International English Language Testing System

The IELTS test assesses your abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking – in less than three hours.

There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components differs depending on which test you take.

The Listening, Reading and Writing components of all IELTS tests are completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them.

The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Testformat

You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.

• Recording 1 – a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.

• Recording 2 - a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.

• Recording 3 – a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment.

• Recording 4 - a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

IELTS Listening description

There are four sections with ten questions each. The questions are designed so that the answers appear in the order they are heard in the audio.

The first two sections deal with situations set in everyday social contexts. In Section 1, there is a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements), and in Section 2, there is a monologue in (for example, a speech about local facilities). The final two sections deal with situations set in educational and training contexts. In Section 3, there is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, two university students in discussion, perhaps guided by a tutor), and in Section 4, there is a monologue on an academic subject.

The recordings are heard only once. They include a range of accents, including British, Australian, New Zealand, American and Canadian.

Paper format

There are four sections with ten questions each. The questions are designed so that the answers appear in the order they are heard in the audio.

The first two sections deal with situations set in everyday social contexts. In Section 1, there is a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements), and in Section 2, there is a monologue in (for example, a speech about local facilities). The final two sections deal with situations set in educational and training contexts. In Section 3, there is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, two university students in discussion, perhaps guided by a tutor), and in Section 4, there is a monologue on an academic subject.

Timing:

Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes transfer time).

No. of questions:

40

Task types: A variety of question types are used, chosen from the following: multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram labelling, form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion, sentence completion.

Answering: Test takers write their answers on the question paper as they listen and at the end of the test are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Care should be taken when writing answers on the answer sheet as poor spelling and grammar are penalised.

Marks: Each question is worth 1 mark.

Voice training and Research Institute is a Pan India Partner for Ets (Educational Testing Service), Toefl and Toeic Usa. It serves as an active country partner for India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Nepal.