IETLS LISTENING

AN OVERVIEW
 OBJECTIVE OF THE TEST
To assess the listening comprehension skills of non-native
English speakers.

MODALITY
You will listen to a few audio tracks, mostly in native English
accent, and answer related questions.

LISTENING vs HEARING
Hearing refers to the physical act of sound entering the ear.
Listening implies processing of auditory input with the aim of
understanding.
 FORMAT
40 MINUTES - 4 SECTIONS – 40 QUESTIONS – 40 MARKS

PART 1 – Dialogue / 10 Questions

Daily life
30 sec pause situations

PART 2 – Monologue / 10 Questions

30 sec pause

PART 3 – Conversation/ 10 Questions Academic

Situations/
30 sec pause University
Setting
PART 4 – Academic Lecture / 10
Questions
10 minutes / 2 minutes
PBT ANSWER SHEET

RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Use a pencil
• Write in upper case
• Do not strike
off/overwrite
• Do not use any
symbols, signs or short
forms
• Write within the box
 SCORING
BAND SCORE MARK5 Points to Remember:
9.0 39-40
8.5 37-38 • Each question carries 1
8.0 35-36 mark.
7.5 32-34 • There is no negative or
7.0 30-31
partial marking
6.5 26-29
• Spelling errors are
6.0 23-25
5.5 18-22
penalised.
5.0 16-17 • Answers not
4.5 13-15 conforming to the
4.0 10-12 instructions are also
penalised.
 QUESTION TYPES
1. FORM COMPLETION
2. NOTE COMPLETION
1. FILL IN THE 3. TABLE COMPLETION
BLANKS 4. FLOW CHART COMPLETION
5. SENTENCE COMPLETION
6. SUMMARY COMPLETION
2. SHORT
ANSWER
QUESTION QUESTIONS SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

TYPES
1. MAP LABELLING
3. LABELLING
2. DIAGRAM LABELLING

4. MULTIPLE 1. MCQ SINGLE ANSWER

CHOICE 2. MCQ MULTIPLE ANSWER
QUESTIONS 3. MATCHING QUESTIONS
 LISTENING TEST CHALLENGES
ACCENT/PRONUNCIATION VOCABULARY

- Get familiar with the British accent - Colloquial language

through practice audios - Idioms
- Pay attention to the weak
sounds/linked sounds

PARAPHRASING MULTIPLE INFORMATION

- Do not expect to hear the same - A straightforward single answer is

words/expressions as in the rarely given in the audio. Expect to
question hear multiple information for a
single question
 STRATEGIES FOR A HIGH BAND SCORE

• PREDICTION – Utilise the 30 seconds silent time before

every audio to read the questions carefully and predictions
the answers.
• IDENTIFYING KEY WORDS: Underline/highlight
important words/phrases.
• FOCUS: Practise listening attentively without getting
diverted by any background noise. Listen to understand.