IELTS Listening, the four parts · IELTS Listening, les quatre parties
A correction changes the answer to a specific question
- Original written booking: “We first discussed Tuesday, but the confirmed visit is Thursday at 14:30. The fee remains £8.” “Confirmed day” requires Thursday; “day first discussed” requires Tuesday. The question decides which status matters.
- Keep “first Tue → confirmed Thu / 14:30 / £8 unchanged” rather than selecting the last number or date automatically. Reading this script tests interpretation; it does not demonstrate catching the correction in speech. The recording does not offer an encore during the test.
The written booking first discussed Tuesday but confirmed Thursday. What answers “day first discussed”?
The question requests the first proposal, not the confirmed day.
Everyday settings come first
- Listening contains four parts with ten questions each, making forty questions. Part 1 is a two-person conversation in an everyday setting; Part 2 has one main speaker on an everyday topic.
- You hear the recordings once. Questions follow the information in the recording, but their demand can differ: a particular fact, an explanation, several choices or a relationship. Read the instructions rather than assuming every answer is a one-word gap.
How many parts does IELTS Listening have?
Four parts, 10 questions each.
Complete: you answer ___ questions in Listening.
10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 40.
You hear each recording once only.
Recordings are heard once during the test. Replay after answering is useful review, kept separate from the first-attempt result.
Study settings need relationships as well as words
- Part 3 is an educational/training conversation, such as students discussing work with a tutor. Do not build a strategy around an asserted maximum number of speakers. Part 4 has one speaker on an academic subject.
- Track who proposes an idea, who accepts it, what supports a claim and which detail the question requests. A familiar topic word may be in a rejected suggestion; the written booking’s Tuesday is true as a first proposal and false as the confirmed day.
What do you hear in Part 4?
Part 4 is one speaker on an academic topic. Parts 1 and 2 are everyday English.
Match each part to what you hear.
The first two parts use everyday settings; the last two use educational/training or academic settings. Do not infer a fixed maximum speaker count.
Enter computer answers during the test
- The listening base is approximately thirty minutes. On computer, enter answers as you listen and use the displayed checking period. Do not plan to copy forty answers during the old paper test’s ten-minute transfer period.
- IELTS announced a move away from paper testing from mid-2026, with dates varying by market. Older paper samples can still teach useful content, but their answer-transfer instructions are not a computer timing model. Writing on Paper is an option for the Writing component, not paper Listening.
Writing on Paper means the Listening answers are also completed on paper.
It names the Writing component within computer delivery, not a return to paper Listening.
Replay diagnoses an error rather than replacing a result
- In an original study log, a learner gets 2/4 first-play answers correct, then 4/4 after review, then 3/4 on fresh audio: 50%, 100% and 75% raw accuracy under different conditions. Keep all three observations; familiar material and help change the demand.
- During review, compare the missed cue, transcript and selected answer. A missed Thursday may involve sound recognition, attention or an ignored correction. Choose a repair from that evidence, then try fresh audio; different clips may also differ in difficulty.
What raw percentage is 2 of 4 correct on the first attempt?
2 ÷ 4 × 100 = 50%; review does not overwrite this result.
Check actual recordings and original practice labels
- Official Library samples are examples released for preparation; the site’s other published sets are authored practice. A script-only draft is not a complete listening set. For an independent rehearsal, use actual audio with text hidden and follow its playback instructions.
- Recap: identify the question target, hear once, review the missed cue and check transfer. Sources checked on 2 October 2026: IELTS Listening format, sample questions, delivery update. No raw percentage here predicts an official band.
- A replay can help learning; record it as review. Actual audio is required to assess one-play listening.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
Keep the first result and the review note separately. The next fresh recording checks whether paying attention to corrections helps without a transcript.
What should be recorded as one-play performance?
A learner misses a booking time on the first play. After marking, they replay the line with the transcript and notice a correction from Tuesday to Thursday. Keep the first result and the review note separately. The next fresh recording checks whether paying attention to corrections helps without a transcript.