IELTS Simon

IELTS Listening: video lesson

Have you seen the video lesson that I published here a few years ago?

Check it out and feel free to ask any questions about the lesson in the comments area below.

IELTS Listening: are you 'putting in the hours'?

If you want to get a better score in IELTS listening, the most important thing is to do lots of listening practice. You need to put in the hours!

To "put in the hours" means "to do the necessary amount of hard work". But let's use this phrase more literally by considering how many practice hours you are actually doing every day or every week. Do you know how many hours you spent listening to English yesterday, or last week?

Maybe you could keep a record of the time you spend listening to English this week, and maybe you can try to increase this listening time next week. A person who listens to 10 hours of English per week is probably going to improve much faster than a person who only manages 30 minutes.

IELTS Listening: small changes to the exam

Have you heard about the small changes that have been made to the listening test this year? There's no need to worry, but it's best to be informed!

Here's what the official IELTS website tells us:

..........

From 4 January 2020, some small changes are being introduced to the instructions and layout of the paper-based Listening test:

• We will be changing the word ‘Sections’ to ‘Parts’ – The paper-based test will now be divided into Part 1, 2, 3, 4.
• We will be removing the Part 1 example.
• We are also removing the page number references.

..........

Note: Perhaps the only change that may affect you is the second one. You'll need to be ready to start question 1 straight away.

IELTS Reading and Listening scores

Students often ask how many correct answers they need (out of 40) to get a band score of 7 in the reading and listening tests.

According to official IELTS guidelines for academic* reading and listening:

• Band 6 is about 23 out of 40
• Band 7 is about 30
• Band 8 is about 35

Note:
The score needed for each band can change depending on the difficulty of each test. If you have a really difficult test, the score needed for band 7 might be 28 or 29. If the test is easier, you might need to score 31 or 32 to get a 7. Click here to see the banding guide on the official IELTS website.

*General reading is scored differently.

IELTS Listening: listening as research

Here's a nice way to combine listening practice with topic research for the writing or speaking test:

• Choose a writing or speaking topic.
• Search for online videos on that topic.
• Note down any good vocabulary ideas that you see / hear in the videos.

For example, to get some ideas for the 'genetic engineering' writing topic, I watched a few videos on YouTube. Here's a link to a short, useful presentation about genetically modified food:

Click here to go to the video (it's only 3 minutes long).

If you watched the video, answer this question:

What is a transgenic organism?

IELTS Listening: underlining keywords

Here are the two questions (from Cambridge IELTS 14) that I showed you last week. This time I've underlined the keywords.

21. How will Rosie and Martin introduce their presentation?

A  with a drawing of woolly mammoths in their natural habitat
B  with a timeline showing when woolly mammoths lived
C  with a video clip about woolly mammoths

22. What was surprising about the mammoth tooth found by Russell Graham?

A  It was still embedded in the mammoth's jawbone.
B  It was from an unknown species of mammoth.
C  It was not as old as mammoth remains from elsewhere.

..........

Use the transcript below to answer the following questions:

1. What are the answers to questions 21 and 22 above?
2. Which keywords in the transcript give us the answers?
3. Did my underlining in the question choices help?

Martin: We thought we needed something general about woolly mammoths in our introduction, to establish that they were related to our modern elephant, and they lived thousands of years ago in the last ice age.

Rosie: Maybe we could show a video clip of a cartoon about mammoths. But that’d be a bit childish. Or we could have a diagram, it could be a timeline to show when they lived, with illustrations?

Martin: Or we could just show a drawing of them walking in the ice? No, let’s go with your last suggestion.

Tutor: Good. Then you’re describing the discovery of the mammoth tooth on St Paul’s Island in Alaska, and why it was significant.

Rosie: Yes. The tooth was found by a man called Russell Graham. He picked it up from under a rock in a cave. He knew it was special — for a start it was in really good condition, as if it had been just extracted from the animal’s jawbone. Anyway, they found it was 6,500 years old.

Tutor: So why was that significant?

Rosie: Well the mammoth bones previously found on the North American mainland were much less recent than that. So this was really amazing.

IELTS Listening: reading and underlining

Before you hear the recording, you have some time to read the questions and underline key words (the words that you intend to listen for).

