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Listening test advice Follow this Listening test advice, and make sure you understand how to respond to 'completion' type questions You will be given time to read through the questions before you listen You will hear each recording of the Listening test only once As you listen, write your answers on the question paper At the end of the test, you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet in pencil You may write your answers in lower case or capital letters It is essential that you transfer your answers to the answer sheet Nothing you write on the question paper will be marked Make the most of your Listening test: • if you cannot hear the audio clearly, let a member of staff know straightaway • follow the instructions carefully; they may be different to practice or previous tests • listen for the specific information you want • try and anticipate what the speaker will say; this will require concentration • not worry if there is a word you not understand; you may not need to use it • if you not know the answer to a question, attempt it but not waste time; move quickly onto the next one • be careful with your spelling and grammar • not panic if you think the topic is too difficult or the speaker is too fast; relax and tune in • read, write and listen at the same time • focus precisely on what you are asked to in completion type questions • pay attention to the word limit; for example, if you are asked to complete a sentence using no more than two words, if the correct answer is ‘leather coat’, the answer ‘coat made of leather’ would be incorrect • if the question asks you to complete the note ‘in the…’ and the correct answer is ‘morning’, note that ‘in the morning’ would be incorrect; the correct answer is 'morning' • attempt all questions; there are no penalties for incorrect answers • check your answers Listening • Read the instructions and questions carefully before you listen • Try to get an idea of the situation Who are the speakers? Where are they? Why are they speaking? • Remember, you will only hear the audio once You will need to read, write and listen all at the same time • Listen for 'signpost words' such as however, although and finally They help you to anticipate what the speaker will say IELTS listening – 10 tips You sometimes see it said that all you have with the listening paper in IELTS is to practice: that there aren’t any particular skills to learn I disagree – profoundly There are not just definite skills to learn, there are also I would suggest very definite ways in which to practice Here are a few of my suggestions Read before you listen – predict the answer One difficulty in the exam is that you are not just listening, but reading the question and writing the answer all at the same time One simple tip is to read the questions before you listen so that you know what you are listening for It is a difficult skill to master, but it can sometimes help to try and predict the type of answer you are looking for: is it a name for instance or a number? Read as you listen – focus on the whole question A huge proportion of mistakes are made not because you haven’t listened well, but because you you not focus on the question As you are listening focus on the precise wording of the question See this video tutorial for more on this Look at questions at once One difficulty is that the answers to questions often come quickly one after the other Can you get both answers? Maybe, maybe not: but the only way you can is if you are ready for the next question I’d add that it’s no problem getting one question wrong, the real problem is if you lose track of where you are in the listening and you are still listening for question 13 when the cassette has moved onto question 15 Don’t leave the writing to the end Sometimes candidates leave the writing part to the end, thinking that they will remember what they heard In my experience, this almost never works: there’s a lot of information, you’re under stress and, most importantly, after each listening you should be moving onto the next set of questions to read them Practice your shorthand You not have to write everything that you down: you have 10 minutes at the end to copy your answers onto the answer sheet So what you need to is to learn how to write down enough for you to recognise as you are listening so that you can write it out in full later The one exception to this is in part with numbers and names where you have to write everything out in full as you are listening – that is the challenge Numbers and names – check your spelling In part 1, you are almost invariably required to spell names and/or write down numbers This looks easy, but in my experience can often go wrong and the problem is that if you get any spelling wrong, you lose the mark Of course you know the alphabet, but some letters can cause problems even for advanced learners, in particular: J&G Y A&E&I My tip is to make an association that you can remember: these are mine, but I suggest you make your own: J is for Jesus, but G is for God How you spell “why”? W-H-Y A is for apple E is for elephant I is for ‘I” Don’t write the answer too quickly Sometimes you hear what you think is the answer, but the speaker goes on to correct themselves or give slightly different information: “So I’ll see you on Wednesday afternoon” “Sorry, I’m busy then How about Thursday evening?” “Fine, Thursday at 0′clock” Don’t leave any blank answers There are reasons for this Firstly, your guess may well be correct, particularly if it is a multiple choice style question Secondly, there is a danger if you leave a blank that you write the answers in the wrong boxes on the answer sheet and that can be a disaster Listen for repeated information This doesn’t always work, but sometimes the words that are the answer are repeated: if you need to make a guess choose the words you hear repeated, they could well the be answer 10 Look for clues in the question A frequent question type is completing a table; in this type of question you will often find clues to the answer by looking at the other information in the table In particular, look at the headings of the rows and columns: if, for example, the heading says “equipment” and some of the completed boxes say “paperclips” and “cardboard” you have a good clue as to what you should be listening for Listening tips from IELTS high scorer (Band 8.0) Some time ago Vasco Medeiros, our previous IELTS results competition winner, had sent me his best tips and methods he used in his preparation In other words, these are the techniques responsible for his Band 8.0 in IELTS, and you, too, can benefit from them Today I am publishing the first portion of Vasco’s tips (the Listening part) and the other parts (Reading, Writing and Speaking) will follow Vasco says: “I am happy to share some thoughts and advice with those of you preparing for IELTS By taking this exam you are investing in your future career/studies, which is why I want to personally congratulate you You want to succeed and are willing to pay for it And this exam will open many doors Please realize that your level of English is already good It has to be If you are reading this blog and understanding our tips then you already have some background knowledge of English that you can, therefore, develop