How to Achieve a Good IELTS Listening Score to Study Abroad
If you are planning to sit for the IELTS to study abroad, you likely already have an idea of the band scores you need to hit. A good IELTS listening score indicates to universities that you will be able to keep up with lectures and classes happening exclusively in academic English. It also reflects your ability to keep up with conversations and discussions in both everyday and academic scenarios!
Universities will ask for overall band scores and minimum individual band scores for each section of the IELTS. Each of these individual sections is important and reflects different strengths you need to succeed while studying abroad. In this article, we zoom in on the IELTS Listening section, to help you meet and exceed your target score!
Overview of the IELTS Scoring System
To prepare effectively for the IELTS English test, you need a pretty deep understanding of what it is, its formats and question types, scoring systems, and so on. The IELTS is the most popular English language proficiency assessment, which most English-speaking countries and their universities accept as proof of your language abilities.
To fully understand how to ace your IELTS exam, you need to understand how the scoring system works. The IELTS exam tests you in four components of English language skills: Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Writing. The test assigns a section to each of these skills, though each section may assess more than one skill at the same time. For example, in the Listening section, you may apply listening and writing skills together, or listening and reading skills together.
Each section will have a score between 0 to 9, at 0.5-point intervals. The overall score also falls within this range, as a cumulative score of the four sections.
Reading:
The Reading section contains 40 questions across four passages in total. The passages can be excerpts from books, journals, research papers, news articles, etc.
Writing:
This section involves two writing tasks. The second task has more weight in score allocation than the first one, though both involve academic writing skill assessment.
Speaking:
In this section, you will have to sit for a brief interview with an examiner. Generally, you will answer questions about yourself or express your opinions and thoughts on a theme or idea the interviewer presents to you.
Listening:
In the Listening section, you will listen to four audio recordings and answer 40 questions altogether. We jump into this section, its components, and strategies to score well for it down below!
What Your IELTS Score Bands Mean
Each score band of the IELTS corresponds to a fluency level in the English language. The higher the score band, including the IELTS listening band score, the higher your proficiency level.
| IELTS Score | Skill Level | Interpretation |
| 0 | Did not attempt | Didn’t answer any questions |
| 1 | Non-user | Only know a few words |
| 2 | Intermittent | Great difficulty understanding or using the language |
| 3 | Extremely Limited | Only understand English in a few situations |
| 4 | Limited | Only understand English in familiar situations |
| 5 | Modest | A partial understanding but make mistakes |
| 6 | Competent | An effective understanding of the English language |
| 7 | Good | Good command with occasional mistakes |
| 8 | Very Good | Only misunderstand some unfamiliar terms |
| 9 | Expert | Full and fluent proficiency in the language |
The IELTS Listening Test
The Listening section of the IELTS is where many competent IELTS examinees stumble. This is the first section of the test and going into it with confidence makes a difference not just to your IELTS listening score but to your performance overall.
The Listening section comprises four audio recordings of conversation or speech in English. These are all recordings of native and fluent English speakers – you can expect English, Australian, and American accents. You will listen closely to each recording and answer 10 questions for each of the four parts of the section. Each question has a 1-point weight, totaling the full score of the section to 40 points. This then translates to the 0-9 scale for your IELTS listening score.
The IELTS Listening section always follows the following format:
Audio #1 – A conversation in an everyday context. E.g., a person reporting a lost item to customer care
Audio #2 – A monologue – the speaker addresses an audience in an everyday context. E.g., a tour guide describing an itinerary for a group of tourists
Audio #3 – A conversation in an academic context. E.g., students discussing an experiment, exam, or project with a lecturer
Audio #4 – A monologue in an academic context. E.g., a lecture or presentation at a university
IELTS Listening Question Types
The types of questions you may have to answer include:
● Multiple choice: Choose one or more options from a list
● Matching: Match words or phrases in reference to the audio
● Plan, map or diagram labeling: Listen to the audio descriptions and label the item accordingly
● Form, note, table, flow chart or summary: Summarize the conversation or speech in these formats
● Sentence completion: Complete sentences with information you hear in the audio clip
● Short answer: Write exact answers to questions in reference to the audio
What to Expect During the Test
On exam day, you will wear a set of headphones through which you will hear each audio recording. Before the test begins, the exam invigilator will guide you to test out your audio equipment to confirm everything is working. You can adjust the volume to your preference either before the test or anytime during it.
You will have a total of 30 minutes to answer the forty questions in this section. So, you must make the most of your time to hit your ideal IELTS listening score. Since each recording will only play once, you must listen carefully and record your answers in order.
The time limit is one of the reasons why some students struggle with the section. It’s very important to stay calm and approach the IELTS listening section strategically. Once you understand exactly what to expect from this section, getting a full 9.0 IELTS Listening score can be a breeze!