Which key words would you underline in the questions below?
(from Cambridge IELTS 14)

..........

21. How will Rosie and Martin introduce their presentation?

A  with a drawing of woolly mammoths in their natural habitat
B  with a timeline showing when woolly mammoths lived
C  with a video clip about woolly mammoths

22. What was surprising about the mammoth tooth found by Russell Graham?

A  It was still embedded in the mammoth's jawbone.
B  It was from an unknown species of mammoth.
C  It was not as old as mammoth remains from elsewhere.

..........

Tip: Don't underline words that are repeated in each choice (e.g. mammoth). Only underline the words that show you the specific differences between each answer choice.

IELTS Listening: tourism numbers

Tourism and tourist information are common topics in the listening test. Here's a short video that I found about the tourist centre in my own city, Manchester:

If you can't see the video, listen to the recording below:

Click here to listen

Quick exercise:
The speaker mentions the numbers below. What do they refer to?

• 77,000
• 5.5 billion
• over 1 million
• 3rd
• over 800,000

IELTS Listening: notice the 'keywords'

I've just been doing listening test 4 in Cambridge IELTS book 14.

As usual, I'm keeping a record of the 'keywords' that give us the correct answers. Here are some keywords from section 2, questions 11 to 16:

Note: Did you know that "have a dip" means "go for a swim"?

IELTS Listening: 'children' topic

Here's an interesting video that someone sent me the other day. I think we could get some good ideas and vocabulary from it, perhaps for topics related to children and education.

I haven't had time to pick out the good vocabulary from the presentation. Maybe you could help me to do that, by sharing your notes in the 'comments'.

IELTS Listening: the 'noticing' skill

Every time you listen to something in English, you have an opportunity to improve your vocabulary knowledge (or 'repertoire'). You might hear a new word or phrase, or you might learn something about how a word is used.

For example, I was pleased to see the following comment below last week's listening lesson:

"I didn't know the meaning of 'urge' before this video, thanks Simon!"

This is the kind of 'noticing' that leads to improvements when you're learning a language. Keep your ears and eyes open, and develop your noticing skills!

IELTS Listening: quick vocabulary exercise

Here's another short talk from ted.com. If you find it interesting, watch it through to the end. If not, just try the quick vocabulary exercise that I've made below.
...

...
Complete the phrases that the speaker uses in the first minute of the talk.

1. pay _____ to something = take notice of something
2. my mind _____ = I lost concentration
3. take _____ = go to sleep for a short time
4. drift off into a _____ = start thinking about something unrelated
5. have the _____ to do something = feel a strong desire to do something

IELTS Listening: multiple choice practice

Watch the first 3 minutes of the video and answer the questions below. Watch with subtitles if you find it difficult. You might also like to watch the rest of the presentation if you find the topic interesting.

1. The speaker states that

A) speaking a language is a critical skill
B) babies are language learning geniuses
C) adults cannot learn a new language

2. The speaker’s tests on babies involve

A) training them to respond to a sound change
B) training them to recognise the sounds of all languages
C) training them to respond to a panda bear

3. The speaker describes babies as 'citizens of the world' because

A) they understand everything they hear
B) they can recognise the difference between the sounds of any language
C) their listening skills are as good as adults’ listening skills

IELTS Listening: interesting lecture

I was searching for a video related to yesterday's reading passage, and I found the following lecture. It's a presentation about how to improve your English accent, so I'm sure that many of you will find it interesting and useful.

Tip: if you want to learn more about sentence stress in English, skip to minute 28.30 and you'll see a good illustration.

IELTS Listening: note the good vocabulary

When you listen to English, remember that it's a good opportunity to improve your vocabulary knowledge. For example, did you note down the following vocabulary from last week's exercise?

• apply for a PhD
  (apply for a course, apply to a university)
• curiosity, stamina and dedication
• academic credentials
• a passion for study
• independent work
• have expertise in something (= be an expert in)
• area of interest
• chosen field
• related to your field
• make contact with
• be involved in

IELTS Listening: listen for similar keywords

When listening to the recording, you won't always hear the exact words that you see in the questions. You'll need to listen for similar keywords.