further every day Listening tips Remember: all the answers are given in the recording so concentration is the key Stay focused! Don’t allow your attention to wander for even a second! Practice a lot with the CD’s / audio files included with your IELTS book After you have completed a listening section and answered the questions, you can listen to it again while reading the script, thus activating both your listening and visual senses simultaneously Do this not only to check whether you’ve got those answers right (in the exam you only get to listen to the recording once), but to become further aware of the pronunciation and rhythm of spoken sentences, while looking at them printed We learn best by activating many senses simultaneously (visual and auditory in this case) Listening to audio books in English, or other high-quality audio recorded by native speakers also trains your listening skills A good technique to develop concentration is to listen to a sentence or so and then hit the ‘pause’ button, then repeat aloud what the speaker just said You don’t have to say exactly the same words, instead focus more on the meaning and pronunciation Then progressively increase the amount of sentences you can listen to and repeat aloud This is a great way to enhance your concentration that is vital for the Listening section in IELTS.” Top Ten IELTS Listening Tips I have learned these tips from watching and listening to students preparing for the IELTS test I think they are important to help you to improve your general listening skills and also to perform better in the test 10 Make sure you improve your general listening skills before you take the IELTS test and don’t use practice tests as a way to improve your score Many students this and think it is enough Doing practice tests will not help you to improve you score significantly although they will help you to become familiar with the test Listen to everything you can The internet is a good source of listening material Learn how to spell! The IELTS test requires correct spelling of all words, not just the ones that are spelled for you, so make sure you know how to spell some common words in English Also make sure that words that should be capitalised ie proper nouns and names for example, are written with an initial capital letter Before each part of the test you will hear someone say: ‘You will hear a conversation between…’ or ‘you will hear a lecture on…’ It is very important to listen to this information because it gives the topic for what you are about to hear and makes understanding the rest much easier It is not written on your question paper, so listen carefully During the test, use your time well Read the questions quickly and try to decide which type of word goes in the spaces eg is it a noun, verb or adjective? Write 'N' for noun and 'A' for adjective and 'V' for verb in each space This will help you focus and listen for the word you need At the end of each section you have 30 seconds to check your answers Use this time wisely to go back and check your answers by checking for word forms, plurals (did you forget an ‘s’ on plural words?) and spelling You know that Section is almost always about education Quite often you will hear students and a tutor talking about an assignment Make sure you know all the vocabulary you can about studying at university This will help you to understand section and gain some extra marks In section there is a lecture on a general topic and there are quite often multiple choice questions to go with this There is a lot of reading to in this section so try to get through as much as possible in the time you have All the choices in the multiple choice questions will be heard, which makes them difficult If you don’t know, you can guess but come back to that question at the end of the test as you may be able to give a better or educated guess at the end of the test At the end of the test you have 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto an answer sheet As you so check your answers are correct and that you are writing your answers into the correct numbered space That is to say that the answer for question goes onto the answer sheet in space number In practice tests many students get this wrong so don’t throw away marks through a careless mistake Don’t leave any blank answers! In both listening and reading you should write something in the answers box If you don’t know, then make a guess You never know: you may just be right! Listening Test Tips There is no substitute for hard work and lots of study as far as the IELTS Test is concerned, so don’t think there are any shortcuts – there aren’t! Regular listening to IELTS-type test materials is absolutely essential In the test, there are a number of strategies you can use to help to maximize your efficiency during the test Here are a number of tips on how to approach the IELTS Speaking Test If you can predict the sort of things you are going to listen for during the listening test, you can reduce the amount you need to listen to At the beginning the IELTS Test there is a 2.5 minute introduction Use this time to read through the IELTS listening test booklet and try to get a general understanding of what the sections are going to be about – even this simple type of prediction will help you As you scan through the booklet, look for maps, charts or illustrations – these often give you a good idea of what the topic of a section is going to be about After each section you are given one minute to check your answers But how can you check your answers if you can’t listen to the tape again? Use this time to scan and get an idea of what the next set of questions are going to be about Occasionally, you can get an idea about answers to earlier questions by reading later questions For example: Question 1: “Where are they going?” Question 10: “What time are they coming home from the cinema?” Obviously, there’s a good chance that the answer to Question is ‘Cinema’ However, you still need to listen to check Often though, listening to check your predictions is easier than trying to listen for the answer on the tape Sometimes you are asked to complete a table or a chart using information on the tape It’s natural to think that answers will be left-to-right and the answers on the tape will be one after another However, this might not be the case - you made need to write answers horizontally, or in some other fashion Check carefully how you are going to answer such questions to avoid putting the right answers in the wrong places! When you are doing intensive listening to the tape, try to read two questions at a time – you might find that the answers to both questions are in a single sentence If you don’t catch the answer to a question, it’s natural to think hard to try to remember the answer If you this, you will miss parts of the tape and possibly won’t be able to answer other questions When you miss the answer to a question, forget it – go onto the next question Remember – you only listen to the tape once The answer might be repeated on the tape anyway If you miss the answer to two or three questions, again, miss them out – you won’t be able to remember the answers 10 If you get to the stage where you are totally lost, you may have to wait until the other candidates turn their pages before you can find out where