The problem

‘We have to listen and read and write all at the same time — that’s impossible!’

This is a common comment from students preparing for the IELTS Listening test. It isn’t easy to do all of these things at once – especially as you only hear the audio once – but it isn’t impossible either.

The most important thing you can do is prepare effectively: learn the basics of the listening test and build your knowledge from there. IELTS Listening tests give you time, often around 30 seconds, to read the questions before each section starts. This is your golden preparation opportunity, and the trick is to use it well.

The solution

There are three key things you can do in those 30 seconds.

1. Identify the keywords in each question.
Keywords are the words that carry the meaning – the ones that tell you what information you’re actually listening for. For example, in the question “What time does the library close on Saturdays?”, the keywords are library, close and Saturdays. Those are the anchors you’ll use to lock onto the right part of the audio.

2. Think of synonyms for the keywords.
Once you’ve found your keywords, think of other words that mean the same thing. This matters because the recording rarely uses the exact wording of the question. The question might say close, but the speaker might say shut or isn’t open until. The question might say children, but the speaker says kids. Training yourself to anticipate these swaps is probably the single most useful habit you can build for IELTS Listening.

3. Identify the type of answer you need.
Is it a name, a number, a date, a place, or a short phrase? Once you know the answer type, try to predict what a plausible answer might be. This isn’t guessing – it’s informed prediction based on the keywords – and you’ll be surprised how often your prediction turns out to be close to what the speaker actually says.

Exercise

Below is one section of a Road to IELTS Listening practice test. Try the three preparation steps now: find the keywords, think of synonyms, and identify the answer type for each question.

Once you’ve tried it, check your answers and notice two things: which keyword synonyms came up in the audio, and which questions you predicted correctly. Both will tell you something useful about where to focus next.

You probably think 30 seconds isn’t enough time to do all this. At first, you might be right. But with practice you’ll get quicker and more efficient, and you’ll start to see real improvement in your scores.

What’s next?

The reason this technique works is simple: by predicting what you’re listening for, you give your brain a clear target, which makes it much easier to catch the relevant information when it arrives. Understanding the task types and learning how to approach each one is a huge part of doing well in IELTS Listening.

For more strategies and tips, have a look through the other Listening posts on this blog.