Band Scores for IELTS Listening
Each question bears one point in the Listening section, meaning the full section is worth 40 points in total. In other words, the weight of each question is the same. The overall score will convert to an IELTS band score between 0 and 9. The conversion scale is as follows:
| Correct Answers | IELTS Band Score |
| 16 out of 40 | 5 |
| 23 out of 40 | 6 |
| 30 out of 40 | 7 |
| 35 out of 40 | 8 |
| 40 out of 40 | 9 |
How to Improve Your IELTS Listening Score
To bump up your IELTS listening score, the most effective route to take is to prepare thoroughly and practice extensively. You need to have a clear understanding of what to expect before going into the text. This helps you avoid fumbling when the test begins, since you are working with audio recordings that will only play once on a time limit.
You need to learn tips and tricks to improve your score and prepare accordingly. And of course, the golden piece of advice is always to practice as much as you can. There’s no better teacher than hands-on experience, and the better your taste of what to expect during the test, the better your performance during the real thing.
Understand the Test Format
Knowing your way around the test is an integral part of performing well in the IELTS. You might be incredibly fluent in the English language but the time you lose trying to understand the test format can cost you points. Understanding exactly what to expect helps you use every second to your advantage.
There will be 4 audio clips, each with 10 questions. You will have half an hour to complete all four parts, with a total of 40 questions. So, here’s how you can hit your target IELTS Listening score in these 30 minutes:
Scan Through the Questions First
Before the audio for each of the four parts of the Listening section plays, quickly glance through the questions. This gives you an idea of what information to pay attention to when you are listening to the audio. Remember, you will hear the information in the audio in the same sequence as the questions about them. So, it’s a good idea to jot your answers down as you listen to the recording, to make the best use of your time.
It’s also a good idea to spend the time before the audio starts to play to understand the question types you are about to answer. Each question comes with its own set of instructions, and you will need to answer the questions following these instructions. Otherwise, you risk losing points even if you know the right answer.
Pay Attention to Conversation Flows
Audio recordings #1 and #3 are conversations between two or more people. As is the case in regular conversations, you might hear people misspeak, mention something that they or someone else will correct, etc. You have to pay attention to the flow of the conversation to catch and extract the key details of the recording.
Understand the Accent
All of the recordings that you will hear will be audio snippets of native English speakers. This means that, while the British accent is the most common, you may also run into American, Australian, and Canadian accents. The best way to be sure that these variations in speech, tone, and cadence don’t throw you off is to practice! Expose yourself to native English media so that you can sharpen your comprehension of non-neutral English accents.
Practice Listening in the English Language
Improving your English listening skills is the most important aspect of your preparation. Watch sports, movies, or news in English in your free time. Listen to podcasts or music in English. Make a habit of learning to make out the words you hear, not just to boost your IELTS Listening score but to navigate studying abroad with ease too. After all, very soon you will be running into these accents all the time, depending on where you are going. Watching and listening to media in English also helps you develop your fluency more naturally.
Build Your Vocabulary
You can’t understand the words you’re hearing unless you know the words first. Always try to develop your vocabulary bank and lexical resource. Having a rich vocabulary will help you in all sections of the IELTS test. While you can’t speed-run the whole English dictionary in a few weeks of IELTS preparation, think about this as lifetime learning. The greater your proficiency in the English language, the easier your time studying, living, and perhaps eventually even working abroad will be.
Take Mock Tests
Practice is the best preparation tool to bump up your IELTS scores for any band. There are many official IELTS practice resources you can tap into to learn more about the section, question types, and the areas you need to improve!
Stay Calm
It’s okay to be a little nervous – in fact, it’s probably natural when going into a multi-part test like the IELTS. However, too much of anything can be a bad thing, and if you are too nervous, you may lose focus while listening. Since the audio clip only plays once, you need to maintain your focus the whole time. Practicing for the test and understanding the strategies that help you nail a high IELTS listening score lets you take it on with confidence.
Don’t panic if you run into something you don’t know or understand during the test. If you miss a word or question, skip it and move on to the next one. When the audio clip finishes playing and you finish answering the rest of the questions, you can revisit the one you missed to try and figure it out. Remember, the IELTS does not deduct points for wrong answers. However, if you panic because you’re stuck on a question, this can impact the questions you can answer. Stay calm and be confident in your ability to take each question step by step.
Rounding Up
Taking an IELTS exam is an essential part of your journey to study abroad. The exam isn’t exactly cheap, and it is also a time investment, so landing your ideal score on your first try is the goal. If the IELTS listening score is where you are stuck, remember that a lot of your success depends on strategy and practice. Give yourself plenty of time to understand the best methods to apply for the Listening section, while building up your English language ability as you go!