you are in the questions Of course, this is not ideal but if you have to this, don’t panic – if you panic you will have even bigger problems 11 There is no grammar part to the IELTS Test, but grammar is very important Look at this question: "There were countless _ involved in the incident." a) People b) Person c) Children d) Computer If you look at the grammar of the sentence it might help you get the answer 'were' would suggest a plural noun How many plural nouns are there in the answers? Only two… 'People' and 'Children' Now you have a good idea of the possible answers, you can use the tape to check for which answer is correct Try this one as an example; the answer is at the bottom of the page: "An _ sank in the English Channel this morning, killing all on board." a) Yacht b) Car c) Oil Tanker d) Plane 12 If you miss some questions out, you will leave gaps in your answer sheet Take special care to write your answers in the right order When you miss questions out, it can be easy to start writing questions out of sequence Check now and again just to make sure you are writing answers down in the right place 13 Remember that you are probably not going to hear the same words in the question and in the answer IELTS questions usually involve 'paraphrasing'- using a sentence with the same meaning but not using the same words For example, on the tape you might hear: "Less than a quarter of university students took part." On the answer sheet you might see: "Only 23% of candidates actually sat the examination." In the context of what you hear on the tape, these two sentences might have the same meaning Your job is to understand the full meaning of what you are listening to and to choose the right answer! 14 You should listen for keywords - that's important, but you should also listen for 'synonyms' For example, on the tape you might hear: "He wants to get on but he doesn't have enough money to pay for university." On the answer sheet you might see: "He wants to advance." "Get on" and "advance" are synonymous When you are thinking of what key words to listen for, think of synonyms you might hear along with the word used in the question 15 You are answering a multiple-choice question and you miss the answer One of the choices is 'None of the above' or 'All of the above' If you really don't know the answer, choose these answers - they are likely to be the right because they might not be in the list otherwise 16 Only write down what you hear - never abbreviate, shortcut or add to answers For example, you might hear to the tape: "He will start university in July next year." You write the following answer: "He starts university in July, 2009." Although next year may be 2009, this is not the right answer On the tape it said next year 17 Do not assume the answer On the tape you might hear: "Sydney Harbor is the biggest harbor in the southern hemisphere." One answer might be: "Sydney Harbor is one of the biggest harbors in the world." The southern hemisphere is a good proportion of the world If Sydney Harbor is the biggest harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, the chances are it is one of the biggest in the world However, the tape did not say this It's natural to try to deduct an answer in this way, but if it's not on the tape, it's not the right answer… simple as that! 18 Many IELTS questions involve listening to numbers and quantities However, in natural speech the difference between '16%' and '60%' is often difficult to hear if you haven't practiced Get used to listening to numbers - the only way you can this is get some listening material and keep practicing! 19 Simply looking at questions words can help you predict the answer to a question For example, think carefully about what this question word could be referring to: "Who?" You might be listening for the name of a person, but it could also be referring to a member of your family (e.g 'my mum') or even a profession (e.g 'the doctor', 'my teacher') Take some time out to write down as many question words as you can and think of everything they could refer to You might get some surprising answers 20 You might get a question similar to the following: 'What is his name?" You listen to the tape and write: 'michael smith' This is incorrect A name should have capital letters like this: 'Michael Smith' However, if you wrote this, it would be correct: 'MICHAEL SMITH' If you are unsure of punctuation or you don't know if something might have a particular punctuation, WRITE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS - THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR WRITING ANSWERS IN THE LISTENING TEST IN CAPITAL LETTERS 21 If you are answering a Multiple Choice question that involves a number of sentences or text and you miss the answer, choose the longest answer The answer is probably going to be a paraphrase of another sentence and that means it will probably be longer 22 Practice listening to something every day There are countless sources: watch an English language movie on a VCD or Video but put tape across the bottom of the screen so you don't see the Thai translation There are countless English for Foreign Language books you can purchase that have a tape, exercises and answers All you need is commitment to sit down and practice! 23 As you scan through the booklet, look for maps, charts or illustrations – these often give you a good idea of what the topic of a section is going to be about 24 After each section you are given one minute to check your answers But how can you check your answers if you can’t listen to the tape again? Use this time to scan and get an idea of what the next set of questions are going to be about Do you have any questions about this? Add your questions here and either IELTS Tips or another member of the IELTS Test community will give you the answers! However, there are a few tips we can give you that will give you a better chance Number 11 Answer: Oil Tanker IELTS Tips - Listening • The accents of the speakers on the tape are primarily British This means you must become accustomed to understanding the nuances of such accents If you have been watching a lot of American television, (shows such as Friends, for example) it will not really help you British accents are quite different and it is better to spend time in the months before the test listening to British radio stations and podcasts or watching the BBC, British shows, and movies This is one of the major difference between the IELTS exam and the TOEFL, which features more American accents • Get used to the way letters and numbers are pronounced in British (and American)English Sometimes, in the listening section, you are asked to write down the spelling of a name, place, or address If you make a mistake in the spelling while writing it down, you will get the answer wrong • The expressions used also tend to be taken from British rather than American English This means you may hear unfamiliar idioms, which can confuse you Speakers may also use British words for common items such as "flat" for "apartment", "lorry" for "truck", or "advert" for advertisement Make sure you study the most common differences in British and American vocabulary and listen to as many IELTS exercises as possible before your exam to prepare you for the actual test experience • Learn to distinguish opinion