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IELTS Listening Maps: The Complete Guide (with practice)

Map questions usually appear in Section 2 of the IELTS Listening test. They typically focus on places such as:

  • Tourist attractions such as farms and castles
  • Buildings such as theatres, museums, or conference centres
  • Proposed changes to towns, campuses, or parks

To answer IELTS Listening map questions successfully, you need two key vocabulary sets:

  1. Prepositions of place (e.g. opposite, between, next to, behind, in front of)
  2. Verbs and phrases of movement (e.g. turn left, go straight on, walk past, take the first turning)

1. Prepositions of place (basic)

✅ Check you understand these basic prepositions:

  • inside/outside
  • in front of/ behind
  • next to/ by/ beside/ alongside
  • near/ close to/ not far from
  • at the front/ at the back (of the building)
  • at the end (of the path)
  • at the top/ at the bottom (of the map)
  • in/on/at the corner
  • between
  • opposite/ facing
  • below
IELTS prepositions maps

✅ Check these examples on the map below.

Compass points 🧭

  • to the North/ South/ East/ West (of)
  • on the North/ South/ East/ West side
  • in the northwest/ southeast corner
  • on the northern/ southern/ eastern/ western side

‘left’ and ‘right’ ⬅️ ➡️

  • To your left/right
  • To the right/left OF
  • On the left/right
  • On your left/right
  • On the left/right-hand side

‘sides’

  • On/at the other side
  • On the same side
  • On the far side (of)
  • On the opposite side (of)
IELTS Listening Maps vocabulary
Map from Cambridge Past Paper

Practice

Here are some examples that you might hear in a Map Listening.

Can you find these places on the map below?

  1. The lake.
  2. The cafe.
  3. The toilets.
  4. The gardens.
  5. The gym.
  6. The skateboard ramp.
  7. The wildflowers.
IELTS Listening Maps: The Complete Guide (with practice)
Map from Cambridge Past Paper
  1. The lake is in the middle/in the centre of the park.
  2. The cafe is next to the museum.
  3. The toilets are near the playground, in the corner of the map.
  4. The gardens are to the south of the lake, between two trees.
  5. The gym is by the glasshouses.
  6. The skateboard ramp is at the end of the small path.
  7. The wildflowers are just below the Adventure Playground, on the bend.
  1. The lake is in the middle/centre of the map (Answer shown)
  2. The cafe is next to the museum. D
  3. The toilets are near the playground, in the corner of the map. C
  4. The gardens are to the south of the lake, between two trees. G
  5. The gym is by the glasshouses. H
  6. The skateboard ramp is at the end of the small path. A
  7. The wildflowers are just below the Adventure Playground, on the bend. E

Real Test Examples

The real Listening Test is more difficult than the basic examples above.

What makes these directions more difficult?

  • The café serves an assortment of drinks and snacks and is still in the same place, looking out over the lake and next to the old museum.
  • We’re hoping to change the location of the toilets, and bring them nearer to the centre of the park as they’re a bit out of the way at present, near the adventure playground, in the corner of your map.
  • The gardens have been replanted and should be at their best in a month or two. They used to be behind the old museum, but we’ve now used the space near the south gate – between the park boundary and the path that goes past the lake towards the old museum.
  • We have a new outdoor gym for adults and children, which is already proving very popular. It’s by the glass houses, just to the right of the path from the south gate. You have to look for it as it’s a bit hidden in the trees.
  • One very successful introduction has been our skateboard ramp. It’s in constant use during the evenings and holidays. It’s near the old museum, at the end of a little path that leads off from the main path between the lake and the museum.
  • We’ve also introduced a new area for wild flowers, to attract bees and butterflies. It’s on a bend in the path that goes round the east side of the lake, just south of the adventure playground. 

These directions are more difficult because of these 3 things:

1. Extra, irrelevant information  (in blue)

  • the gardens have been replanted and should be at their best in a month or two. They used to be behind the old museum, but we’ve used the space near the South Gate…

2. Distractors

  • The gardens used to be behind the old museum but ….

3. Complex descriptions

  • The gardens are near the South Gate, between the park boundary and the path that goes past the lake towards the old museum (!!!)

Learn more about complex directions.

