people. Typically, the conversation
will involve a basic exchange of information. For example, someone might be placing an
order over the phone, or confirming details for a reservation. The topic will be a daily-life
situation.
Passage 2: This is usually a monologue (one person speaking). Passage two will also come
from a common daily situation. For example, you might hear someone providing directions,
or presenting basic information about a place or an event.
Passage 3: The topics become noticeably more challenging in Passage 3. This will be a
conversation, often among several people, about an academic topic. You might hear a few
students discussing something from class, or a professor providing feedback about an
assignment, for example. Passage 3 is tougher because the vocabulary is more difficult, the
topics are more complicated, and there are more speakers involved in the discussion.
Passage 4: This will be a lecture from a professor. It could cover any topic from a typical
college course. You are not required to have specialized knowledge about the subject
matter. However, the language will be difficult and the lecture will be complex. This is the
toughest passage on the Listening exam for most students.

Scoring for IELTS Listening

Scoring is straightforward for the Listening paper. Each question is worth 1 point, so you
can achieve a “raw” score up to 40 points. From there, IELTS converts your “raw” score into
your Band Score. You can find a basic conversion table on this page of the official IELTS
website. However, keep in mind that each version of the IELTS is slightly different.
Therefore, getting 24 out of 40 correct on one version of the IELTS may earn you a Band
Score of 6.5, while on another version of the IELTS you may only get a 6. Nevertheless, the
tables can give you a general idea about how Listening is scored.
As noted above, the passages get tougher and tougher as you progress through the
Listening paper. However, question 1 is worth the same number of points as question 40
(one point each). Therefore, you must treat the questions from Section 1 the same as you
do for the questions from Section 4. Read the directions carefully, make sure you spell
words correctly, etc. You don’t want to miss easy points in the first sections due to silly
mistakes.

Additionally, since all points are worth the same, you don’t want to lose points because
you’re focusing too much attention on a particular question. Sometimes, despite your best
effort and close attention, you might not hear the answer to a question or you may not
understand a large section of the listening passage. If this happens, just make your best
guesses and move on. Don’t miss points on upcoming questions because you can’t figure
out the answer to the question you’re currently working on.
 The Directions for IELTS Listening Questions

Attention to detail is very important on the IELTS Listening exam. Unfortunately, too many
people lose points unnecessarily because they don’t pay close attention to the directions.
Here are some general guidelines to follow:

 Make sure you write the correct type of answer on your final Answer Sheet. For example, on
Multiple Choice questions, the correct answer will be a letter (A, B, or C). Sometimes,
students mistakenly write the words or numbers that come after the letter on their answer
sheet and therefore answer incorrectly.
 Various types of short answer questions are common on the Listening paper. You may need
to fill in a summary, a map, some notes, or just listen for some specific words that you
must fill in on your answer sheet. The IELTS will always tell you how many words and/or
numbers you are allowed to use in your answers. YOU MUST read the directions for each set
of questions because the requirements change. One set of questions may allow a short
answer of three words, but the next may only allow two. If the directions tell you that you
may not use “MORE THAN TWO WORDS and/or A NUMBER,” then your answer will be
marked incorrect if you write down three words, or more than one number.
Note that one number can be more than one digit. For example, the number 14 [fourteen]
is one number. 1 and 4, written separately, would be two numbers.