from fact In the third and fourth listening passages, you will probably be tested on what one of the speakers thinks or what his / her view is This may or may not be stated outright, but as an underlying theme in the whole conversation or in the tone of the speakers voice, rather than the words themselves • Don't worry if your classmates or friends get higher listening scores than you Each one has his or her strengths and weaknesses, just like you Each one also has his or her own language goals Just focus on your own needs and don't compare yourself to others • Follow instructions very carefully If the instructions state, "Write no more than three words",then you must not write more or you will receive no marks for your answer, even if some of the words you wrote were part of the correct answer Similarly, read each instruction carefully Sometimes, you are asked to circle two answers, sometimes three, and so on You must read the instruction each time as it may differ from the previous ones Remember, the ability to follow instructions in English is a test in itself • The questions follow the oral text Remember this - it will make it easier for you to focus on the current question, or to know when you've been left behind, in case the speakers have gone on to providing the answer to the following questions • Familiarize yourself with charts, graphs, flow-charts, bar charts and pie charts, etc These often appear as part of the answer choices in the fourth section The more comfortable you are with interpreting the data represented in them, the easier your exam will be IELTS Listening Tips The following IELTS listening tips will help you get the Listening band score you deserve by warning you of possible pitfalls that can cause you to loose marks Listen carefully to what the invigilator says The instructions given are important and if not followed could, in the worst case, result in a candidate being disqualified Repeatedly opening question papers before being told to so or continuing to write after being told to stop could cause this As explained in the Listening module page, the answer and question papers will be given out and then the recording will be tested It is essential that you listen carefully and, if you cannot questions you haven't answered Each answer you guess correctly will gain an extra mark Guessing is particularly important for questions with limited options, e.g 'Yes', 'No', 'Not Given' questions, as the probability of guessing right is quite high Một số lời khuyên phần thi Listening Phần thi có nghe 40 câu hỏi Bạn cần tập trung cao độ phần thi này, Bạn cần chuẩn bị cách học để hiểu dạng câu hỏi khác phát triển chiến lược làm Các tình nghe thường liên quan tới mặt đời sống sinh viên Vương quốc Anh, bữa tiệc sinh viên ngày tới trường Thỉnh thoảng có trích đoạn ngắn từ giảng hội thoại nơi ăn chốn chuyến thăm viện bảo tàng vào cuối tuần Nếu bạn làm quen dần bạn tích lũy vốn từ vựng liên quan đến chủ đề Không giống với nhiều thi nghe khác, bạn nghe có lần Lý ngồi đời bạn có hội nghe lần để nắm bắt ý Nếu bạn nhà ga họ thông báo tàu trễ lần Nếu bạn nghe giảng tham dự hội thảo, người nói nhắc lại Phần thi nghe đánh giá khả xử lý thực tế nghe bạn Hãy chuẩn bị tiên đốn trước băng chạy Đến phát băng, lúc bạn phải nghe để khẳng định phần lớn câu trả lời Trong nghe, bạn không nên cố gắng ghi lại hết thứ nghe – bạn bỏ qua chi tiết quan trọng Thử nghe phát từ nhấn mạnh Hãy cố gắng bình tĩnh bạn không nhận số từ lạ Sau nghe tất phần, bạn có 10 phút để chuyển câu trả lời từ đề sang giấy làm Bạn nên nhớ làm việc thật cẩn thận Rất dễ mắc lỗi trình dẫn tới điểm Nếu bạn không chắn từ nghe được, thử đốn xem Biết đâu bạn lại điểm • Đọc làm theo hướng dẫn: kiểm tra số từ đuợc phép dùng để trả lời • Ghi nhớ điều đơn giản sau: tả quan trọng, tuợng ngữ pháp đơn giản chia động từ thêm số nhiều • Đốn trước đoạn bạn nghe: xem qua từ vựng câu hỏi nghĩ tới từ ngữ liên quan Xét tới từ trái nghĩa khả đoạn băng muốn bẫy bạn cách sử vụng vài hay tồn câu trả lời • Gạch từ khóa dùng chúng để giúp bạn bắt kịp nghe áp lực thi cử bạn dễ bị nghe hụt • Xác định thơng tin bạn cần phải nghe: đọc kỹ câu hỏi Xem tranh minh họa câu hỏi trắc nghiệm để tìm giống khác Nghiên cứu phần điền vào chỗ trống thử nghĩ xem nghĩa loại từ cịn trống (Source: British Council) • Đọc kỹ hướng dẫn khơng liếc qua Các dẫn không giống y luyện thi hay thi trước • Người nói thường đưa câu trả lời sau tự sửa lại điều vừa nói – ý điểm Đây bẫy thường gặp • Cố đốn xem người nói băng nói Việc u cầu tập trung – dễ dàng nghe ngơn ngữ bạn, với tiếng Anh khó • Nên nhớ bạn muốn đạt điểm cao, bạn cần đặt mục tiêu trả lời tất câu hỏi phần Đừng chủ quan phần dễ • Mặc dù ngồi thị trường khơng có bán nhiều sách luyện thi IELTS sách luyện thi khác Cambridge FCE CAE giúp bạn luyện tập tốt • Các lỗi nhỏ dẫn tới điểm thấp lỗi tả, khơng thêm (s) ghi chưa đủ, ví dụ 1.30 • Đừng hốt hoảng bạn nghĩ chủ đề nghe khó băng nói q nhanh Hãy thư giãn thích nghi dần • Đọc, viết nghe lúc Điều khó cố gắng luyện tập! • Đừng bỏ trống, bạn không bị trừ điểm thử đoán từ để điền IELTS Listening Tips The IELTS tips on this page will help you get the best possible score in the IELTS Listening module You will be given this first bit of advice over and over again but it's still worth repeating: listen carefully to the invigilator's instructions We are always amazed by the number of people who fail to heed this advice We often notice candidates not paying attention to the invigilator and these are the ones who get told off because they open the question paper before being instructed to so We appreciate that it is difficult listening to someone speaking in your second language but candidates really need to concentrate very hard on what the invigilator says Listen to the invigilator's instructions Fill out the answer sheet as instructed When the question paper has been given out, read the instructions on the front but DO NOT OPEN IT The instruction to open the question paper is recorded on the tape The invigilator will check the recording before starting the listening test They will this by playing the first two or three sentences (These are not part of the test, just introductory sentences.) Listen carefully so that you know if you can hear OK If you have any problems say so immediately If there is a problem with the CD or equipment it will be apparent to everyone, but at some Test Centres headphones are used and if your headphones are faulty others may be able to hear fine while you cannot Do not wait until the test has started before saying something Once the test has started the tape cannot be stopped! Do not open the question paper until instructed to so You will be instructed to open the question paper on the recording Opening the question paper before being instructed to so may be considered to be cheating Listen carefully to the tape and don't let your attention wander The tape will be played once only and there will be no repeats All instructions and pauses are recorded on the tape so, if you are told you have half a minute to check your answers, there will be half a minute of silence on the recording The listening test consists of four sections Before each section you will be given time to read the questions for that section Read them carefully but not too slowly - when your time is up the recording will start, whether