2. Verbs of movement

Here are the most common commands you’ll hear in IELTS maps giving directions:

Go…

  • straight ahead/on
  • north/ south/ east/ west
  • past
  • along
  • over the bridge
  • across the bridge
  • right to the end
  • towards (the river)

Head… north, south, east, west, towards the…

IELTS maps directions

⬆️ Continue/ Keep going …until you get to (a place)

🫲 🫱 Take… the first/second turning (on your right/left)

↩️ ↪️ Turn Left or Right…(just) before you come to (a place) 

Practice

Find these 5 places on the map:

1. The starting point

“It’s quite near the main entrance – walk straight down the path until you get to the south gate, and it’s just there.”

2. Bow and arrow display

“Take the first left after the main entrance. Then follow the path past the bridge. You’ll see it in front of you at the end.”

Directions Listening maps castle

3. The bird display

“Go from the main entrance in the direction of the south gate, but turn right before you get there instead of going through it, you’ll see it on your right, past the first tower.”

4. Traditional dancing

“That’s right at the other side of the castle from the entrance, and over the bridge.”

5. The shop.

“It’s inside one of the towers. Take the first left after the main entrance, go down the path and take the first right.”

  1. The starting point H
  2. Bow and arrow display D
  3. Bird display F
  4. Traditional dancing A
  5. The shop E

Verbs of movement: examples

IELTS Listening maps vocabulary

Conclusion and action points

Don’t rely on the basic directions that they taught you at school.

Do plenty of practise and develop ways of

  • filtering out unnecessary details
  • managing several instructions at once.

Always read the audioscripts and listen again to check your understanding and to get used to dealing with fast instructions.

Remember that all of the language in this lesson is also useful for Academic Writing Task 1: Describing Before and After Maps.

Keep learning:

👉 Get the complete guide to complex maps in the Resource Library.

IELTS Listening Maps FAQs

What section are map questions in IELTS Listening?

Map questions appear in Section 2 of the IELTS Listening test. In this section, you will often hear a guide describing a place, a tour, a building, a park, or proposed changes to an area. You must follow the speaker’s directions and identify locations on a map or plan.

Are map questions difficult in IELTS?

Many students find map questions challenging because they have to listen and follow directions at the same time. However, once you understand common location vocabulary, movement verbs, and distractors, map questions can become one of the easiest question types to predict and answer accurately.

How can I improve my IELTS Listening map skills?

To improve your IELTS Listening map skills:

  • Learn common prepositions of place, such as opposite, behind, and between.
  • Practise movement language, such as turn left, walk past, and go straight on.
  • Study compass directions (north, south, east, and west).
  • Predict possible answers before listening.
  • Complete regular IELTS map practice exercises and review your mistakes.

What vocabulary do I need for IELTS maps?

There are three main types of vocabulary used in IELTS Listening map questions:

  1. Prepositions of place: next to, opposite, between, behind, in front of.
  2. Movement language: turn right, go straight on, walk along, cross, enter.
  3. Compass directions: north, south, east, west, north-east, south-west.

Learning these expressions will help you follow directions more confidently during the test.

Are maps more common in Academic or General Training IELTS?

The Listening test is the same for both Academic and General Training candidates, so map questions can appear in either version. The skills and strategies needed to answer them are exactly the same.

Ready for more advanced maps?

The examples above cover the fundamentals of map questions. However, stronger candidates often struggle when examiners use:

  • complex multi-step directions
  • location changes and future plans
  • distractors and corrections
  • indirect references to landmarks
  • faster-paced descriptions

Learn these advanced techniques in my full lesson on IELTS Listening Maps and Directions. (Resource Library)

Want a complete IELTS Listening preparation course?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. I got many points in this page for map listening test. Thank you . If I could find more practice it was great.

    Reply

    • Hi Sufie. Many thanks for your comment. There is a practice map in most of the Cambridge Practice Test books, which are freely available online.

        Book 20 – Test 3 – Bidcaster Archaeological Dig
        Book 19 – Test 2 – Stanthorpe Twinning Association
        Book 18 – Test 2 – Housing development
        Book 16 – Test 1 – Stevenson’s Factory
        Book 16 – Test 4 – Traffic and highways report
        Book 15 – Test 2 – Minster Park
        Book 14 – Test 2 – Branley Castle
        Book 13 – Test 1 – Traffic Changes in Granford
        Book 12 – Test 4 – Visiting Sheepmarket

      Best wishes
      Fiona

      Reply

  3. I was struggling to find the correct answers for map questions in listening
    This website has really helped me alot
    Probably the best website to practice listening test
    Thank you so much

    Reply

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