IELTS Listening
IELTS Listening practice, part by part and question by question
Forty questions, about thirty minutes of audio, played once. This page sets out how the test is built, what each question type is really testing, and the traps that take marks from people whose English is good enough. Every type below has its own page with a practice item you can play without an account.
The four parts
The parts get harder in a specific way: Part 1 is the easiest language and the most exact answers, Part 4 the hardest language and the longest stretch without a pause.
Part 1 · A conversation about everyday life
Two people: booking something, enrolling, reporting a lost bag. You fill in a form. The language is the easiest on the paper and the answers are exact — names spelled out, numbers corrected mid-sentence, days of the week. This is where careful candidates bank marks and careless ones leak them.
Part 2 · One person, on an everyday subject
A talk, a tour, a set of instructions — often with a map or plan to label. One voice, so nothing to track between speakers, but the information comes faster than in Part 1 and there is no second person to repeat it.
Part 3 · An academic discussion, two to four speakers
Usually students and a tutor talking about an assignment. The content is academic and so is the difficulty: people interrupt, change their minds, agree with half of what someone said. Matching and multiple choice live here.
Part 4 · An academic lecture
One speaker, three to four minutes, no break — the longest continuous stretch of listening on the paper. Usually examined by note completion. Candidates lose marks here not by failing to understand but by losing the thread and never rejoining it.
One question, to show what the traps look like
This is a multiple-choice item of the commonest design in the test: the answer is given clearly, and then changed. Both versions appear in the options.
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Where is the meeting now?
Every question type
IELTS Listening mixes several distinct tasks, and they do not reward the same thing. Each page below has the method, the traps and a practice item with real audio.
Form completion
Names, dates, addresses and numbers, typed exactly as you hear them.
Read the method →
Note completion
Fill gaps in a set of notes, in the fewest words the instruction allows.
Read the method →
Sentence completion
Finish a sentence so the word fits the grammar around the gap.
Read the method →
Multiple choice
Pick the best option — and catch the moment a speaker changes their mind.
Read the method →
Matching
Match each item to the right person or category — not in the order you hear them.
Read the method →
Map and plan labelling
Follow spoken directions across a plan — left, right, and what is behind what.
Read the method →
Short answer
Answer a direct question in as few words as the instruction allows.
Read the method →
Part 4 lecture
One speaker, several minutes, no pause — and no second chance to find your place.
Read the method →
Why good English still loses marks here
Most people preparing for this test do not have a vocabulary problem. They have a speed problem and a recovery problem. Real speech joins words together and swallows the small ones — did you becomes didja, want to becomes wanna, and the word that carried the answer was never said the way it looks on the page. Reading the transcript afterwards, everything is obvious. That gap between understanding a transcript and catching it live is the thing worth training.
The second half is what happens after you miss something. The recording does not stop, and one lost answer becomes three while you are still looking for the first. Knowing where to rejoin — the next signpost, the next heading, the next name — is a habit rather than a level of English, and it is trainable in a way that vocabulary is not.
Which is why a raw score is a poor guide to what to do next. Two candidates can both score 24 out of 40 and need completely different months of work: one lost eight marks on numbers, dates and spelled names, the other followed every conversation and lost the Part 4 lecture. The band is the same; the practice should not be.
Find out which of those you are — free, 3 minutes →Common questions
How long is IELTS Listening and how many questions are there?
About 30 minutes of audio, 40 questions, one mark each, in four parts of ten questions. On paper you then get 10 minutes to transfer your answers; in the computer-delivered test you type as you go and get two minutes to check.
Is the recording played more than once?
No. It is played once, which is the single biggest difference from most practice. If you lose your place you have to rejoin the recording while it is still moving, and that recovery is a skill worth practising on purpose.
Is Listening the same for Academic and General Training?
Yes — the same test and the same marking for both. Reading is where the two differ.
What accents will I hear?
A mix: British, Australian, New Zealand, North American. Within one test you may meet several, and a candidate who has only ever practised with one accent is at a disadvantage that has nothing to do with their English.
How many answers do I need for the band I want?
IELTS does not publish a fixed table and the conversion shifts slightly between papers so versions stay comparable. The widely used approximation is on our band calculator. Treat it as the region you are in rather than a prediction — only the test boards issue scores.
Do spelling mistakes cost marks?
Yes. A misspelled answer is marked wrong, and so is one that breaks the stated word limit. Both British and American spellings are accepted.
Lisenia is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the British Council, IDP or Cambridge Assessment English. Band figures here are indicative practice guidance, not official scores.