IELTS
Listening


Vietnamese English Bilingual House
www.ngoinhasongngu.webs.com
Test Format and Tasks
Format and Tasks
Strategies and Examples
Further Help
References
Questions
Test Format
Test Format (Recorded tape played once only)
30 minutes
Four Sections, each with 10 questions
Time allocated for
Reading questions
Writing and checking answers
Transferring answers to an answer sheet



Test Format and Tasks
Based on Conversation and Monologue
A variety of question types
Multiple choice
Short-answer questions
Sentence completion
Notes/summary/diagram/flow-chart/table completion
Labeling a diagram which has numbered parts
Classification
Matching
Test Format
Section 1 Questions 1-10
Complete the table
Label the rooms on the map
Section 2 Question 11-20
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Write NUMBERS OR NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Test Format – Listening
Section 3 Questions 21- 30
Choose the correct letters A-C
Write NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Section 4 Question 31 -40
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Write NUMBERS OR NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Test Format and Tasks: Assessment Criteria
One mark is awarded for each correct answer in the 40 item test
Care should be taken when writing answers on the answer sheet as poor spelling and grammar are penalised.
Test Format and Tasks – Listening Activities
Section 1: A conversation between two speakers in a social and semi-official context
Section 2: A talk by a single speaker based on a non-academic situation
Section 3: A conversation with up to 4 speakers based on academic topics or course-related situations
Section 4: A university-style lecture or talk
Approaching the listening tasks
Before you listen, survey the questions and try to build up an idea and reason for listening; e.g. what is the topic? What is the situation? How many characters are there?
Follow the instruction carefully, get the information and answer the question accurately
Example of Tasks
Complete the notes using no more than three words.
In the mornings the student teachers will …….. ( teach and observe)
student teachers could be teaching large classes with up to …. (70 students)
3. Discussion groups are quite difficult to arrange in Vietnamese classes but not … … … … … … .. ( impossible)
Example of Task
Tapescript
Good morning everyone. Welcome to the second year of your teaching degree. My name is Simon Taylor. I`m a second year lecturer in the education faculty. Today I`ll be giving you an overview of the field trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that you all registered for at the end of last year.
Example of Task
Sample task
Tick the three items which are discussed in the talk.
A. Teaching schedule for student teachers
B. Safety issues for student teachers on the field trip
C. Accommodation
D. How the field trip fits into the teaching degree
E. Vietnamese students` level of proficiency in English
F. How the work requirements for the field trip compare with the work requirements for student teachers who remain in Australia
G. Quality of English language teaching in Vietnamese universities
H. Textbooks commonly used in Vietnamese English classes
Strategies – Test Tips
Your purpose of listening is to identify what the question requires you to
It is not necessary to understand every word that is spoken
You will hear the information once only, so prepare yourself by anticipating what you will hear
Read and analyse the question as pre-listening task


Further Help
CILL Core A 3/F
ITELTS Listening Tapes and CD-ROMs available
More information at http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/ielts/
Further Help - CILL
CILL – Centre for Independent Language Learning Core A 3/F
CILL teachers can give you suggestions for improving your listening skills.
References
You can find these books in CILL, Room AG305:
Cambridge Practice Tests for the IELTS, Books 1, 2 & 3 (with CD-ROM for listening tests)
Insight into IELTS - an IELTS preparation course
Useful websites
UGC Introductory site http://www.ugccepa.com

IELTS homepage http://www.ielts.org/index.htm

ELC homepage http://elc.polyu.edu.hk



Questions
Please do not ask us (or any ELC teacher) to predict what grade you will get, as this is forbidden by the IELTS organisation.