Listening Section 4
- is a lecture
- usually has gap-fill or multiple choice questions.
- requires practise with spelling and word formation
- has a topic related to the key IELTS topics listed here
When practising Section 4, review the tips and strategies that apply to all parts of the Listening Test:
Things you can do before the Listening Test:
- plenty of practice tests
- analyze the tapescript (noting synonyms)
- listen once again while reading the tapescript
- listen widely and actively
- build vocabulary
- learn about signals and signposts
- learn about distractors
- improving your spelling
Things you can do during the test:
- Read the title to ‘activate your schema*’
- Read through the questions
- Anticipate answers
- Guess the gaps
- Analyse the type of word (noun, adjective etc) needed in the gap
- Check your spelling
- Double check for singular/plural
- Check that your answer fits grammatically
- Avoid distractors
- Listen for synonyms
*’activate your schema’ – when you have prior knowledge of a subject (your schema), you are more likely to engage with it, so when you read the title, your brain will start accessing what you already know about the subject.
One of the key skills in Listening Section 4 is keeping your place, as there is no ‘pause’ in this part, and you’re probably getting tired and starting to lose focus.
As we saw in Part 3 there are very clear signals and signposts that you need to train yourself to become more aware of.
Check out this lesson if you find you easily lose your place:
- How modals are used in Listening Part 4
- Multiple Choice in Listening Part 4
- Synonyms and parallel language in Listening Part 4
- The importance of plurals in gapfills in Listening Part 4
- Tricks to avoid in Listening Part 4
- Common vocabulary in Listening Part 4
- Choosing from a list in Listening Part 4
- More practice – The Lion Sanctuary
These lessons give you specific practice with Listening Section 4:
- Why you need to learn Modals of Deduction for the Listening Test.
- How to do Multiple Choice Questions in Listening Part 4.
- How to deal with a difficult Listening Part 4.
- How to do a Gapfill Summary in Listening Part 4.
- How to recognise distractors in Listening Part 4.
- Multiple Choice and Tables in Part 4.
- How to review IELTS vocab topics through Listening Part 4
Gap-fill Practice:
Learn about signals and signposts:
Get more details about each part, and a ‘most common answers’ list, in my 28-Day Listening Course in the Members Academy.
Subscribe to my Podcast for lots more practice and examples of Listening Parts 3 and 4.
Get more details about each part, and a ‘most common answers’ list, in my 28-Day Listening Course in the Members Academy.