For example, here's a table showing keywords for a multiple choice exercise (Cambridge IELTS 13, test 4, questions 11 to 16):

IELTS Listening: multiple choice 'tricks'

Here are two questions that confused some of my students (taken from Official IELTS Practice Materials 2). What are the answers? Can you see why some of my students were 'tricked' into putting the wrong answers?

1. Why does Marco's tutor advise him avoid the Team Management course?

A) It will repeat work that Marco has already done.
B) It is intended for students at a lower level than Marco.
C) It may take too much time to do well.

2. Why does Marco want to do a dissertation?

A) He thinks it will help his future career.
B) He would like to do a detailed study.
C) He has already done some work for it

This is what you hear on the recording:

Tutor: The trouble is that because of changes in the content of various courses, Team Management overlaps with the Introduction to Management course you took in your first year. So what you'd learn from it would be too little for the amount of time you'd have to spend on it.

Marco: I'll drop that idea then. Have you had a chance to look at the outline of my finance dissertation?

Tutor: Yes. Why exactly do you want to write a dissertation?

Marco: Well, I'm quite prepared to do the extra work, because I'm keen to investigate something in depth, instead of just skating across the surface. I realise that a broader knowledge base may be more useful to my career, but I'm really keen to do this.

IELTS Listening Advice: podcasts and audiobooks

Just a quick question today on the topic of study habits: Do you listen to podcasts and/or audiobooks in English? (I'm not asking about IELTS-specific materials)

Think about how much listening you do in your own language each day. Maybe podcasts, audiobooks and other online resources can help you to get closer to this amount of English listening practice.

IELTS Listening: example using audioscripts

How often do you use the 'audioscripts' at the back of the Cambridge IELTS books to analyse listening test answers in more detail?

Here's an example question from Cambridge IELTS 13:

Which TWO things surprised the students about the traffic-light system for nutritional labels?

A  its widespread use
B  the fact that it is voluntary for supermarkets
C  how little research was done before its introduction
D  its unpopularity with food manufacturers
E  the way that certain colours are used

Here's the relevant section of the audioscript:

What do you think of the traffic-light system?

I think supermarkets like the idea of having a colour-coded system - red, orange or green - for levels of fat, sugar and salt in a product.

But it's not been adopted universally. And not on all products. Why do you suppose that is?

Pressure from the food manufacturers. Hardly surprising that some of them are opposed to flagging up how unhealthy their products are.

I'd have thought it would have been compulsory. It seems ridiculous it isn't.

I know. And what I couldn't get over is the fact that it was brought in without enough consultation - a lot of experts had deep reservations about it.

Tasks:
- Which two answers do you think are correct, and why?
- Which phrases show that the speakers are surprised?

IELTS Listening: how to use the breaks

In the listening test it's important to use the breaks well. There are breaks between the four sections of the test, and there are breaks in the middle of sections 1, 2 and 3 (there is no break in the middle of section 4). You will hear instructions like this:

1. First you have some time to read questions 1 to 5.
2. That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

1. 'Some time' means about 20 seconds, or up to 40 seconds before section 4. It's important to use this time to read the questions, make sure you understand them, underline key words, and think about what kind of answer is needed (e.g. number, name, noun, verb, singular, plural).

2. Ignore this instruction - don't check a section that you have just finished. It's much more important to be ready for the next section. If you're not ready when the recording starts, you will find it very difficult to read the questions and listen to the answers at the same time. So use this time to read ahead.

IELTS Listening and Writing: spelling tips

Spelling mistakes can affect your score in the listening and writing tests. If you have a problem with spelling, here are some tips:

1. Type your essays: your computer will find your spelling mistakes.
2. When writing by hand, use a dictionary to check difficult words.
3. Keep a list: write down any mistakes your computer/teacher finds.
4. Memorise: learn difficult words by heart.
5. Test yourself on words you previously spelt wrongly.
6. Never give your teacher an essay that you haven't checked.

If you find that spelling is a big problem, you should work on it every day. Keep a notebook or put posters on your walls. If you do nothing, you will not improve; there is no secret rule that will suddenly solve the problem!

IELTS Listening: how to use practice tests

Yesterday I suggested 9 different ways to use IELTS reading tests.

But what about the listening test? Can we do something similar? How many different ways of using listening tests can you think of?

