IELTS Listening
IELTS Listening practice tests
Test day at a glance
- Time
- 30 min
- Questions
- 40
- Parts
- 4
- Recording
- Plays once
The IELTS Listening test format
Part 1
A conversation between two people in an everyday situation – booking a holiday, joining a club, reporting a lost item. Expect names, numbers, dates and addresses, often in a form or table.
Part 2
One speaker talking about an everyday topic, such as a tour guide describing a site or a radio announcement about a local event. Map and plan labelling often appears here.
Part 3
A discussion between up to four people in an education or training setting – students planning an assignment with their tutor, for example. Speakers agree, disagree and change their minds.
Part 4
A university-style lecture on an academic subject, with no break in the middle. It is usually tested with note, sentence or summary completion.
IELTS Listening question types
- Form, note and table completion
- Multiple choice
- Matching
- Map and plan labelling
- Sentence completion
- Flow-chart and summary completion
- Short-answer questions
How IELTS Listening is scored
| Correct answers (out of 40) | Band |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
| 13–15 | 4.5 |
| 10–12 | 4.0 |
| 8–9 | 3.5 |
| 6–7 | 3.0 |
| 4–5 | 2.5 |
| 2–3 | 2.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
Want to work out a band from your own score? Use the IELTS band score calculator.
All IELTS Listening practice tests
Raise your band
IELTS Listening tips
Read ahead before every part
Use the time before each recording to read the questions, underline key words and predict the kind of answer – a number, a name, a noun, a plural.
Respect the word limit
“NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER” means exactly that. An extra word makes a correct answer wrong.
Listen for the final answer
Speakers often correct themselves (“Tuesday – no, sorry, Wednesday”). The first thing you hear is frequently a distractor.
Train your ear for different accents
Recordings use British, Australian, North American and other accents. Practising with real test audio is the fastest way to get used to the speed.
Check spelling and plurals
In the last two minutes, check spellings, singular/plural and numbers. These small slips cost many candidates half a band.
Practise in exam conditions
Once you are comfortable, switch to simulation mode: full screen, no pausing, the recording plays once – exactly like the real test.
IELTS Listening FAQ
How many questions do I need right for band 7 in IELTS Listening?
Usually 30 out of 40 for band 7, 35 for band 8 and 23 for band 6. Cut-offs can move by a mark between test versions, so aim a little higher than the minimum.
Is the Listening test different for Academic and General Training?
No. Everyone takes the same Listening test; only Reading and Writing differ between Academic and General Training.
Do I hear the recording twice?
No, each recording plays once. Band.pk’s simulation mode works the same way; practice mode lets you pause and replay while you learn.
Can I see the answers and transcript after a test?
Yes. As soon as you submit, you see your answer next to the correct one, with the full transcript, so you can find exactly where you missed it.
Are these like the real IELTS Listening test?
Yes – four parts, 40 questions and one recording, in the computer-delivered format, marked with the IELTS band conversion.
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