Many students find IELTS Listening Part 3 difficult. There are a number of reasons for this, which you hopefully remember from our IELTS Listening 101 episode: there are more than two voices, the questions usually focus on the outcome of a discussion in which many views are offered, and you may also be asked to locate a person’s feelings (and we all know that feelings are much harder to find than facts!).
Most students think that IELTS Listening Part 1 is the easiest part of the test, but I disagree! I have seen many high-level student lose marks here, which can be a complete disaster if you are aiming for the highest band scores, like an 8.0 for CLB9. So today, I want to show you the 4 most common reasons why students make errors in this part of the test, and explain what you can do to avoid falling for these IELTS “traps”.
Hey! My name is Shelly, and I’m a podcast-aholic. I’m not joking. I spend around 2 – 3 hours EVERY DAY listening to podcasts and, if you ever meet me in person, I bet it will take me less than five minutes to tell you something interesting that I have heard in one. In fact, I strongly believe podcasts are one of the best free resources that IELTS students can use to improve both their listening skills AND their ideas for the speaking and writing tests. If you are not using podcasts for IELTS now, you are really missing out!
Test-takers often find that IELTS Multiple Choice Questions (or MCQ’s for short) are the most difficult to answer in the Listening Exam. This is perhaps not surprising as there is a lot for your brain to process while answering them. Unlike the other types of question that require you listen for ONE answer, MCQ’s require you to assess the viability of THREE possible correct answers – all while trying to follow the audio-script and not get lost!
I love using Podcasts to help IELTS students improve their listening skills. In fact, if you join me in My IELTS Classroom, you will soon get bored of me recommending episodes to listen to! But, why do I love podcasts so much? ❤ Well, there isn’t one answer to that question, there are six! Seriously, if you are struggling with listening or need a very high score (for CLB9 for example) then podcasts really are the way forward.