đź‘‚Scoring Band 9 in Listening : Is it Possible & How to achieve itđź‘‚

Ways to Score Band 9 in Listening Section

Listening

The listening section is probably the relatively easiest section to score marks in. The only tip for getting a very high score in the IELTS listening exam is to keep on practising with as many IELTS audio tests as possible. These tests will help you become familiar with the kind of questions you can expect in the exam. Before the exam date, make sure that you have practised every type of question possible in the listening section. Also, ensure that you are filling in your answers in the answer sheet side by side and are not waiting for the audio to end to then start putting in the answers. The listening section consists of 40 questions, divided into four parts. To achieve a band 9 score, you must answer at least 39 questions correctly. Here are some strategies for success:

  • Practice active listening skills by focusing on the speaker’s tone, pace, and accent.
  • Don’t lose your concentration
  • Follow the instructions carefully
  • Take notes while listening to help you recall important information.
  • Practice listening to things only once
  • Practice answering different question types, such as multiple-choice, matching, and form completion.

What are the components of the IELTS recordings? 

  • The IELTS exam plays four types of recordings at once.
  • You have to listen to the four recordings and answer ten questions for each recording, which is a total of 40 questions in 40 minutes.
  • You have 30 minutes to listen to all the recordings and 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet at the end.
  • The difficulty level of the IELTS listening test increases as the test progresses.

What does each recording encompass? 

  1. Section one – The first recording is a telephonic conversation between two speakers. Usually, these conversations are related to a daily life scenario. Be sure to listen to specific information regarding dates, times, places, names, etc.
  2. Section two – The second recording is a talk from one speaker (a monologue) about everyday life. It will be an informative talk given in a work, educational or recreational context.
  3. Section three – The third recording is a discussion between three or four speakers in an academic context.
  4. Section four – The fourth recording is a lecture from one speaker (a monologue) on an academic subject.

IELTS listening question types essentials 

The IELTS listening task has six question types-

  • Multiple choice
  • Matching
  • Summary completion
  • Plan, map, and label diagrams
  • Form, note, table, flow-chart task
  • Short answer questions

Challenges You will Face

The IELTS listening test has many challenges that one might face and you might be likely to face one of these problems as well. But the good part about learning a challenge is that we can start preparing for it with a solution in the meantime of the exam. #1. Accent #2. The pace of the Audio  #3. Distractors #4. Multi-tasking #5. Different Type of Instructions #6. YOLO (You only listen once) #7. Synonyms #8. Attention

Tips to Overcome the Challenges and Get Better IELTS Listening Score

  • Know your weakness
  • Listen to different accents
  • Beware of the distractors
  • Understand the questions before listening
  • Know your focus keywords 
  • Learn and practice multitasking
  • Word count instructions 
  • Ensure correct spelling in the answer sheet 
  • Focus and practice 

Key tips

  • The most important IELTS listening tip is knowing and understanding the question types. Then you must start identifying your weakness and work on them.
  • Focusing on keywords, checking your spelling, being mindful of distractors, concentrating on word count instructions, and practicing multitasking are other areas you must start working on.
  • The IELTS listening module takes 40 minutes, with 30 minutes for testing and 10 minutes for transferring the answers. So read all the questions, and identify keywords before kickstarting your recordings.
  • IELTS listening tips and tricks academic and IELTS listening tips and tricks general are the same because they have the same marking criteria.
  • The best IELTS listening tips will not help unless you focus and practice well for your IELTS listening test.

Calculating Band Score

Band Scale IELTS Score
5.5 18-22
6.0 23-25
6.5 26-29
7.0 30-31
7.5 32-34
8.0 35-36
8.5 37-38
9.0 39-40

For further practice, go through the following link and get genuine practice questions. https://ielts.idp.com/prepare/article-free-listening-practice-questions

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