If you’re preparing for your IELTS listening test, here are some simple tweaks you can make to your preparation and test technique that will make a big difference to your score.
Get used to a range of accents
You’ve probably had friends and teachers who recommend that you listen to English radio to help you prepare for your IELTS listening test. That’s great advice. To really maximize the benefit, you should listen to as many different accents as you can. Try listening to British, American, Canadian and Australian radio. ITLTS is an international English test and you will hear all of these accents in your test. Check out the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, PBS and the BBC.
Check out: How to Prepare for IELTS
Read the instructions carefully
It’s so simple, but when you are in an actual test situation it can be easy to overlook. Try reading the question twice to make sure you don’t miss any important points. Here is an example: If the question says “Write no more than three words” and you write four words, you will not get points for giving more than what is asked. In fact, your answers will be marked as incorrect, because you didn’t follow instructions. Take a little extra time to read carefully and you can avoid wasting valuable marks.
Don’t leave any blanks
Don’t leave any gaps on your answer sheet. Make sure you give answers to every question, even if you have to guess. You won’t lose marks for incorrect answers and you might just surprise yourself by getting some correct.
Look ahead
Read the questions that are coming up and think about what the question might be about. You can probably predict some key words that you need to listen for even if you’re not a fortune teller. Now remember, what you hear might not be exactly the same as what’s written on the exam paper. So, listen out for different words that mean the same thing, like car and automobile. These are called synonyms.
Check out: 11 Steps to Achieving a High IELTS Score
The more you practice, the better
Improve your skill by finding ways to listen to English every day. The more you listen, the more your understanding will improve and the better you’ll be at picking out answers in your test. Remember, keep positive and keep practicing and you will see improvement.
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