IELTS Listening: language learning secrets!

A student recommended that I share the following video.

Can you summarise the speaker's advice?

What do you think of her ideas? Could you become a polyglot?

IELTS Listening: how to test your spelling

Try this exercise to test your spelling for IELTS listening:

1. Go to the back pages of one of the official Cambridge IELTS books, and find the answers to one of the listening tests.
2. Record yourself (on your phone) reading the answers. Do this quickly, without trying to memorise any spellings.
3. The next day, listen to the recording and write each word down.
4. Check your spelling of each word.
5. Pay attention to any spelling mistakes, and keep a list of words that caused you problems.

IELTS Listening: singular or plural?

Sometimes an answer in the listening test must be given as a plural, whereas on other occasions the answer can be given as a singular or plural. Let's have a look at two examples from Cambridge IELTS 13.

1) The underlined answer in the sentence below must be a plural

includes recipes to strengthen your bones (the singular 'bone' is not accepted)

2) The underlined answer below can be given as a singular or plural

Catarina Miranda focused on the behaviour of urban and rural blackbirds. ('behaviours' is also accepted)

Task:
Can you explain why the first answer must be a plural, whereas the second answer could be singular or plural?

IELTS Listening: improve your luck this year!

Here's another interesting TED talk. The speaker gives us three tips on increasing our luck. What are they, and do you think we can apply them to our IELTS preparation?

Happy New Year!

IELTS Listening: multiple choice with transcript

For the questions below, I'm attaching the transcript instead of the audio recording. I think this type of multiple choice exercise is quite difficult, so see what you think!

What do the students decide about each topic for the presentation?

A) They will definitely include this topic.
B) They might include this topic.
C) They will not include this topic.

Choose A, B or C for the following questions.

1. Geographical Location
2. Economy
3. Overview of Education System
4. Role of English Language

Click here to see the script of the recording

What do you think the answers are? Do you find this type of question difficult?

IELTS Listening: improve your 'ear'

A good way to improve your 'ear' is to give yourself quick transcription tasks.

transcription (noun) = a written version of an audio recording
transcribe (verb) = create a written version e.g. of an audio recording

Try transcribing the first minute of the recording in last Tuesday's lesson.

Tip: The real learning happens when you find a difficult part. Perhaps the speaker suddenly goes too quickly, or seems to join a group of words together. You might need to listen several times; you might even need help to hear what the speaker is saying. This is the kind of hard work that you should be looking for!

IELTS Listening: gap-fill about PhD applications

Listen to the following advice about PhD applications (you'll hear several speakers), and fill the gaps in the summary below.

Click here to listen

mm
Two types of PhD:

1. Develop a _____ _____ and look for a _____ .
2. Apply for a project that you have seen _____ .

Finding an academic to supervise your research proposal:

- Do a _____ _____ on the proposed topic.
- Or visit the university _____ and look at the research interests of staff members.

mm
(Source: University of Bath)

IELTS Listening: quick checklist

If you've watched my free video lessons for listening (here and here), you should be able to answer the following checklist of questions.

1. How many questions and sections are there in the listening test?
2. What are the three main types of question? Have you practised them?
3. When are the breaks in the recording?
4. What two things should you do during the breaks?
5. Which section has no break in the middle?
6. Are you working on your spelling?
7. Should you spend more time practising section 1 or section 4?
8. What similarities are there between IELTS listening and reading?
9. What should you do if you find one question really difficult?

IELTS Listening: 'multiple choice' advice

Most people find multiple choice sections difficult. If you want to improve your scores on these sections, here's the key skill that I think you should work on:

Identifying differences

If you can't see a clear difference in meaning between each of the choices (e.g. answers A, B and C), you'll be lost before the recording even starts.

Try this exercise:

1. Take a multiple choice section from one of the listening tests in the official Cambridge IELTS books.
2. Spend some time reading the answer choices for each question.
3. Try to identify a clear difference between each choice.
4. Underline one or two key words in each choice. Choose words that highlight the differences that you identified.
5. Make sure that you have found and underlined clear differences, so that you know exactly what to listen for.

Note: The exercise above involves no listening practice. Identifying differences is about reading and understanding.