12 tips to improve your IELTS general listening
As we know, Canada is said to be the second-largest country in the World. And it is the dream of every Indian student to go to Canada to pursue higher education and settle, thereby obtaining permanent residency. To go there, everyone has to clear IELTS General Listening Exam.
Many Indians migrate to Canada for their higher studies because of lower pricing in education and living, education brand, work permit after graduation, and a Secure Environment. If you are also searching for Canadian PR and have a problem with that, you are reading the right article. Our blog post will tell you 12 actions you must take if you need to score a Band 8 in IELTS general listening exam.
- You must know everything about the test.
Before you take the test, keep the following things in your mind.
- What are the question types? As each question type requires a different strategy.
- What is the format of the test?
- What is expected to happen in each part of the test?
- What are the skills I need? Am I fully prepared? Etc.
- Practice a lot
You should improve your listening skills by becoming an active listener. You can watch films and TV series, it might be fun to watch, but later it will make a big difference. Listen to whatever English language resources you can find, such as podcasts, news reports, and Ted talks, which will inform you about the new vocabulary and different accents.
This main motive is to make listening to a part of your daily life. You may find a variety of entertaining and enjoyable content on the internet. Before reading more academic material, start with the themes that interest you the most.
Hearing English in your daily routine will also give you confidence during the test.
- It is all about the Keywords
They will play the recording once only, and you will be given time to read the instructions and questions just before the recording starts. As you read the questions, first underline the keywords, and try to predict the context of the recordings, like who will be speaking and what the speech will be about. You must think of other words that could replace them for the multiple-choice questions, as it is possible that you may not hear those exact words in the recording.
Concentrate on the question or the statement and try to predict what kind of information is needed there. Is it a noun, or is it an adverb? But make sure the sentence you produce is grammatically accurate, and that you use the correct form of the word.
- Beware of distractors
It is not sure what you hear first might not be the correct answer, so look for distractors and beware of them. You may also find that the speaker mentions all the options with some differences in meanings. So, pay attention to the details.z
- Don’t wait too long to hear the answer
If you feel like you have waited too long for the answer, then the chances are you’ve already missed it. big advantage of the IELTS general listening exam is that you don’t need to go to listen to them again to answer the questions. They are all in order. So, listen carefully.
- Transfer your answers very carefully
At the end of this test, you get an extra ten minutes to transfer the answers to the answer sheet. So, take care with spelling and capitalization. If you’re not sure about the correct capitalization, you can write your answers in all CAPS. Have one last look at your answers to ensure they are grammatically accurate and you’ve followed all the instructions carefully.
But you aren’t given any extra time to transfer your answers for the computer-delivered test.
- Follow all the instructions carefully.
If the instructions say ‘use one word only, make sure you don’t write more than one word. You don’t want to lose points for not reading the instructions carefully.
Don’t look for tips, a common mistake among IELTS pupils is that tips and tricks will help you secure the band you need. But, unfortunately, this mentality will only waste the time that you should spend on your studies. Tips don’t help in getting good results.
The IELTS exam is monitored and regulated by seasoned professionals only. It cannot be tricked. The only way to guarantee an excellent score is to work and practice for it.
- Reflect
Reflecting on your mistakes is one of the most important things. This is the easiest way of learning from your weaknesses. First, record them and after that, take a notebook and a pen and make it a part of your routine to write down words that you consistently misspell, mispronounce or mishear.
You can easily view patterns in your weaknesses and learn from them by noting them down.
- Enjoy it
Listen for your pleasure. If you enjoy what you are doing, you will find it easier to do it. Your study doesn’t have to be boring all the time. You can use your smartphone or your laptop to find a podcast, YouTube video, or Ted Talk that interests you at any time you like.
IELTS Listening tests your ability to listen and understand the English language in a real-life context.
- Focus
It is easy to lose focus when you aren’t used to listening to English in your daily routine. And this is one of the biggest dangers of the IELTS Listening exam to clear. To lose focus for even a few seconds can cost you the chance of getting a Band 8.
Failing to focus could result in you misreading a question, which will confuse you and make it difficult to think clearly about your answer. So, listen carefully and do not lose your focus.
- Never book the test until and unless you are sure about it.
We must practice for the IELTS course daily, and we should not apply for it until we are not confident in this.