Ielts Academic 8 Listening Test 2

[Kiliano Ratha]

Hada great and memorable experience with IELTS - IFI. The staffs are supportive and very accommodating. Venue is stellar and conducive for testing. Not to mention, the online review is comprehensive and mock exam is absolutely helpful.

You will listen to four recordings which are a mix of monologues and conversations from a range of native speakers and you will only hear each recording once. There are 10 questions for each part of the Listening test.

In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose more than one correct answer you will be given a longer list of possible answers and told that you have to choose more than one answer.

Multiple choice questions are used to test a wide range of skills. You may be required to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the listening text.

Matching assesses the skill of listening for detail and whether you can understand information given in a conversation on an everyday topic, such as identifying different types of hotel or guest house accommodation. It also assesses your ability to follow a conversation between two people. It may also be used to assess your ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the listening text.

You will need to complete labels on a plan (e.g. of a building), map (e.g. of part of a town) or diagram (e.g. of a piece of equipment). You can usually select your answers from a list on the question paper.

This matching task assesses your ability to understand, for example, a description of a place, and to relate this to a visual representation. This may include being able to follow language expressing directions (e.g. straight on/turn left/opposite).

In the short-answer question type, you are required to read a question and then write a short answer using information from the listening text. Sometimes test takers are given a question which asks them to list two or three points.

There is no shortcut to success and practice is the first step to the journey. Explore a variety of free and paid practice material on IELTS Prepare to give yourself the best chance of securing a high band score in your IELTS Listening test.

A frequent question I get asked by students who have the liberty to choose between TOEFL and IELTS is whether I think they should pick one of the two based on level of difficulty. Bearing that in mind, today I would like to talk a little about my personal experience with the listening sections of both of them. I will focus on two points:

I am starting with accents, because I think this can pose a real challenge depending on which variety (ies) of English you have been exposed to the most. I dare say that, in Brazil, because we have so much American tv shows and cinema, we are more exposed to what I like to call Hollywood English or StAme. TOEFL presents standardized variations of American English, which means there is not a lot of deviation from what we see on tv (in terms of how people speak).

IELTS, on the other hand, admits a myriad of different commonwealth accents, ranging from English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Australian, Indian-British, South African... You won't concisely find the exact same accent throughout the test, so it can be a lot more challenging to prepare your ears, especially if you have been listening to American accents your entire life. As a matter of fact, British English itself has an even more complex vowel sound system than American English, which creates slight pronunciation varieties that ultimately make the listening act per se much harder. If you've made up your mind about taking IELTS, I highly recommend finding lectures with people from different countries, and also looking for Netflix series and films to watch too. This will allow you to get used to different kinds of pitch, different tones of voice, and pronunciation.

IELTS listening test requires you to do more than just listen and choose the correct option: there are visuals, such as maps and diagrams, and also gaps to fill out with up to three words. And yes, spelling words correctly counts. They also test your ability to complete charts, take notes on information over the phone and even read maps and timetables. The test is not about academic and university student life only: it's also about everyday skills you will need to hire a car, complain about a broken product, turn on the heating in your house, get a job, schedule an appointment...

If we look at TOEFL's listening test itself, we might think it's way easier. You listen to lectures and people talking about every day campus problems, not much about out-of-the-university issues; no charts, no maps, no spelling Mcyvir or Hillsdune rd. Easier, right? Well, not really. For starters, you don't get to see the questions first, so you have no idea what is going to happen. This can make you really nervous. And here's another issue: while during IELTS listening test everyone is supposed to remain in absolute silence, that's not what happens during TOEFL's. You will see people talking to each other, getting up to take a break, arriving to start the test, asking for paper, complaining about technical issues, or even doing the speaking test. This, for people who are easily distracted, can be devastating. Do not expect quietness and silence during TOEFL.

As regards me, I scored with 29/30 at TOEFL and 8.5/9.0 at IELTS. I honestly do not know which test was easier for me. After finishing both of them I was extremely tired mentally, but TOEFL definitely stressed me out more. On the other hand, I found the accents of IELTS much more difficult to handle, because I hadn't had a lot of exposure to some of them; that got me a little lost at times. If you ask me, I find them both as difficult, but for different reasons. TOEFL's structure was definitely easier for me to suss out, but it was also more repetitive prepare for. IELTS brought tasks that were more real life-like, but it was also more unpredictable. What I think is you should find sample tests for both tests and decide which one to take based on how comfortable you feel. And, of course, whatever you choose, remember to practice. Tests are supposed to, yes, evaluate linguistic skills, but they only favor those who have acquainted themselves with their format. Check out the following links and see what suits you best:

In IELTS, there are four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. There are two different IELTS tests: Academic and General Training. The Speaking and Listening sections are the same in both tests, but the Reading and Writing sections are different.

Texts come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources, written for a non-specialist audience. All the topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate or postgraduate level. The texts may be written in different styles, for example, narrative, descriptive or discursive/argumentative. At least one text contains detailed logical argument. Texts may also contain diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts use technical vocabulary, then a simple dictionary definition is provided.

You will need to transfer your answers to an answer sheet. You must transfer your answers during the hour you are given for the Reading test. Unlike the Listening test, no extra transfer time is given. You should be careful when writing your answers on the answer sheet because you will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

In this type of question, you are given a summary of a part of the text, and have to complete it using words taken from the text. Note that the summary is not normally of the whole text. The summary may be in the form of:

There are two variations of this task type. In the first variation, you need to select words from the text which fit into gaps on the question paper. You must write the words you choose on the answer sheet.

In this type of question, you have to complete the labels on a diagram. The diagram is based on a description given in the text. The diagram may be a type of machine, part of a building or of other information in the text that can be shown through pictures. Write the words that fit into the gap on the answer sheet.

You must write your answers using full sentences. You must not write your answers as notes or bullet points. You must write your answers on the answer sheet. You are allowed to write notes on the question paper, but these will not be seen by the examiner.

Task achievement (in Task 1) and Task response (in Task 2) assesses how accurately, appropriately and relevantly your response covers the task requirements, using the minimum of 150 words for Task 1 and 250 words for Task 2.

Coherence and cohesion assesses how clear and fluent your writing is, and how you organise ideas and information. It includes giving your ideas in a logical order, and using a range of cohesive devices (for example, linking words, pronouns and conjunctions, etc.) appropriately.

You should spend no more than 20 minutes on this task. You must write at least 150 words and will be penalised if your answer is too short. While you will not be penalised for writing more than 150 words, you should remember that a longer Task 1 answer may mean that you have less time to spend on Task 2, which contributes twice as much to your Writing band score.

You should remember that you will be penalised if what you write does not relate to the topic. You will also be penalised if your answer is not written as a whole piece of connected text (i.e. you must not use notes or bullet points). You will be severely penalised if your writing is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source).

In Academic Writing Task 2, you are given a topic to write about. Your answer should discuss the most relevant issues. You must read the task carefully so that you can write a full answer that is relevant. For example, if the topic is a particular aspect of the wider topic of computers, you should focus on this aspect only in your answer. You should not simply write about computers in general.

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