or not you have read all the questions Be sure to read the instructions, as well as the questions, carefully and follow them If it says write no more than three words, not write four! As you listen to the recording don't just listen for the answer to the question you are expecting Be aware of the questions that follow the one you are expecting It is easy to miss the answer to a particular question and then find yourself lost Quite often the speaker will provide an answer that is vague, or that they are not sure about Always keep listening for clarification or a change of mind Write your answers in the question booklet quickly and clearly enough for you to be able to read them when you come to transfer them to the answer sheet You can use some form of shorthand to save time if you wish, even your own language, as nothing you write in the question paper will be seen by the examiner Just be sure you can still understand it when you come to transfer your answers After each section you will be given chance to check your answers If you finish checking your answers to a section in the time available give yourself a head start and begin looking at the questions for the next section After the final section you will be told that you have ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet If you are wearing headphones be sure to leave them on as you will continue to receive timechecks and instructions from the recording - including the one that tells you to stop writing! Failure to stop writing may be seen as cheating! During this time carefully transfer your answers using pencil Make sure you transfer your answers to the correct number on the answer sheet Also, check you have followed any instructions correctly If your spelling is incorrect or if the examiner cannot be sure if you have answered the question correctly because it is not written clearly, it will be marked incorrect so try to get your spelling right and write clearly 10 minutes is sufficient time to transfer your answers as long as you don't waste time For example, if you have not been able to answer all the questions be sure to transfer all the questions you have answered before reviewing those you haven't Although the IELTS Listening test gets progressively more difficult, you get the same mark for every correct answer regardless of whether it was easy or hard Once you have transferred the answers to all the questions you managed to answer, review those questions you were unable to answer Now is the time to guess For some questions it might be obvious which are definitely wrong answers, perhaps leaving you with two possible choices Guess which is correct and move on to the next question You will not lose marks for incorrect answers but have every chance of gaining marks by guessing Even for questions where you don't have any idea what the correct answer is, try to guess A correct guess might be enough to push you up a band Your target should be to have an answer for every question - try not to leave any blank Take note of these IELTS tips and you should have a much better chance of reaching your potential in the IELTS Listening test How to get in IELTS Listening Module – Part If you are reading this article, i can consider that you are highly motivated individual Even if you not think this way, i Because positive thinking and expecting good generally bring good in return I will write about IELTS Listening in two part series I expect you will gain in-depth knowledge from these IELTS Listening tips and tricks Listen, Concentrate and Write Unlike any other Listening Tests, IETS listening module require high degree of concentration and speed In listening tests, there are three things to be performed at the same time which makes IELTS listening tests a challenge During any English listening test, looking carefully at the questions can help you to predict a number of things, both about what you are going to hear and the answer that is required Basic IELTS & English Listening Test Strategies Before you start listening test, read and observe the content quickly Look out for keywords (Visit, places, reserve, seat, people) and Underline them so when you hear them you will know answer is about to be given instantly By underlining keywords you can guess what the speaker will be talking about For example, if in questions you see references to; Visits, places, reserve, seat, people, it suggests that the content is about a tour, and someone is arranging the booking of the tour, and the information will be about the tour which may include number of seats, the no of people, the reservation, the name or nature of places Just by reading the questions in IELTS listening tests you will know what the speaker will speak about In this casethe speaker will be talking about tour booking What are Keywords in IELTS? The words which help you to find the answer to question Keywords could be names, places, a number or a description in the Question paper Keyword could be one word but may vary upon the content It should not be more than three words It provides you with the clue on the nature of speech/conversation in IELTS Listening So now you know what are keywords, in next few paragraphs i will try to elaborate on the technique that can be used for IELTS Listening using the keywords: While you attempt the listening tests, you should concentrate on two keywords at one time This is because sometimes speaker reverses the information; sometimes he/she mentions the keyword out of sequence For instance, in the table below speaker may give his/her “Name” before the “Card Number” If you focus on two keywords which are Card Number and the Name instead of just Card Number, you can answer the question without any problem Consider this example in IELTS listening test questions, Identification and security check: Goodwood Card Service Card number: 61938 _ 9928100 Name: _ Postcode: Address: _ Williams Street, Sydney Date of Birth: 20 Aug _ Mother’s last name _ It’s easy to know that keywords in IELTS listening test as above are Card number, Name, Postcode, Address, Date of birth, Mother’s last name So when speaker mentions Card number or Name while speaking in an IELTS listening test, you know the information about the card number or Name is about to be given At this time you should be focused on what is to be mentioned immediately Get yourself ready to write the answer and know that it is a number or a word Wait for the information, when speaker say it just jolt it down as quickly as possible Then once its done go back to the next question Next keywords in the table above are Name and postcode so wait for the speaker until he/she mentions “Name” or “Postcode” in her speech Once she mentions “Name or Postcode” in listening test get ready to write what is about to be said Because the keywords are Name which is only text and Card-number which can only be digit, expect it to be a word and a digit When you have written the answer, go back to the question again Next keywords are Postcode and Address Expect it to be a digit, as the speaker says any of the keyword i.e postcode or Address, focus as the information is about to be given in this example of IELTS listening test Similarly, your next pair of keywords will be address and date of birth Once the answer is written by you your next two keywords will be, date