The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a standardized test conducted by British Council, IDP IELTS Australia, Cambridge ESOL, for no – English speakers around the world, who want to study, work or move to a country where English speaking is the primary mode of communication. IELTS is useful not only for higher education but for migration purposes also.
The results of the this test are recognized by employers, governments, educational institutions of more than 11,000 organizations in almost 140 countries in the world.
What does the IELTS exam consist of?
Audio tracks, passages, essays, and interviews, oh my! At a glance, the IELTS test has four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
IELTS Listening Test Format
Your listening skills will be tested, logically, as you demonstrate your ability to understand the speech of native English speakers in this 40-minute exam. Each recording represents a different kind of speech: everyday conversation, monologues that occur in an everyday context (e.g. information).
What is IELTS exam content like for the listening test?
Each recording has corresponding questions, 40 in total. They may be:
- multiple choice
- sentence completion
- matching
- plan/map/diagram labelling
- form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion
Skills Tested
What is testing you on when it comes to listening? This Listening is exactly the same in Academic and in General Training. So it makes sense that this section tests a mixture of academic and “life skills” listening.