IELTS Listening Tips & Tricks (2025) – Improve Focus, Accuracy & Score

Top IELTS Listening Tips to Boost Your Band Score in 2025

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Anisha Agarwal

| Updated On - Sep 10, 2025

IELTS listening tips will help you accelerate the preparation time and avoid common mistakes on the test day. The tips on the listening section of IELTS start with knowing the exam pattern, the types of questions, and how it is scored. This will boost your confidence and knowledge, and help you to achieve a higher score in the section. The most important part of IELTS Listening during the test day is concentration. If you miss some part of the recordings played, you might miss an answer or two. You can only play the recordings once, and they are only in foreign accents. You must learn various accents in English, like American, Australian, British, and Canadian. Some important IELTS listening tips and tricks include practising more and more sectional mock tests. You can watch videos, listen to audios, and practice speaking with them.

IELTS_Listening_Tips


IELTS Listening Tips to Answer Properly

Following the IELTS listening tips will help you to score better on the Exam. IELTS listening test tips will help you make the questions look easy. You need to understand the questions in the IELTS syllabus properly and then write your answer accordingly. The best IELTS listening advice includes improving your grammar and vocabulary range. The basic strategies that you must follow are:

  • Grammar - Incorrect grammar will have a negative marking. So, be very careful with things like plural nouns, singular nouns, tenses, and verbs. For example, the names of countries and cities must be in Capital letters.
  • Spelling - Incorrect spelling will be marked as an incorrect answer. So, you have to be very careful while writing the answers.
  • Handwriting - Only visibly acceptable handwriting is accepted; therefore, ensure that your handwriting is proper. Make sure not to mix up words.
  • Use all capitals - Using all capital letters will help to reduce spelling and handwriting mistakes.

Top IELTS Listening Tips and Tricks

If you are taking IELTS on paper, you have only 10 minutes to write down your answers from the test sheet onto the answer sheet. For the computer-based test, you will not be given any extra 10-minute transfer time. You need to be fast and strategically correct while solving IELTS Listening questions. A few tips and tricks for IELTS listening are:

  • Follow the recordings and identify the answer properly. Read all the questions carefully before the recording starts.
  • Once you complete a section, you can then get the questions for the next section.
  • The answer doesn't need to come in order as you listen all the time. Sometimes the answers may be listed alphabetically.
  • Follow the word limit for each section. Don’t write more than the specific limit as described in the question.
  • Always look out for synonyms and main words. This will help you to identify the answers easily.
  • Make sure of the English alphabet and its pronunciation.
  • If you face difficulty in answering any question, you should leave it and move on to the next question. In the end, if you have time left, come back and then answer the question.

Understand IELTS Listening Question Types

The duration of the IELTS Listening section is 30 minutes. You will be given 4 recordings (conversations and monologues) and will be required to answer a total of 40 questions based on them. Each recording can be played only once. Hence, it is essential to listen carefully before proceeding to answer the questions. Check the different types of questions tested in the IELTS Listening section below:

IELTS_Listening_Question_Types

Following the IELTS listening tips and tricks mentioned in the article could improve your score range. IELTS listening tricks will help you to understand the question topic and keywords of the recordings. Effective IELTS strategies for listening will suggest that you should start listening to English podcasts, watching movies, and understanding different types of accents.


FAQs

Ques: What is the trick for listening in IELTS?

Ans: The best trick to improve your score is to identify your weak areas first and work on improving those areas. Focus on improving your vocabulary range and grammatical skills.

Ques: How can I get 8.5 in IELTS listening?

Ans: To get an 8.5 IELTS listening band, start your preparation effectively by making yourself familiar with the exam format and different types of questions. Listen to English podcasts and English movies, and solve sample papers regularly.

Ques: How to get a 9 in IELTS listening?

Ans: IELTS listening includes 40 questions, and the raw score is 40. To get 9 bands in listening, you need to answer 39 questions correctly out of 40.

Ques: How can I succeed in the IELTS listening test?

Ans: To succeed in the IELTS listening test, familiarize yourself with the test format and improve your accents. Always follow the instructions carefully, understand the questions, and practice listening every day.

Ques: How can I improve my listening skills?

Ans: To improve your IELTS listening score, always make eye contact with the speaker, don’t interrupt them, and don’t plan what to say next. Always stay focused and listen without judging.

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