| Updated On - Sep 9, 2025
The IELTS Listening section includes a wide range of topics of general interest. The section consists of 40 questions based on 4 recordings. You will be allocated 30 minutes to complete the test. The IELTS Listening section is the same for both the Academic and General Training tests. The first 2 recordings will be on general situations that happen in everyday life, and the last 2 parts will be based on an academic or training perspective. The topics in the IELTS Listening section are designed to evaluate a candidate's ability to understand main ideas, opinions, and purpose, and follow the development of ideas. You will be given 1 mark for each correct answer, and the total score ranges from 0-9. The correct answers are calculated as the final band score. For example, a raw score of 35 out of 40 is calculated as a band 8 IELTS listening score. Practicing regularly with IELTS Listening mock tests with answers is the key to achieving a good band score.
IELTS Listening Topics
The topics of IELTS Listening cover a wide range of subjects, from daily life or academic and training situations. You will be given 4 recordings that cover these subjects, and based on them, you will answer 40 questions in 30 minutes. Refer to the table below to check some of the common IELTS listening topics and the corresponding sample questions:
| Topics | Sample Questions |
|---|---|
| School Life |
Notes for holiday A conversation between a student and a professor on dissertations |
| Tourism |
Tourist attractions in Manham Transport survey |
| Application |
Conversation on a video library application form A monologue of an Immigration Officer explaining the visa application process |
| Sports |
How sports benefit your body and your brain A monologue on a sports match |
| Traveling |
Travel to distant mountains Self-drive tours in the USA |
| Medical |
A conversation between 2 Psychology students |
| Job |
Job hunting A conversation between 2 medical students discussing options for courses |
| Psychology |
A conversation among 3 Psychology students discussing the project they are working on for the seminar Lecture on Customer Psychology |
| Interview |
A radio interview about an upcoming fair A radio interview about an expedition across the Attora Mountains |
Note: The exam pattern for this section is the same for both IELTS Academic and General Training tests.
IELTS Listening Sections
There are 40 questions in the IELTS Listening section, based on 4 recordings. The topics vary with every recording. Regular practice with mock tests will help you understand the question types. You can refer to the list below to check the listening section pattern.
| Recordings | Topics |
|---|---|
| Recording 1 | A conversation between two people is set in an everyday social context. |
| Recording 2 | A monologue set in an everyday social context. |
| Recording 3 | A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context. |
| Recording 4 | A monologue on an academic subject. |
IELTS Listening Question Types
The IELTS Listening section includes a total of 6 types of questions: multiple choice, matching, map or diagram, table or flow chart, sentence completion, and short answer questions. The multiple-choice questions evaluate the candidate's detailed or overall understanding of the points in a given recording. Your IELTS preparation for the listening section must include solving sample papers and following updated study materials. You can check the table mentioned below to understand the question types:
| Question Types | Evaluates |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | Ability to understand specific and overall points of the listening text. |
| Matching | Ability to follow a conversation between two people, and recognize relationships and connections between facts. |
| Plan, map, diagram labeling | Ability to understand a description of a place, and to relate this to a visual representation. |
| Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary completion | Focuses on the main points that a listener would naturally record. |
| Sentence completion | Ability to identify the key information in a listening text. |
| Short-answer questions | Ability to listen for concrete facts, such as prices or times, and places. |
IELTS listening topics include a wide range of content from daily life and academic and general training modules. There are a total of 6 question types, and you need to prepare with IELTS listening practice test answers. You need to achieve a 7+ band score in IELTS to get admission to some of the top universities worldwide.
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FAQs
Ques: How can I practice IELTS listening?
Ans: You can practice IELTS listening by taking regular practice tests, solving sample papers, identifying weaknesses, and working to improve these areas.
Ques: What is the listening content of IELTS?
Ans: IELTS listening all topics are divided into 4 parts. The IELTS listening part 1 topics evaluate candidates in a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context. The IELTS listening part 4 topics include a monologue on an academic subject.
Ques: How can I get 8.0 in IELTS listening?
Ans: You can get 8.0 in IELTS listening by listening to English podcasts every day, having a strategy, understanding the question types, and regularly practicing with sample papers.
Ques: How can I improve my listening skills?
Ans: You can improve IELTS listening skills by staying focused while listening, listening without judging, listening to English podcasts, talking with your family and friends in English, and practicing regular samples.
Ques: What is the highest IELTS score?
Ans: The highest IELTS score is 9, and every section reflects a candidate's different levels of English language abilities. Achieving a score of 7+ band in IELTS will help you get admission to some of the top-ranking universities.
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