of birth and Mother’s last name If you don’t get the idea of the keywords, don’t worry Next idea will help you tackle the IELTS Listening in a different but effective way Another method in IELTS listening test is to change the words into questions This prepares you to listen for the answer you need For example during reading of IELTS listening test questions, these unfilled blanks (refer to the table above) can be changed to questions such as, What are the missing numbers in the credit card? What is the postcode? What is the house number? What is the caller’s date of birth? What is his/her mother’s last name? Also, it’s very important to understand the nature of the information to be written in IELTS listening test answer sheets, for example in above table, the “credit card number”, “post code” and “date of birth” are the numbers While the “address” could be the combination of the digits and words and “mother’s last name” is word That is all good but how are you going to know when speaker is about to give information about the answers in IELTS listening test? When you hear • Stress on the words – speaker stress on the words it means that those words are important in the speech • Repeating words – Sometimes speaker repeats the words • Correcting the words – Sometimes speaker correct the words Dealing with Names in IELTS listening tests When you need to write the name of someone in the question as the speaker speak, write down the word as quickly as possible, even if its wrong or you didn’t get the words correct Normally, if you have to answer the name/surname type of questions, speaker will spell for you by repeating it in the speech and you can write it easily However, you should still write as the speaker mentions the name and not wait for repetition If he/she repeats the word check your written word and make corrections, if speaker doesn’t repeat, leave it as it is and come back when you have time to check the answers in the end and make corrections by your judgment It’s the same case for Nouns and Locations Dealing with Diagram type of questions in IELTS listening tests Diagram types are the tricky When the time is given to look at the questions, locate exactly where the questions are because sometimes the questions are randomly distributed all across the page with the diagram Also find the keywords and underline them, focus on the two consecutive questions at one time just like the method we used in table type questions Dealing with Multiple type questions in in IELTS listening tests When you have time to look at questions, underline the main differences as you read the options Example She didn’t finished assignment because, • She was doing her work and other assignments • She had a big assignment • Didn’t spent time in the library Dealing with Multiple speakers (agreement/disagreement type questions) in IELTS listening tests In these questions the names of various speakers will be mentioned So make sure you get the distinction and familiarity of voices These questions are asked in the end of listening section Use elimination Method when question asks about the agree/disagreement of speakers This method is used when there are lots of options present in the choices Make sure you get the names right Once the option is already expressed by one of the speakers, write his/her option and cross the name of that person Then that person has already expressed his option and so you have one less person to worry about Now focus on the other speakers, as the options are expressed cross the names of the speakers Benefit of this technique is that as you answer the questions the number of choices you make becomes less and hence the difficulty becomes less These questions are difficult when you start but as you come near the end the answers become easy by process of elimination By now you will have a good understanding of how to implement the IELTS Listening tips in your IELTS Listening exam If you have any question, feel free to ask below This concludes IELTS listening tests Tips Tips for Preparing for the IELTS Listening Test You spent so long with the headphones on, listening to different passages and sentences in English, that you were considering having them surgically fitted to your ears! Then the test comes along and you freeze because you hear a different accent and you lose track of what they’re saying! That could be you but listen up! Today I have some advice for you about preparation for the IELTS listening test, so that doesn’t happen to you There’s no reason why you can’t face that section confidently and with a full understanding of what’s coming your way Knowing what’s coming and preparing for it is key, so we take you through the basic structure and then some preparation tips that will help you relax during the actual text Listening Test Structure There are sections to the IELTS listening test: • General conversation - people speaking for approximately minutes, with 10 questions to follow • Talk/Presentation – or people speaking for approximately minutes with 10 questions to follow • Procedural Discussion/ Academic Course/ Work Discussion - people speaking for approximately minutes with 10 questions to follow • Academic Lecture – person speaking for approximately minutes with 10 questions to follow Before each recording starts there are some instructions and there is time to look at the questions; after the recording starts you must listen and then write down your answers in the Listening booklet, next to the appropriate questions Test and Preparation Tips Don’t Transfer the Answers to the Answer Sheet Until later Ask any student who does well in the listening test and they will say the same – use the time at the end to transfer answers to the answer sheet; some make the mistake of transferring the answers at the beginning of the next section and therefore miss valuable time to prepare for the coming section After all the recordings have finished students are given 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answer sheet Then, and only then, is the time to it Know what to Expect! As ever, knowing what’s coming is the perfect preparation to be able to handle it better; familiarise yourself with the structures and types of listening exercises from previous IELTS exam papers; conversation topics can come up again so it is beneficial to cover as many previous sample topics as possible and get to grips with the type of vocabulary used Familiarise Yourself with Different Accents This is a very important one for the listening exam If all of your listening practice has been in one or two accents, then you may struggle to understand the speakers in any of the four sections Make sure you are exposed to a diverse range of accents Practice Listening with a Native Speaker or Tutor and Ask for Feedback You need to avoid repeating the same mistakes again, so that means there must be a question/answer/feedback and correction element to your listening practice It is fine listening to taped conversations as long as you are testing your actual comprehension and having mistakes corrected Rehearse and practice with a tutor or native speaker present wherever possible, and ask them to correct mistakes in your comprehension When the time comes for your test you will be more confident that you are following conversations and can answer