IELTS Academic Listening Overview

The IELTS Listening test is the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.

The test evaluates your ability to understand spoken English in academic and everyday contexts. It is designed to assess how well you can follow conversations, lectures, and discussions. The test consists of four sections, each increasing in difficulty, with a variety of question types to test different listening skills.

Test Format

Duration: Approximately 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answer sheet.
Number of Questions: 40 questions.
Number of Sections: 4 sections, each featuring different listening scenarios.

Question Types

The IELTS Academic Listening test includes various question formats, such as:

Multiple Choice: Test your ability to understand detailed or main ideas in a conversation or lecture.
Matching: Assess your ability to connect information with given options.
Plan, Map, or Diagram Labeling: Require you to follow verbal instructions and label diagrams or maps correctly.
Form, Note, Table, Flowchart, or Summary Completion: Evaluate your ability to listen for specific information and fill in missing details.
Sentence Completion: Require you to complete sentences with words from the recording.
Short-Answer Questions: Test your ability to provide specific details heard in the recording.

Scoring

Each correct answer is awarded 1 mark, and your total score out of 40 is converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Listening Test Sections

The IELTS Academic Listening test consists of four sections:

Section 1: A conversation between two people in a daily life setting (e.g., booking an appointment or accommodation).
Section 2: A monologue set in a general context (e.g., a guided tour or a public announcement).
Section 3: A discussion between multiple speakers, typically in an academic setting.
Section 4: A lecture on an academic topic, often delivered by a professor.

Difficulty Progression

The difficulty level increases with each section. While Section 1 features slower speech and everyday vocabulary, Section 4 contains complex ideas and a faster speaking pace.

How to Prepare for IELTS Academic Listening

Effective preparation for the IELTS Listening test includes regular practice with IELTS listening mock tests and using online IELTS checkers to assess performance. Our IELTS Academic Listening Preparation service provides exam-style practice and simulation, expert guidance, and feedback to improve your listening band score.

Use our IELTS practice free resources, including IELTS listening mock tests and IELTS band score calculators, to enhance your performance.

You can take the full exam or choose to take the Reading, Listening, Writing, or Speaking exam individually.

Note: You will hear each recording only once, so practice active listening and note-taking strategies to succeed.