Want to know the top IELTS listening time management tips that will help you score a high band? These seven easy tips have been tried and tested by many students, resulting in them scoring a band 8.
Managing Your IELTS Listening Time
When taking the exam, it’s essential that you are able to be organized and be able to answer all the 40 questions during the given IELTS listening time frame. As an experienced mentor, I have put together the top 7 IELTS listening time management tips.
You are going to learn about 9 simple methods you can practice in your IELTS listening time management skills, the IELTS listening time to read questions, and the time to transfer answers.
This post is all about How to Manage Your IELTS Listening Time.
IELTS Listening Time Management Tips
1. Understand The IELTS Listening Time Limit You Will Be Given
Before you write the exam, it is important for you to not only understand the format of the test, but also understand the IELTS listening time limit you have. With the IELTS listening section, you will be hearing four different recordings within 30 minutes.
Within this IELTS listening time limit, you need to be comfortable with multitasking because you will be hearing the recording, reading the questions, and listening for the answers.
As mentioned, you will hear four different recordings and will need to answer forty questions within that time frame. Furthermore, there will be approximately 10 questions for each recording.
What is the IELTS listening time to read questions?
When you are given the exam, the IELTS listening time frame to read questions will only be a few seconds. Therefore, it’s essential that you take advantage of every second of your time when you are given the questions.
2. Take Advantage Of The IELTS Listening Time to Transfer Answers To The Answer Sheet
After you hear the four different recordings and have quickly written your answers, you will be given IELTS listening time to transfer answers to the answer sheet.
The examiner will give you ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet, during these 10 minutes you should prepare yourself to use the time wisely when given that IELTS listening time to transfer answers.
3. Look For Potential Keywords If You Want To Finish Your IELTS Listening On Time
When you are handed the questions for the exam, you will only have a few seconds to review the questions before the examiner plays the recording. The IELTS listening time to look over the questions is only a few seconds, so it’s essential that you know what to look for. During these few seconds, you should look for potential keywords or phrases to highlight that you may hear in the audio recording.
Additionally, doing this will help you get a head start by knowing what keywords or phrases to listen for, especially because the recordings will only be played once during the exam.
4. Understand The IELTS Exam Pattern For The Listening Section
This is something that was sort of discussed earlier, however, an important ingredient of scoring a high band in the listening section is to understand the IELTS exam pattern and what question types you may need to answer.
IELTS Listening Question Types
Here is a breakdown of the IELTS listening question types in the listening section you may see:
| IELTS Listening
Question Types |
Detail |
| Application Type Form | You may need to fill in addresses, names, ages, phone numbers. |
| Table | You will need to complete a table that relates to the information in the recording. |
| Summary Completion | You will be required to complete a summary of blanks related to the recording. |
| Flow Chart | A chart showing the structure or progress of something that includes pointers or arrows |
| Diagram Labeling | You will be given a diagram to fill out based on the recording. |
| Multiple Choice | You must choose one answer from three options |
| Matching | Match the information from the recording to the given question. |
| Labeling a map | You will see a map of a country, city, or town and need to label the information based on the recording. |
| Sentence Completion | You have to complete the sentences in the question with the information in the recording. |
| Short Answer Questions | Write a short answer with 3-4 words based on the question. |
5. Look For An IELTS Practice Test – Listening Section
If you are looking for how to best manage your IELTS listening time on test day, then try to look for an IELTS practice test online to get familiar with the different question types and the types of recordings you may hear.
6. Be Comfortable With Multitasking Before Booking Your IELTS Test Date
This may sound odd, but you must be confident in multitasking before booking your IELTS test dates, mainly because the listening section will require you to be comfortable with the concept of being able to juggle a few things at a time while listening to the recording.
To break it down, on test day, you will need to feel confident to listen to a recording and try to listen for the answer. This is a bit overwhelming because you will need to ensure that you read the question, listen for the question and answer the question all at the same time.
Additionally, being able to prepare for this ahead of the IELTS listening time is key because you won’t feel overwhelmed on your IELTS test date.
7. Double Check For Spelling Errors During Transfer Of Information
When you are transferring your answers to the answer sheet and want to ensure that you not only complete the IELTS listening on time but also double-check for spelling errors, especially when you are transferring your answers to the answer sheet. While this may sound easy, hearing stories from students who didn’t check for spelling was something that happens often.
8. Guess The Answer Even If You Don’t Know
You may fall into a problem where you don’t know the answer to the question you are looking for. If you happen to fall into this situation, be sure to just guess the answer. Especially because you may not have enough IELTS listening time to contemplate too much over it. This is important to keep in mind because you shouldn’t leave the question blank. It’s better to take a guess than leave it blank.
9. IELTS Listening Time Management Tip To Stay Focused Without Getting Distracted
Holding yourself accountable will help you stay focused without getting distracted. In other words, remembering that you are writing an exam and trying to avoid any kind of distraction is important because you barely have time to break between the four different audio recordings.
How Can I Get 8.5 In IELTS Listening?
If you are wondering how you can get 8.5 in IELTS listening, definitely take these tips I have recommended above because these will help you stay on track throughout your IELTS listening exam and you will be able to take advantage of every moment that you are writing your exam.
How to Improve IELTS Listening Skills
You are most likely looking for ways how to improve IELTS listening skills. That being said, some of you may learn best through completing practice tests. However, some students may be looking for other ways you can improve in this even without doing IELTS practice tests. In fact, many students find IELTS listening practice tests boring because they don’t find interest in the topics that they are listening about, therefore they end up zoning out and stop listening.
It’s only normal that when you don’t have interest in a topic, you start finding it boring and have absolutely no interest in what the audio is talking about. Having motivation is key in being more successful in what you are trying to learn.
That being said, listening to podcasts, or even watching YouTube videos of TedTalk shows will help you tremendously with being able to identify how grammar, the flow of sentences, and being familiar with accents.
Overall IELTS Time Duration
Although the duration is about 40 minutes long, the entire IELTS time duration for speaking, reading, listening, and writing is about 2 hours and 45 minutes long.
Here is a breakdown of each different section:
Listening: 30 minutes of Exam Time and 10 minutes of transfer time
Reading: 1 hour
Speaking: Approximately 15 minutes
Writing: 1 hour
Last but not least, something important to also note is that the writing, reading, and listening section is done within the same day, however, the speaking section will be held on a different day which usually happens within a week after completing the other sections first.
This post was all about the top IELTS listening time management tips you should consider to score a high band in your IELTS exam.
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