the questions accurately Use Speed Tuning if Possible Some English listening practice facilities (like those offered by the British Council) allow you to change the playback speed of conversations, so that you can be sure to follow and work at your own pace; as you get more proficient you can play the recordings faster until they are at normal speed and you are ready for the exam Practice Tests Consecutively When practicing tests, don’t take breaks between the test sections – the closer you get to your actual test date you should try to answer the listening, speaking, writing and reading tests consecutively without breaks – just as in the real thing Total Immersion … wherever possible Listening is one of the hardest skills to improve quickly – it takes a lot of practice and the more you can immerse yourself in the language the more it will help Sample tests will expose you to many listening passages that you may not understand completely at first but practice really will improve your listening and comprehension skills, the more you surround yourself with the language As well as listening to tapes, watch movies and newscasts in English; there are plenty of ways to really immerse yourself in English in the lead up to the exam, and they needn’t all involve having your head in a book Hope you find these tips useful and …good luck! Best IELTS Last Minute Tips for the Listening Test I often receive emails from readers of this site saying something on the lines of ‘Help, I have my IELTS Test this Saturday, what can I do?’ Now, I think I always make it quite clear that I believe in starting your IELTS Test preparation way in advance of the test but I’ve over these next posts, I’m going to give you my last minute tips for the test This is the first post in the series ‘Best IELTS last minute tips’ and has my last minute tips for the IELTS Listening Test • Read the instructions carefully In particular, I suggest that you underline the instructions regarding the number of words you are required to use in your answer Do this all throughout the test as the instructions usually change throughout the exam • Remember that every second counts in the Listening Test; you only hear the recording once so you must use your time profitably Before each section, you are given time to read the questions before listening Use it! At the end of each section, you are given 30 seconds to check your answers; as soon as you’ve finished checking your answers, move on to reading the questions for the next section.When you read questions, look for key words and then underline them This will help you to focus on exactly what you should be listening for • If you are required to write information on a diagram, flow chart or a table, take note of the question numbers You will hear the information in the order of the questions • When the question is a short answer question or a gap fill; you should try to predict an answer; is it a colour, a number, a noun, an adjective, a verb? What tense is the verb? etc • In multiple choice questions or questions where you need to choose from a list, underline the keywords and try to think of any synonyms or different ways to phrase the keyword It is very possible that you will hear synonyms of the keyword on the recording • Again, in multiple choice questions, if you hear something that tells you that one of the answers isn’t possible, cross that answer out immediately so that you have less to focus on • At the end of the test, you are given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet You should be aware of two things here:- Make sure you write your answer in the correct space; I have seen too many students make this mistake when we practice tests in class The Examiner will NOT think, ‘Oh, this candidate has obviously put the answers in the wrong space, I’ll make allowances’ No, you will be in danger of losing your points! Don’t forget basic grammar For example, it your answer is a name, remember that the first letter is a capital letter (upper case) What answer form is required? If the answer is a letter; A, B, C etc, write the letter, no the word from the listening If the answer requires you to write ‘true’ or ‘false’, don’t write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ • Don’t forget that the IELTS Listening Test gets progressively more difficult (Section is the easiest, Section is the most difficult) Many of my students require a band score of In order to get 7, you need to score 33–35 out of 40 This effectively means you need to get 100% on Sections and 2, 80% on Section and 50% on Section Finally, good luck on Saturday! Here’s to the best IELTS score possible! Tips for listening “numbers” in IELTS Exam Việc nghe số phần thi Listening IELTS coi phần thi tương đối dễ dàng giúp thí sinh gỡ điểm Tuy nhiên, khơng cẩn thận, thí sinh dễ nhầm lẫn điểm phần thi Dưới số “mẹo” nhỏ giúp bạn hoàn thành tốt phần nghe số thi IELTS: Hãy viết trực tiếp câu trả lời dạng số: Câu hỏi số chấp nhận câu trả lời dạng số dạng chữ Để tránh lỗi tả nên viết dạng số, thay viết “four”, viết “4″ Nhận dạng câu hỏi mà câu trả lời số Một việc quan trọng nghe xác định loại câu trả lời cho câu hỏi Thông thường, dạng câu hỏi số là: a telephone number an address a price a time Như vậy, nghe thấy số dạng câu hỏi như: “What time is it?” “What does it cost?”…… bạn tập trung lắng nghe số sau Số bạn nghe chưa câu trả lời Một lỗi phổ biến trả lời câu hỏi số chọn số nghe thấy sau câu hỏi làm câu trả lời Chúng ta thấy sau câu hỏi số, có nhiều số khác nhau, để tránh mắc bẫy khơng nên dựa vào key words Lý đơn giản không xác định đâu Key words câu trả lời: Ví dụ: Q: What is your address now? Hầu hết tập trung vào “address“ -Đơi sau câu hỏi nói ADDRESS past now => now key word cho câu trả lời -Đơi sau câu hỏi nói địa bạn, gia đình bạn => ‘your’ key word cho câu trả lời Xác định xác số bạn cần phải trả lời – 13 hay 30 -phân biệt “-ty” “-teen” -phân biệt việc nối âm: 1897 hay 1887 Listening Test Tips - Yeu Anh Van 2.0 There is no substitute for hard work and lots of study as far as the IELTS Test is concerned, so don’t think there are any shortcuts – there aren’t! However, there are a few tips we can give you that will give you a better chance If you can predict the sort of things you are going to listen for during the listening test, you can reduce the amount you need to listen to At the beginning the IELTS Test there is a 2.5 minute introduction Use this time to read through the IELTS listening test booklet and try to get a general understanding of what the sections are going to be about – even this simple type of prediction will help you You don’t need to worry about the instructions until you hear: “Now we shall begin.” As you scan through the booklet, look for maps, charts or illustrations – these often give you a good idea of what the topic of a section is going to be about After each section you are given one minute to check your answers But how can you check your answers if you can’t listen to the tape again? Use this time to scan and get an idea of what the next set of questions are going to be about Occasionally, you can get an idea about answers to earlier questions by reading later questions For example: Question 1: “Where are they going?” Question 10: “What time are they coming home from the cinema?” Obviously, there’s a good chance that