IELTS listening band score

The IELTS is a standard exam to assess the candidate’s fluency in the English language. The assessment is widely recognised as proof of English proficiency in over 11,000 educational institutions across the globe. The IELTS exam contains four sections that analyse and determine the fundamental language skills of the candidate. Your performance is evaluated, and the assessment provides your scores in bands. Let’s look in detail at the IELTS listening band score.

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IELTS listening section: An overview

IELTS full form	International English Language Testing System
Conducted by	British Council, IDP Education and Cambridge Assessment English
No. of parts in the listening section	4
No. of questions in each listening part	10
Total no. of questions	40
Total raw score	40
IELTS listening band score range	0-9
Duration (in minutes)	30
Is the syllabus the same for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training?	Yes

Data updated as of June 2023

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Frequently asked questions

IELTS listening section: Key takeaways

Total no. of questions: 40

Total duration: 30 minutes

The IELTS listening section consists of 40 questions split into four parts. The exam is adaptive; that is, the difficulty level of the assessment depends on your performance.
The section consists of four pre-recorded monologues or conversations you should listen to before answering the questions. The tasks are the same for the IELTS Academic and General Training versions.
The voices in the recordings can have different accents, like British, American, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand. You can listen to the recordings only once, so ensure to take note down the key points for answering the questions.

Also read: IELTS Exam Syllabus 2023

IELTS listening section syllabus 2023

The IELTS listening section determines your ability to listen and understand the ideas and opinions in the conversation. It is essential to improve your listening skills and understand the tasks you likely encounter during the exam.

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Questions to expect in the IELTS listening section

Sentence completion

The question contains sentences that summarise the recording. You must fill the gap with the appropriate word, number, or phrase from the listening text. Sentence completion tasks identify your ability to determine the critical information from the audio.

Short answer questions

You should write a short answer relevant to the information obtained from the listening text. Stick to the word limit and other essential requirements while answering the questions.

Matching sentence endings

The questions require you to match a list of sentences with the correct options based on the audio. Matching determines your ability to understand and implement the information in the listening text.

Plan, map, or diagram labelling

Based on the listening text, you should fill in the missing answers in a diagram, map, or plan. This task evaluates your ability to represent visual data from the given audio.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs)

You should choose the correct option from the given list of possible answers. MCQs analyse your ability to acquire detailed knowledge and understand the overall idea of the audio.

Form, note, table, flowchart, or summary completion

You should complete the missing components with words or numbers you hear in the listening text. The questions can be a form, a note, a table, a flowchart, or a summary based on the listening text.

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Recordings to expect in the IELTS listening section

A conversation between two people (a discussion about weather or travel)
A monologue (a speech about a local region)
A monologue on an academic topic (a lecture)
A conversation between a group of people (a discussion about a project between a professor and students)

Also read: 7 quick IELTS tricks and tips to score high

The IELTS listening section contains 40 questions, where each question carries one mark. This score is known as the raw score. The final result converts the raw score into a nine-band scale.