Free IELTS Listening Practice Test PDF with Answers

What is IELTS Listening Practice Tests

An IELTS Listening Practice Tests is designed to make students familiar with the test format, understand the question types and explore new topics. It's just like a mock test except that the actual exam difficulty is included. By solving practice tests, you can identify your weaknesses, improve your mistakes and examine your performance. It stimulates the actual IELTS listening section, helping test-takers to improve their ability to understand spoken English in various contexts from everyday chats to academic lectures. It is 30 minutes long and consists of 4 sections and 40 questions. The listening practice tests help in IELTS preparation. Let’s explore more about this in the following section.

Download 10+ Free IELTS Listening Practice Test PDFs with Answers

Acquiring an 8+ band score in the IELTS listening section can be a crucial task because of many stumbling blocks. Especially when solving section 4, the difficult section. But solving an offline or online IELTS listening test can be a paradigm shift. Additionally, many listening practice papers are available on the web browser, but solving the latest as well as free IELTS Listening Practice Tests PDF with answer can help you to get closer to achieving the desired band. Here is the list of 20+ IELTS listening practice test pdf to directly download and delve into. Have a look.

IELTS Listening Test Format

Before you head towards downloading the IELTS listening test PDF with answers, it is important to first understand the IELTS listening section format. Here we have shared the table that contains all the information in a crisp format that can help to understand the format easily. Have a look.

IELTS Listening Evaluation Criteria

The IELTS listening evaluation is based on the number of correct answers out of 40 questions. Each correct answer will give one mark, and no penalty or negative marking for the wrong answer. Besides, a row score is converted to the 9-band scale. Here is the table that gives a clear overview of this.

Here are the evaluation criteria used to check IELTS listening answers to give scores.

• Main ideas and specific details: Students have robust skills to understand the ideas and pinpoint the key facts from the audio.
• Accuracy of information: Provide precise answers that match up with the audio content. 
• Implied meanings: Understanding what is suggested rather than explicitly mentioned. It helps to answer the question correctly.
• Ability to answer the types of questions: Skills are being evaluated through various question formats such as multiple-choice, short answers, gap-filling and diagram labelling. 
• Spelling and grammar: Accurate spelling and grammar in the answer are vital. If misspellings or incorrect grammar are found, it can cost you marks, even if the idea is accurate. These minor mistakes can lead to losing marks.

Benefits of Taking IELTS Listening Practice Tests

The IELTS Listening Practice Tests are a game-changer for the test-taker, helping to achieve the desired band score. Here are some of the benefits of using the IELTS listening test with audio and answers. Have a look.

1. Gets you accustomed to the specific sections, understands instructions, question types and timing of the listening test.
2. It broadens IELTS listening vocabulary and improves overall English communication, preparing you for real-life situations like topics.
3. Assists you in getting used to the speed of reading the question before the audio begins. This maximises the time-consuming to read the question.
4. Solving a bunch of IELTS Listening Practice Tests PDF with answers helps you to identify weaknesses by showing you exactly which question types or topics you struggle with, as this allows for focused revision.
5. Familiarise yourself with different accents by solving IELTS listening practice tests. It will help you explore various English accents and make you comfortable with the audio clips.
6. Practice paper helps you to concentrate on essential information provided at speed and assists you in ignoring relevant noise.
7. The IELTS listening practice test PDF teaches you to quickly extract key ideas and details, enhancing note-taking. Even in the fast-paced audio, you learn to make notes and organise them properly.
8. Develops active listening, training you to closely focus on the process audio, which improves understanding and drawing correct conclusions.
9. Lastly, the IELTS listening test PDF with answers increases self-assurance and reduces anxiety by making you familiar with this section.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in the IELTS Listening Test

Here is the list of the common mistakes that you must avoid while solving offline or online IELTS listening test to get good scores.

1. Ignoring instructions like not checking word count (one word only) or answer format (number, letters, etc.)
2. Missing paraphrasing as the examiner wants exact words, and speakers use synonyms and rephrase questions
3. Getting trapped by a word that sounds right but isn’t the final answer.
4. Incorrect spelling and grammar can result in lost marks.
5. Transferring the answer to the answer sheet while the audio is still playing
6. It is better to guess than to leave a space, although there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
7. Not predicting leads to failing to use the time before each section to read and underline keywords in questions. This makes you unable to answer all the questions in a limited time.
8. Ignoring negotiation by missing words such as “avoid”, “not” or negative prefixes (de, un) that change the meaning of the answer

Conclusion

In short, using the IELTS listening test with audio and answers can help you improve weak areas and robust strength areas. This also tracks the progress that helps you evaluate your performance. However, solving practice papers regularly is the key to success, yet there is no magic number to solve the IELTS practice test in a day. Solve as many as you can, as it depends on your frequency and preparation time. If you want to enrol in IELTS online coaching to get personalised guidance and study material, then Gradding.com is best for you. You can acquire IELTS listening mock tests as many as you want, helping you to get an 8+ band score. So, call us now.

FAQs

1. What is the Format of the IELTS listening Test?

Answer: The IELTS listening test has a four-section test consisting of 40 questions, and it takes 30 minutes to complete. Also, you get an extra 10 minutes to transfer the answer (in a paper-based exam). It features four recording forms, from daily life to academic lectures, with increasing difficulty. Test assessments via MCQ, map labelling, matching, and form/ summary, complete with one mark per correct answer and no negative marking.

2. What is the hardest part of IELTS listening?

Answer: The hardest part in the IELTS listening practice test is Section 4, which is a one-sided academic lecture. In this section, the examiner uses complex vocabulary, which can be challenging to understand, and is a crucial skill for studying and working abroad. However, some test taker also finds Section 3 challenging due to the rapid multi-person academic discussion and the overwhelming amount of information.

3. What are the 5 mistakes in the IELTS listening score?

Answer: The top 5 mistakes in IELTS listening score are

• Not following instructions properly, such as exceeding the word limit and formatting.
• Losing focus or getting distracted
• Misreading the question or ignoring the keywords 
• Bad spelling or grammar
• Not using time effectively 

4. How long is the Listening test?

Answer: The IELTS listening test is 30 minutes long, with an additional 10 minutes for transferring answers to an answer sheet in a paper-based test. There are 40 questions spread across the four sections. In the computer-based version, transferring the answer is built into the test time, with an extra two minutes to review.

5. What types of questions are there in the IELTS listening test?

Answer: The IELTS listening test includes many question types such as multiple choice, short answer, matching, fill in the blanks, form, table, note, summary and sentence completion. Also, students can flow-chart completion and get map/plan/diagram labelling.