the answer to Question is ‘Cinema’ However, you still need to listen to check Often though, listening to check your predictions is easier than trying to listen for the answer on the tape Sometimes you are asked to complete a table or a chart using information on the tape It’s natural to think that answers will be left-to-right and the answers on the tape will be one after another However, this might not be the case - you made need to write answers horizontally, or in some other fashion Check carefully how you are going to answer such questions to avoid putting the right answers in the wrong places! When you are doing intensive listening to the tape, try to read two questions at a time – you might find that the answers to both questions are in a single sentence If you don’t catch the answer to a question, it’s natural to think hard to try to remember the answer If you this, you will miss parts of the tape and possibly won’t be able to answer other questions When you miss the answer to a question, forget it – go onto the next question Remember – you only listen to the tape once The answer might be repeated on the tape anyway If you miss the answer to two or three questions, again, miss them out – you won’t be able to remember the answers 10 If you get to the stage where you are totally lost, you may have to wait until the other candidates turn their pages before you can find out where you are in the questions Of course, this is not ideal but if you have to this, don’t panic – if you panic you will have even bigger problems 11 There is no grammar part to the IELTS Test, but grammar is very important Look at this question: "There were countless _ involved in the incident." a) People b) Person c) Children d) Computer If you look at the grammar of the sentence it might help you get the answer 'were' would suggest a plural noun How many plural nouns are there in the answers? Only two… 'People' and 'Children' Now you have a good idea of the possible answers, you can use the tape to check for which answer is correct Try this one as an example; the answer is at the bottom of the page: "An _ sank in the English Channel this morning, killing all on board." a) Yacht b) Car c) Oil Tanker d) Plane 12 If you miss some questions out, you will leave gaps in your answer sheet Take special care to write your answers in the right order When you miss questions out, it can be easy to start writing questions out of sequence Check now and again just to make sure you are writing answers down in the right place 13 Remember that you are probably not going to hear the same words in the question and in the answer IELTS questions usually involve 'paraphrasing'- using a sentence with the same meaning but not using the same words For example, on the tape you might hear: "Less than a quarter of university students took part." On the answer sheet you might see: "Only 23% of candidates actually sat the examination." In the context of what you hear on the tape, these two sentences might have the same meaning Your job is to understand the full meaning of what you are listening to and to choose the right answer! 14 You should listen for keywords - that's important, but you should also listen for 'synonyms' For example, on the tape you might hear: "He wants to get on but he doesn't have enough money to pay for university." On the answer sheet you might see: "He wants to advance." "Get on" and "advance" are synonymous When you are thinking of what key words to listen for, think of synonyms you might hear along with the word used in the question 15 You are answering a multiple-choice question and you miss the answer One of the choices is 'None of the above' or 'All of the above' If you really don't know the answer, choose these answers they are likely to be the right because they might not be in the list otherwise 16 Only write down what you hear - never abbreviate, shortcut or add to answers For example, you might hear to the tape: "He will start university in July next year." You write the following answer: "He starts university in July, 2009." Although next year may be 2009, this is not the right answer On the tape it said next year 17 Do not assume the answer On the tape you might hear: "Sydney Harbor is the biggest harbor in the southern hemisphere." One answer might be: "Sydney Harbor is one of the biggest harbors in the world." The southern hemisphere is a good proportion of the world If Sydney Harbor is the biggest harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, the chances are it is one of the biggest in the world However, the tape did not say this It's natural to try to deduct an answer in this way, but if it's not on the tape, it's not the right answer… simple as that! 18 Many IELTS questions involve listening to numbers and quantities However, in natural speech the difference between '16%' and '60%' is often difficult to hear if you haven't practiced Get used to listening to numbers - the only way you can this is get some listening material and keep practicing! 19 Simply looking at questions words can help you predict the answer to a question For example, think carefully about what this question word could be referring to: "Who?" You might be listening for the name of a person, but it could also be referring to a member of your family (e.g 'my mum') or even a profession (e.g 'the doctor', 'my teacher') Take some time out to write down as many question words as you can and think of everything they could refer to You might get some surprising answers 20 You might get a question similar to the following: 'What is his name?" You listen to the tape and write: 'michael smith' This is incorrect A name should have capital letters like this: 'Michael Smith' However, if you wrote this, it would be correct: 'MICHAEL SMITH' If you are unsure of punctuation or you don't know if something might have a particular punctuation, WRITE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS - THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR WRITING ANSWERS IN THE LISTENING TEST IN CAPITAL LETTERS 21 If you are answering a Multiple Choice question that involves a number of sentences or text and you miss the answer, choose the longest answer The answer is probably going to be a paraphrase of another sentence and that means it will probably be longer 22 Practice listening to something every day There are countless sources: watch an English language movie on a VCD or Video but put tape across the bottom of the screen so you don't see the Thai translation There are countless English for Foreign Language books you can purchase that have a tape, exercises and answers All you need is commitment to sit down and practice! ... responsible for his Band 8.0 in IELTS, and you, too, can benefit from them Today I am publishing the first portion of Vasco’s tips (the Listening part) and the other parts (Reading, Writing and Speaking)... cheating Listen carefully to the tape and don't let your attention wander The tape will be played once only and there will be no repeats All instructions and pauses are recorded on the tape so,... section confidently and with a full understanding of what’s coming your way Knowing what’s coming and preparing for it is key, so we take you through the basic structure and then some preparation
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