There are 4 sections in the Listening test.

Section 1 is a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context (e.g. a conversation in an accomodation agency).

Secion 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a speech about local facilities).

Section 3 is a conversation set in an educational or training context between two main speakers (for example, two university students discussion, perhaps guided by a tutor).

Section 4 is a monologue set in an educational or training context.

A range of English accents are used in the recordings, as well as a mix of ages and genders, which reflects the international usage of IELTS.

Accents include:

• American
• Australian
• British
• Canadian
• New Zealand

The Listening test will contain question types selected from:

• multiple choice
• matching
• plan/map/diagram labelling
• form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion
• sentence completion
• short-answer questions

A variety of question types are used in order to test a wide range of listening skills. These include the ability to understand main ideas and detailed factual information, the ability to understand the opinions and attitudes of speakers, the ability to understand the purpose of an utterance and the ability to follow the development of ideas.

One mark is awarded for each correct answer in the 40-item test.

Incorrect spelling and grammar are penalised.

A band score conversion table is produced for each version of the Listening test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS nine-band scale. Scores are reported as a whole band or a half band.